A Romanian princess accused of hosting cockfighting derbies with her husband at their Eastern Oregon ranch pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to one count of operating an illegal gambling venture.

Irina Walker, 61, admitted to U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman that from April 2012 until May 2013 she "provided food and beverages" for those attending the cockfights held on her and her husband's property. She acknowledged profiting from the venture, in which roosters were outfitted with knives or "gaffs," and forced to fight one another to the death.

Walker is the daughter of the last king of Romania and is married to John Wesley Walker, 68, a former Coos County sheriff's deputy who also pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to the same charge. The two are both scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 22.

As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors and the defense will jointly recommend a sentence of three years of probation for both Walkers, according to the plea agreement. The maximum sentence they could face is five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The agreement calls for the couple to sell a portion of their ranch by November 2015 and forfeit $200,000 to the government, representing proceeds from the 10 cockfighting derbies they hosted during that time.

The Walkers were initially charged with directing or owning an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to violate the animal welfare act and 10 counts of sponsoring or exhibiting a rooster in an unlawful animal fighting venture.

The federal indictment named 18 defendants associated with the derbies, which took place in a barn on the Walkers' Morrow County ranch in Irrigon. All have pleaded guilty in either Oregon or Washington except for two fugitives who have not been arrested.

According to U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer, John Walker arranged with a co-defendant, Mario Perez, to set up a cockfighting operation on the Walker property. Perez was an experienced cockfighting referee, Peifer said. They also brought in an assistant referee.

As part of the operation, entrants would pay $1,000 fee to enter roosters to fight one another. The fees would go to a central pot, with 10 percent going to the referees and 90 percent to the winners.

The Walkers collected a $20 cover charge from each of the 100 or so participants who attended a derby on average, Peifer said. They also sold and pocketed the profits of alcohol and other beverages.

Initially, Irina Walker provided the food, but it was found to be "unacceptable" to the attendees, Peifer said. The Walkers then brought in a woman to cook Mexican food, charging her a fee to sell her concessions but allowing her to keep the proceeds, he said.

John Walker also arranged for a Pendleton company to provide portable toilets for the derbies. And Walker provided security and patrolled his property for signs of law enforcement, Peifer said.

The two remain out of custody pending sentencing.

-- Helen Jung