February f, 1998
MCC
Tribe creates Hatfield Fellowship
By Tracy Dugan
The Grand Ronde Tribe has created the Hatfield
Fellowship honoring Senator Mark 0. Hatfield for
his accomplishments as Governor of Oregon and
United States Senator on behalf of the Tribe, Na
tive Americans, Oregonians, and all Americans.
The fellowship is also meant to honor the memory
of Susan Long, who worked in Hatfield's office
during the Restoration struggle. The fellowship
will enable a Native American to serve as a mem
ber of one of the staff of one of Oregon's Congres
sional delegation. The Hatfield Fellow will serve
as a liaison between the Congressional member and
the tribes in Oregon on issues that affect Native
Americans and as a resource for the entire Oregon
delegation. The Hatfield Fellowship will be nine
months in length and consist of an annual stipend
of $55,000. It will begin in 1998.
. The Tribe hosted a banquet for Hatfield on January
15 at Willamette University, Hatfield's alma mater.
Guests included members from several Oregon
tribes including the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua
Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz, and the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Rep. Elizabeth Furse, a congresswoman from
Oregon's 1st District, and friend of the tribes as
well as Hatfield, was an honored guest. Her hus
band, John Piatt of Oregon Intertribal Fisheries
Commission, was the Master of Ceremonies.
Rep. Furse worked with Hatfield on tribal issues
in the 1970's and 80's when the Grand Ronde Tribe
was trying to get restored. She said, "In 1970, I
first heard the name Senator Mark Hatfield. He
was like a light in a very dark time. It was a time
when no one was fighting for tribes except this man
in the Senate. We visited the Senator in Washing
ton, and we were greeted with warmth and under
standing." Furse spoke of her relationship with Hatfield
during her years as a member of NAPOLS and the
Grand Ronde Tribe's Restoration Coordinator, as
well as the years she has spent in Congress.
"Senator Hatfield always recognized that tribes
are truly governments. There was always one place
in Washington, D.C. that was a haven... Senator
Hatfield's office. He was a voice for Indian people
when there was no one there," she said.
Other speakers included Council member Mark
Mercier and Council Chairperson Kathryn Harri
son, who shared special memories of both the Hat-
continued on page 12
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Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, retired Senator Mark Hatfield, and Tribal Chair Kathryn Har
rison celebrate their years of friendship at a banquet in Hatfield's honor. (Photo by Tracy Dugan.)
What about that
$2.9 million jackpot?
A computer chip malfunction
causes "mystery jackpot."
By Tracy Dugan
By now many tribal members in Oregon have
heard about the "mystery jackpot" that flashed on
a nickel progressive slot machine a few months
ago. A woman was playing the machine when the
computer flashed a message indicating she had won
a mystery jackpot of almost $3 million. This jack
pot was clearly an error due to a computer chip
problem. Chuck Galford, Marketing Manager at
Spirit Mountain said that the malfunction occurred
in the progressive computer chip on the carousel,
not within the slot machine itself, and said this is
the first time a machine has ever malfunctioned at
Spirit Mountain.
"We want our patrons and tribal members to
know that all of the computer chips are tested at a
lab before they even get here," said Galford. "Then
the Gaming Commission verifies that they have
been tested. When a chip is installed into a ma
chine, the Commission must be present to ensure
it is being installed correctly. But I want to empha
size that this was a problem with a progressive chip,
not a chip in the machine."
Galford added that Spirit Mountain Casino pays
all true jackpots, and the Casino has paid billions
in jackpots since it opened $900 million in 1997
alone.
The customer who received the mystery jackpot
message lined up three double bars on the Power
Play nickel slot; and the pay table showed that she
earned 60 credits, or $3. A sign on the progres
sive board states that the maximum payout for that
progressive machine is $10,000, and at the time
the customer was playing, it had reached $230.
There was no special promotion or sign indicating
that it is possible to win more than that amount.
"No reasonable person could think that they had
won several million dollars," said Galford. "It's
like receiving a bank statement when you know
you have $200 in your account, but the statement
says you have $2 million. Obviously there has
been a mistake, and it will be corrected. Com
puter mistakes happen in modern life. We have
checked all of our progressive machines, and ev
erything else is defect-free. This was an isolated
incident."
The customer has exercised her right to a fair
hearing before the Grand Ronde Gaming Commis
sion, an independent body. The Commission is
reviewing the evidence and will hand down a rul
ing in the near future. The Grand Ronde Gaming
Commission is the Casino's regulating body, and
monitors incidents of this nature, as well as pre
serves the integrity of Spirit Mountain by approv
ing or denying all gaming licenses.