Smoke Signals 5
APRIL 1,2008
Tribal photographer secures a place in jackpot country
Former Smoke Signals employee's work featured on casino slot machines
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
Tribal member Toby McClary,
until recently an award-winning
photojournalist for Tribal publica
tion Smoke Signals, can now see
some of his powwow photographs
on five redesigned slot machines
in The Summit, Spirit Mountain
Casino's room for high rollers.
And so can the rest of us.
The machines, found standing
along the left-hand wall toward the
back as you enter, continue a tradi
tion of creativity at the casino.
Tribal member and Slot Manager
Mike Colton cites the Mystery Car
Progressive and Rapid Riches
Room as two other examples of that
creativity.
"People from other casinos come
here to model their rooms after
Rapid Riches," Colton said.
McClary, now Receiving Depart
ment supervisor at the casino, took
the photographs during the 2005
and 2006 Grand Ronde Competi
tion powwows, and Smoke Signals
published them.
Colton saw the pictures and
wondered if he could use them for
the casino's slot operation. He con
tacted McClary.
"Mike wanted something that
would honor the traditions of the
Tribe," said Bill Bateman, Slot Per
formance manager. "Toby's pictures
were perfect for that."
McClary's pictures were sent to
Las Vegas-based Sunkist Graph
ics, a company that has done other
work, including specialized signage
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Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member Toby McClary, former Smoke Signals photojournalist, has
some of his powwow photographs on five redesigned slot machines in
The Summit, Spirit Mountain Casino's room for high rollers. He took the
photographs during the 2005 and 2006 Grand Ronde Competition powwows.
displays at the current Mystery
Car carousel, for the casino. There
was a give and take of ideas until
Sunkist sent back the glass and reel
strips that casino staff put together
near the end of February.
When Colton showed McClary the
finished job in the slot tech room,
McClary said, he was "at a loss for
words."
Behind the powwow photographs,
which have been retouched and
triplicated on the screen, are many
northwest Tribal symbols. On the
rolls, fir trees replace cherries and
cedar canoes replace bars. Tribal
and casino logos also come up in
winning combinations.
The new slots are "modeled on one
of the most popular high hit frequency
games" in the casino, Bateman said.
With a bet of $2, they hold promise of
a $1,600 jackpot. With $4, a jackpot
winner takes home $3,200.
"It gives customers a piece of
Native American culture and it re-
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minds them that Native American
culture and the casino business
co-exist," McClary said.
And the tradition will continue,
Colton said.
"We're talking about doing a pro
gressive one next," he said. B
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Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Elder Gene LaBonte sits in on his first meeting after being Installed to the Governor's Advisory
Committee to the Director of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs at the Department of
Veterans' Affairs Office in Salem on March 19. At right, LaBonte hugs his daughter, Kate Kirkland, after
being installed.