Oops, Sorry, You Haven't Won the Jackpot

Filed in archive Casinos on September 8, 2006

Imagine this. You swipe your players club card at your casino. You're told you've won a promotional game - a prize that was worth $260,000. You're even given a large cardboard cheque to celebrate and remember your moment. Then, a few hours later, you're told that actually you didn't win a dime. You'd probably be somewhat deflated at that moment.

That actually happened to Freddy Howard at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida. For 15 hours he believed he'd won a huge cash amount - only to be brought back down to earth pretty quickly by casino officials. Apparently a verification process showed the result was incorrect and Howard hasn't won.

Naturally, Howard has taken this up with the Seminole Tribal Gaming Commission and has hired a attorney to take this further.

Howard said he was showered with attention Aug. 29 after he swiped his Players Club card and was told he had won the free promotional game. But he spent hours waiting anxiously for the $259,945.75 before managers called him into an empty room.

"They just said, 'You know the jackpot that you won? We're not going to pay it,'" said Howard, 53, of Sunny Isles Beach. "It was like I was in a movie. I couldn't believe it."

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