Imagine going to your favorite casino and playing a slot game and winning $100,000. Awesome, right? Now imagine that the $100,000 is taken away from you because someone else pushed the button on the machine. That is exactly what happened at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, according to a former resident of Las Vegas.
Jan Flato is a veteran slot player who used to live in Las Vegas and was recently visiting the Hard Rock Casino in Florida when he won $100,000. Speaking with the Miami Herald, Flato stated that he was enjoying the Double Top Dollar slot machine which has a $50 spin requirement to win the $100,000 grand prize. Flato was playing the game and asked his friend Marina Medvedeva Navarro to push the button for good luck. The two had met a couple of years ago at Gulfstream Park and became fast friends.
Well, the button push resulted in the $100,000 win and Flato says the money belongs to him since he paid for the spin. However, the policy of the casino states that the person who pushes the button is actually the winner. Security footage of the casino clearly shows that Navarro was the one behind the button pushing.
Navarro tells a different story. She says that she put $400 in the machine and then offered Flato a portion of the jackpot after the win. He refused, with Navarro stating to WSVN news that he went ballistic and started screaming in front of everyone. Navarro ended up leaving the casino with $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in check form.
The incident took place back in January and Flato has went to the media to provide insight to other players in the hopes that this scenario will not happen to anyone else. According to Flato, even the people handling the money said it was not right. The incident cost him $100,000 and his friendship with Navarro, who has talked to very little since the win occurred.