Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CORRECTION: This article reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger's name, image and voice would appear on a new International Game Technology nickel slot machine. According to Schwarzenegger's legal counsel, Schwarzenegger has never agreed to the use of his name, image or voice on any slot machine, including any IGT machine.

`Terminator' star facing questions over slot deal

Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to have had a change of heart. Not about running for governor of California, but about having his face plastered all over talking slot machines spitting out "Hasta la vista, nickels."

The "Terminator"-actor-turned-political hopeful agreed to the use of his name, image and voice on a new International Game Technology nickel slot machine in April before he announced his bid to replace California Gov. Gray Davis.

It is thought to be the first time the name and image of a candidate for major political office has been used to promote gambling, and several industry officials suggested Schwarzenegger could have a conflict of interest if elected governor.

Although most of the officials did not want to be quoted on the record, they agreed he could be vulnerable to the conflict-of-interest charge if he wins the governorship since he would be responsible for enforcing and negotiating gaming compacts with California's Indian tribes.

Gaming expert and University of Nevada, Las Vegas, professor Bill Thompson said when the governor negotiates the Indian compacts and the discussions involve how many additional slots the tribal casinos will have, "then (Schwarzenegger) would have a conflict."

A bigger question is how Schwarzenegger would handle the continuing debate over how many slot machines each casino should be allowed, he said.

Presumably, any new slot machines would include some bearing Schwarzenegger's name, image and voice, under the agreement he reached with IGT.

"(Schwarzenegger is) doing a commercial deal. Questions are going to come up since California is on the verge of becoming the No. 1 gambling state in the nation. He's going to have to explain it. He may have a conflict of interest and he may have to recuse himself," Thompson said.

Terminator slot machines are set to make their debut at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas Sept. 16-18, said Rick Sorensen, spokesman for Reno-based International Game Technology.

Sorensen said previewing the Terminator slot machine at G2E has nothing to do with Schwarzenegger's decision to run for governor, but instead is another component of the broad base of slot machines IGT has developed to offer casino and player customers.

IGT's new Terminator nickel slot machine has been years in preparation, but was stalled in 2001 when the actor sued the company for $20 million alleging the slot-machine maker was using his likeness and voice without permission or fair compensation.

Schwarzenegger claimed, not only had he not approved of the slot machine, but he disapproved of being linked to gambling at all. According to his lawsuit, the actor was "particularly circumspect to avoid using his name, likeness or image for certain industries such as gambling."

In the lawsuit, Schwarzenegger claimed to have refrained from doing any advertisements or endorsements in the United States.

However, the Austrian-born action star has been featured in commercials for DirecTV in Japan, as well as ads for a language school in Brazil and Austria's national rail line.

But even with those, Schwarzenegger has been adamant about protecting his image, and he reportedly once had his lawyers challenge a Web site that streamed video of his goofy Japanese commercial.

For its part, IGT claimed the Terminator slots were part of a licensing deal with French TV's Canal Plus, which belongs to media giant Vivendi, and Creative Licensing Corp., the two companies that hold the rights to the film series.

IGT claimed none of the slot machines was ever distributed, although reports in 2001 claimed at least one had turned up on eBay, an Internet auction site.

Schwarzenegger said in the lawsuit that even if IGT got permission from the Terminator rights-holders, he still had ultimate control over how his likeness is used.

The lawsuit recently was settled with Schwarzenegger having a change of heart about the use of his image, but Sorensen declined to disclosed the details of the settlement.

Whether or not Schwarzenegger received a lump sum payment or a fee based on the number of machines bearing his image, he has an interest in promoting the Terminator slots, industry officials said.

At stake will be possible fees from the development of additional devices featuring Schwarzenegger characters and future use agreements with IGT.