"A curious thing happened to a woman on her way to a North County casino two weeks ago.

Out for a night of gambling, she somehow ended up in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol and probably was deported.

What happened that night to Maria Diaz is not exactly clear.

A man who asked to remain anonymous sent an email about the incident to the North County Times on Sept. 15. The letter writer wrote that his aunt, Diaz, went to Pala Casino on a tour bus to have a good time.

"But that is not what happened," he wrote. "Her night of fun turned into a nightmare."

For some reason, the casino's security personnel asked Diaz for an ID; she showed them a Honduran passport.

A spokesman for the casino said security officers did detain Diaz, but he declined to say why.

Customer privacy, he said."

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Edward Sifuentes: The gamble of being illegal (The North County Times 9/25)