42 year-old Veronica Castillo from Portland, Oregon became an instant multi millionaire after hitting a huge $8.5 million jackpot on a slot game at Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington. Castillo, a loan officer, was playing the slot alongside her mother when she thought she had stuck it lucky. She wagered $100 on the slot machine and spun its reels. Despite the life-changing jackpot that appeared on the game’s screen, she got a voucher of $80 by the casino staff who told her that the winning payout was in fact a game’s malfunction.
The event happened in early November at the Lucky Eagle Casino. The slot game was making loud noises associated with a big jackpot win, so the casino staff came over to check what happened. They informed Castillo that it was actually an error.
Castillo told the local TV that at first she was very excited and happy. “Afterwards, I simply couldn’t believe it,” she said. The slot game was immediately shut down and taken away and Castillo was given a ticket with a value of $80. “To me, that’s called cheating. I just couldn’t believe it. I kept thinking how many people have gone through the same situation as I did. I thought I won but I walked away empty handed,” she added.
The CEO at Lucky Eagle Casino John Setterstrom, who has been working with the company since it opened doors in 1995, said that nothing like this has happened before and contacted the slot manufacturer for more information. The developer of the slot will start an investigation in order to find out what had caused the error. In the meantime, Castillo is going to seek legal advice.