Casinos are a great weekend adventure; everyone loves imagining the chance of winning big! Women often have their bachelorette parties at casinos, and men their bachelor parties. Casinos are a big draw for of course the gambling, but also for the entertainment and the award-winning restaurants and bars. Most casino complexes in Las Vegas, for example, make it so guests never have to leave the Casino premises for anything! It’s all under one roof. But these trips don’t come for very cheap…the food, the drinks and the hotel costs really add up! So, you better hope you have some luck on the casino floor!
If you love going to casinos, no matter what your favorite game is, you will of course expect to get your winnings – whatever the amount is, right? Whether it was won through blackjack, backgammon or the slot machines, you would expect to get paid. You usually have to go to a cash-out corner to pick up your earnings. You won’t find many, if any, places where the dealer awards winnings. Just cash in your stack of chips, and voilà…cold hard cash! The values of the chips are usually easily distinguished by their color; blue could be equal to $10, while pink is equal to $100. Make sure to count your chips before cashing in! You wouldn’t want to be ripped off because of a teller who can’t count.
Veronica Castillo assumed that on her weekend away, if she in fact happened to win, that she would be awarded for her good luck. However, this was not the case for Veronica Castillo. She had the misfortune of learning that winning in casinos does not always mean money. Confused? So was she! However, it seemed the Lucky Eagle Casino didn’t agree with Veronica’s win, and they had a line of people to blame before taking the heat themselves. She recently won a huge amount on one of the slot machines of Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington. The said establishment refused to honor her win and did not give her the amount she won because of one ridiculous reason… So what happened on Veronica’s party weekend away from home? What happened, or didn’t happen at that slot machine in WA?
Winning At Casinos
Veronica Castillo is no different from millions who dream of winning big in casinos. This desire to land on a large sum of money to afford one’s wants and needs is common to most individuals.
Winning At Casinos
Not Often
Although she doesn’t gamble often, Veronica went to a casino in Rochester, Washington – the Lucky Eagle Casino. She felt excitement in trying their in-house slot machines, which has many different varieties.
Not Often
Lucky Eagle Casino
The Lucky Eagle Casino’s homepage states “COME PLAY AT THE SOUTH SOUND’S HOME CASINO. If you want to play slots, blackjack, craps or enjoy Keno live, you may have a few options, but if you want a friendlier experience, you’ve got to go where everybody knows your game – Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel. We’re your casino near Olympia, Washington with everything you need to relax, indulge and, if you’re lucky, win!”.
Lucky Eagle Casino
Relaxation
Veronica dined at the casino’s restaurants, enjoyed the live performances and was having a great weekend away from all of the hustle and bustle. Each night of her stay, she would check the casino out and try her luck, just like the rest of the guests.
Relaxation
No Worries Here
However, she did not mind it at all if her luck wasn’t looking up. She was there on vacation and she just wanted to have a good time. Too bad for Veronica, she couldn’t have been more wrong…
No Worries Here
Poolside
Veronica chose the Lucky Eagle Casino for of course the casino, but also for the luxurious indoor pool. Veronica is a big swimmer so it was important for her to find accommodations with a nice pool. Each morning she woke up early just to get a good workout in the pool in.
Poolside
Unexpected Event
Her main goal at that time was just to have some fun and relax. Little did she know that her trip to the casino would be far from relaxing as events suddenly turned into something entirely different.
Unexpected Event
Her Goal
When she first arrived at the casino, she tried her luck on some random slot machines. She knew that her chances of winning were slim, and her chances of meeting a celebrity were even slimmer, but she wanted to give it a shot!
Her Goal
Keep Trying
She put $100 into a slot machine and then pulled the lever. She lost on her first try, well, that was expected. She tried again with no expectation of what was to come…
Keep Trying
Hitting the Jackpot!
After the second pull, the digital wheel declared that she had hit the jackpot! She couldn’t believe her eyes or her ears!
Hitting the Jackpot
Not an Ordinary Win
She didn’t just win an ordinary prize, it wasn’t $100. Veronica had won a gigantic amount…an amount that you surely don’t see every day!
Not an Ordinary Win
Big Winner
She won a whopping $8.5 million! You don’t see this kind of win often, not even if you frequent the casinos. For a first-timer, this is exceptionally exciting and surreal. This actually didn’t prepare her for the unexpected turn of events…
Big Winner
Wishful Thinking
She immediately tried to imagine what she would do with that kind of money! She thought of going on vacations, eating at expensive restaurants, or even stopping work!
Wishful Thinking
Shattered
Veronica could finally live a stress-free life without worrying about her finances day in and day out. Just as she started to get excited, her wishful thinking was completely shattered.
Shattered
Machine Malfunction
Before she could even celebrate, the casino staff immediately informed her that there would be no money for her to claim. Wait what?!
Machine Malfunction
System Malfunction
They informed her that the slot machine malfunctioned and wrongly declared that she won. She later said in an interview, “I was very excited and happy, then I couldn’t believe it.”
System Malfunction
Millionaire For A Short Time
Veronica was a millionaire for a very short time. She won and lost millions in just a few minutes! Imagine that happening to you? We can’t believe it!
Millionaire For A Short Time
That Was That
When asked about what happened next by the local journalists, she said, “They shut off the machine, took it away, printed out a ticket and gave me $80, and that was that”.
That Was That
A Convenient Excuse
She still couldn’t believe it. But the staff then showed her a sticker on all the casino’s slot machines stating that all payment and plays of the machine are not valid once they malfunction. To say that it was a convenient excuse is an understatement.
A Convenient Excuse
Not Buying It
It didn’t matter what they told her, Veronica didn’t buy their excuse. She knew something was fishy, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Not Buying It
Fraudulent
“To me, it’s cheating, may even be fraudulent,” she explained. “My first thought was; how many people has this happened to? They think they’ve won, then go away empty-handed.”
Fraudulent
Ongoing Investigation
John Setterstorm, the CEO of Lucky Eagle Casino who has worked there since it was first established in 1995, explained that this kind of situation had never occurred in all the time that he had worked there. He also said that the incident was being investigated by his team as they still hadn’t uncovered the reason why the machine had malfunctioned like it had.
Ongoing Investigation
Open Investigation
Setterstorm also said that the incident was being investigated by his team as they still hadn’t uncovered the reason why the machine had malfunctioned like it had.
Open Investigation
Official Statement
Shortly after the incident happened, an official statement was released by the casino addressing it. It began with, “Rocket Gaming Systems, the machine manufacturer, is in the process of conducting a forensic investigation to determine the cause of the display malfunction that occurred on the machine Ms. Castillo was playing.”
Official Statement
Maximum Jackpot
It further continued to explain, “This machine offers a maximum jackpot of $20,000 if a maximum bet is placed on all lines.” Also, it added, “The maximum jackpot that Ms. Castillo could have won based on the number of lines and credits she was betting was $6,000.”
Maximum Jackpot
Not Better
It did not make Veronica feel any better. Joseph Dupuis, the casino representative later on said, “We deeply regret that Ms. Castillo temporarily experienced an incorrect credit display while the machine began its process of metering down after the display malfunction.”
Not Better
Compensation
Aside from the meager $80 that they gave Veronica Castillo, the Lucky Eagle Casino also offered to let her stay in one of their guest suites for a weekend. Her stay would include free meals. But would it be enough to appease Veronica?
Compensation
Not the Same
However good the offer may be, it’s still not enough to replace what Veronica thought to be her $8.5 million winning. Also, she thinks that staying at their hotel would just remind her of this sad event.
Not the Same
Asking for Help
Since then, Veronica has spent a lot of her time looking for a lawyer who would be able to help her in looking into this situation better. With such hopes, she even used her social media account to ask people for help.
Asking for Help
Support
A lot of people reached out to Veronica either making the same claims about it happening to them at other casinos, or offering their condolences and support.
Support
What She Hopes
It’s also her hope that others will not have the same experience as she had. She wrote, “What I expect at the very least, is to create awareness about how the casinos work when the players get the big winnings.”
What She Hopes
Moving Past It
Veronica has tried to pick up the pieces after this mess and continued with her life. Instead of pretending like it never happened, she likes to use the incident as a learning experience.
Moving Past It
It Didn’t Stop Her
Veronica has continued going to casinos as she enjoys gambling. But now, she is much more aware of the repercussions and she doesn’t expect to win a penny. We guess after going through a situation like that, it’s better not to get your hopes up.
It Didn’t Stop Her
No Comment
The Lucky Eagle Casino had not further comment on the situation. They chalked it all up to a big misunderstanding and a machine malfunction.
No Comment
Justice
It’s crazy to think that you can lose millions of dollars as soon as she did. We hope that Veronica Castillo gets the justice that she deserves and that no one else will experience this kind of tragic incident.
