Former gaming official sent to jail for slot scam

      RENO -- Despite a plea for probation, former Gaming Control Board computer whiz Ron Harris was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday for using his job to cheat casinos out of almost $50,000.
      Washoe District Judge Peter Breen rejected Harris defense attorney Scott Freeman's request for no prison time, saying Harris' betrayal of his employer, the casino industry and the public warranted a prison term.
      "There is no question that the depth of your betrayal was complete," Breen said at the end of Harris' two-hour sentencing hearing.
     

Former Gaming Control computer whiz and convicted slot cheat Ron Harris is handcuffed on Friday after being sentenced to seven years in prison by Washoe District Judge Peter Breen. Associated Press photo

Harris, 41, told Breen that he would never commit a criminal act again, and that his daughter needed him in her life.
      "I want to let you know, the people in the court and everyone, that I regret what I did," said Harris, who pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering in September. "I've done everything they've asked me to do because I've wanted to make things right."
      Harris' sentence was half of what was recommended in a presentence report given to the judge. The maximum sentence Harris could have received was 20 years, but probation was also a possibility.
      Freeman, of Reno, said Harris could be released after serving as little as 28 months, about one third of his sentence.
      Harris was led off in handcuffs following Breen's decision.
      In arguing for probation, Freeman repeatedly mentioned that Harris was employed, had never been arrested before and had two children to look after.
      The defense attorney argued Harris also cooperated with the attorney general's office and gaming officials by explaining how he rigged slot machines, and by providing more than nine hours of videotaped statements concerning questionable activities in the control board and the gaming industry.
      Freeman said the case became a political issue after ABC News' "Prime Time Live" acquired tapes of some of the confidential interviews his client gave and did a critical story raising questions about Nevada's gaming industry.
      "Ron Harris became bigger than Ron Harris," Freeman said. "Ron Harris became `The Harris Tapes.' "
      But Deputy Attorney General David Thompson said Harris did not deserve probation. Harris methodically created and exploited his cheating scheme for several years, showing no remorse or change of heart during that time, he said.
      "It's probably the single most extraordinary and sophisticated cheating operation law enforcement has encountered, here or anywhere else," Thompson said. "The only reason, truly, that we were able to catch Mr. Harris was because he was greedy."
      Harris created his slot machine cheating scam while working as an employee of the Gaming Control Board in the Electronic Services Division in Las Vegas.
      Harris inserted a computer program into a device used by control board employees to check the proper functioning of slot machines. When the testing device was used by control board employees, it downloaded a cheating program, called a gaff, into computer chips in the machines.
      Harris then recruited a trio of friends and acquaintances, including his ex-wife, to play slot machines rigged with the cheating program. Inserting a specific series of coin bets allowed the program to take effect and award jackpots.
      Harris began his enterprise in the summer of 1992 and continued it through April 1996, using accomplices to collect jackpots from about half a dozen of the 34 rigged machines in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe casinos.
      Freeman said a total of about $47,000 was taken from Nevada slot machines. Harris kept about $15,000 of that total for himself, he said.
      The cheating was uncovered In January 1995 when Harris and an accomplice won a $100,000 keno jackpot at Bally's Park Place in Atlantic City, N.J. Harris is awaiting trial on the New Jersey charge, but Freeman said any sentence there will run at the same time as the Nevada sentence.
      But even after his New Jersey arrest, Harris continued to collect jackpots from rigged slot machines in Nevada, authorities said.
      Following his arrest, the Gaming Control Board fired Harris and launched an investigation into his activities. The investigation ultimately led to the discovery of the high-tech cheating programs on his work computer.
      Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible said he was satisfied with the sentence.
      "The sentence clearly serves as a deterrent to anyone who holds a position of public trust and who uses that position for personal gain or benefit," he said.
      Bible disagreed that the notoriety of the case or the bad national publicity for Nevada gaming played a role in the sentence, saying it was a fair decision.
      The gaming agency never was able to corroborate any statements by Harris that there was any misconduct by agency employees, he said.