http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/ Jackpot, NV News http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/6875b5c6663aa86e02895bb8851088b0.html RENO AP A man who went on trial Tuesday for last year's murder of a professor at the University of Nevada Reno told police that he arranged the killing at the request of the victim's husband http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/7d407e2c6900873b5fdf305e7de7aea5.html RENO AP A man who went on trial Tuesday for last year's murder of a professor at the University of Nevada Reno told police that he arranged the killing at the request of the victim's husband http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/7be1fb5b1076bca23043fb500f09ca5d.html ELKO County commissioners will discuss a joint project with the Federal Highway Administration and the U S Forest Service for repair of Harrison Pass Road during a 1:30 pm meeting Wednesday http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/712b60cd2929bf0899da258aee353eef.html A littleknown aspect of Nevada law allows gamblers to dispute the outcome of any game for any reasonA gambler named Frank Sciannameo this week provided an instructive if unusual example of the law at workWhile playing slots at the Orleans earlier this year Sciannameo won 850 As a local who knows his way around a casino floor he believed his meager winnings should have also included the return of his 25 cent wagerSo he did what any gambler in Nevada is entitled to do: He put up a fightIn so doing Sciannameo might have become the first gambler in Nevada to complain to the Gaming Control Board that he should have been entitled to receive his initial wager back on top of his slot machine winningsThursday the Gaming Control Board denied Sciannameos claim to the extra 25 cents But at no point did the Gaming Control Board call him a nuisanceIn fact regulators are proud of their patron dispute process a cornerstone of gaming law lacking in less regulated parts of the worldPeople should have the right to appeal to an independent regulatory authority board member Mark Clayton said This maintains the publics confidence in gamingIf that is lost the industry is in trouble and customers will go elsewhere to gamble he saidThats also why theres no monetary threshold for disputesIt doesnt matter if its 25 cents or 25000 Clayton said If a customer feels they were treated unfairly they deserve their day in courtEven Boyd Gaming which owns the Orleans took it in strideWe cooperated fully with the Gaming Control Board company spokesman Rob Stillwell said It really wasnt about a quarter It was really a matter of understanding the slot payout tablesBefore anyone calls out Sciannameo for wasting taxpayer money consider his claimSciannameo would say he wasnt fighting over a quarter but the fact that the game he was playing is flawedWhen he put his money in an electronic roulette machine he expected it to perform like a traditional table game or sports bet in which winners receive their original wager plus winningsSlot machines dont work that way because they take into account the return of the bet For example a fivecoin wager that pays out five coins is considered a win even though the player just gets his money back In a blackjack game a player who has the same hand as the dealer hasnt won Its a push neither side wins but the bet is returnedHad Sciannameo been playing actual roulette he would have received his bet back in addition to winnings Not so with this roulette machine which stated 34to1 odds and paid him the value of 34 quarters or 850Unlike a lawsuit filed in court the states complaint process doesnt have to involve attorneys nor is there any cost to consumersThe process lasts months and can progress through three administrative layers When a customer calls the Gaming Control Board the agency sends an enforcement agent to the site to interview participants and prepare a written reportThe agent presents those findings before a hearing examiner and the examiner makes a decision and renders a report Both parties are present and may bring along attorneys Customers may appeal that decision to the threemember Gaming Control Board though the board wont consider any new evidenceThe board rarely overturns decisions by hearing examinersMost complaints involve slot machines that gamblers believe have hit a jackpot but instead have malfunctioned Sometimes wheels spin wildly a dollar amount is flashing or symbols appear to line up Most of these disputes are settled by opening up a machine and looking at whether the machines computer chip has registered a win or a loss Machines are typically locked down as soon as a dispute arises and the board gets involvedIt would be unlikely for a casino to simply pay a customer to avoid a dispute so as not to establish a precedent Nor can the Gaming Control Board pay a customerCasinos are required to notify the Gaming Control Board in disputes involving 500 or moreWithout a patron dispute process casino employees could take advantage of customers said Al Rogers general manager of gambling book publisher Pi Yee PressRogers has pursued several complaints with the board All but one he said were resolved in his favor with the casino paying him money he was owedBut the process isnt perfect Many customers are unaware that they are entitled to pursue complaints no matter how insignificant they may seemCasinos dont post such information nor do they encourage customers to call the board if theres a problem With smaller amounts its up to the gambler to make the callPosting the information might encourage frivolous complaints which could clog the system and take time away from investigating cases in which customers were cheated Rogers saidThe average casino patron thinks theres something wrong when they lose he saidWhich makes Sciannameos claim all the more rareIts not the first time a customer has put up a fight over less than a dollar A few years ago a gambler at a race and sports book claimed winnings of 57 cents based on the customers reading of the oddsThat customer is still out the 57 cents http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/ab2ecb7b01e91a32a0f688416b5da714.html ELKO Lean times are ahead for the Elko County School District as its recent weightedenrollment count showed approximately 160 fewer students this year than planned which will mean a drop of about 23 million in state funding from what was budgeted for this year http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/9f8a372e5371b4529a9759e5c6e8d759.html ELKO Elko County Commissioners will discuss how much they can afford to donate to the Fire Science Academy Wednesday morning at the start of their last traveling meeting of the year http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/d514b33e69ba162ea6effe1cd20583c5.html ELKO The school district's board of trustees will evaluate potential costs and options for busing students to Flag View Intermediate School at a future meeting http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/nevada/jackpot/content/d0d18873523cbb6d71b8201210587fb4.html ELKO Michelle Lyn Taylor 32 of Jackpot was bound over to Elko District Court to face allegations she tried to have sex with a 13yearold boy