In Canada, an 82-year-old man who claims to have recently been denied a slot jackpot worth about $7,474 due to his signing of a voluntary self-exclusion request almost two decades ago has reportedly vowed that he intends to go after the Ontario Lottery And Gaming Corporation in order to receive his winnings.

According to a report from the National Post newspaper, John Marando explained that he began going to the OLG Slots At Mohawk Racetrack facility, which is operated by Woodbine Entertainment Group under a long-term lease with the Ontario Lottery And Gaming Corporation, near Toronto earlier this year and had won prizes of CAD$1,000 ($747) from the same machine “a couple of times” before getting lucky to the tune of about CAD$400 ($299) on February 17.

The former Brinks security van driver reportedly had no problems in picking up his February 17 winnings and decided to wager another CAD$20 ($15) in the same machine on his way out of the Ontario venue. But, Lady Luck soon smiled on Marando again as his ninth two-dollar spin produced a jackpot worth approximately CAD$10,000 ($7,474).

However, when he went to collect his second jackpot of the day, Marando reportedly stated that he was ushered into an office and told that “we can’t pay you [because] you signed yourself out 17 years ago”.

The Ontario Lottery And Gaming Corporation allows customers who feel that they may have a gambling problem to voluntarily exclude themselves and these individuals are subsequently escorted from any premises if they are recognized. Marando proclaimed to the newspaper that he had suffered a brain injury that he was told could affect his memory and that he does not remember signing the self-exclusion request earlier in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

“I can’t remember 17 years ago,” Marando told the National Post. “I’m 17 years older and I’ve had a brain operation about eight years ago. I won CAD$400 that morning. They paid me the CAD$400 and five minutes later I hit the jackpot for CAD$10,000.”

Although Rui Brum from the Ontario Lottery And Gaming Corporation refused to comment on the particulars of Marando’s case, he told the newspaper that rules laid out by the Alcohol And Gaming Commission Of Ontario prohibit the firm from “paying out the prize” to any self-excluded individual.

For his part, Marando declared that OLG Slots At Mohawk Racetrack had given him the CAD$20 in change that he had used to win his CAD$10,000 jackpot and that he has now contacted a lawyer about the matter.

“I should have said “shove it” but I didn’t,” Marando told the National Post. “I’m not going to let them get away with it.”