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Marian Jaramillo plans to use the money she won last month at Santa Ana Star Casino for improvements to her business, Marian's Day Care.

But in winning that money, Jaramillo gave her students a lesson in what to do when faced with tough financial negotiations:

Don't settle for the first offer.

Jaramillo had been playing the "Triple Hot Zesty Peppers" machine at the casino near Bernalillo for several weeks when, on Jan. 26, she hit a jackpot the machine told her was worth $28,000.

But casino officials said the machine had malfunctioned and initially offered her only $2,000.

"I said that doesn't sound right," Jaramillo said Monday. "I believed I was in the right place at the right time, and I was supposed to win that big jackpot."

So although Jaramillo acknowledged that the machine appeared to malfunction, she rejected the $2,000 offer, and the next day she rejected another offer for $2,800.

That launched negotiations between Jaramillo and Santa Ana tribal officials that sit on the pueblo's gaming commission.

"I asked them why it is that we always have to pay when there's a malfunction," she said. "I told them I would accept half (of the $28,000), and they agreed."

Casino General Manager Conrad Granito said a confidentiality agreement prohibited him from confirming the terms of the settlement, but said the casino is committed to fairly resolving disputes with customers.

During 17 years in the casino business, Granito said he'd only seen three slot machine malfunctions.

"When you consider that we have hundreds of thousands of pulls a day, it is very rare," he said.

But it's not the only recent slot machine malfunction in an area casino.

In August, a nickel-slot at Sandia Casino registered a $1.5 million jackpot, though its maximum payout was set at $2,500, a tribal representative said.

The slot player in that case settled for $385 and two complimentary dinners at the casino steakhouse, according to published reports.