Australian woman wins $100,000 from abandoned dollar

SYDNEY – An Australian woman has won the right to pocket the Aus$100,000 ($101,000) she won on a slot machine, after a casino agreed to pay her the money she won with another gambler’s abandoned dollar.

Cecilia Cubillo used a $1 credit someone else had left in a poker machine to hit the jackpot 18 months ago.

But joy turned to disappointment when Adelaide Casino said it was unable to honor the prize because it was against regulations set by the gambling watchdog to pay wins on abandoned money.

The regulation is aimed at encouraging gamblers to take breaks without losing their seat at their machine of choice.

But the approach by the Office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner appears to have softened since then and the casino Thursday handed Cubillo a cheque, Adelaide’s The Advertiser reported.

“We are sorry for any stress and embarrassment caused to Ms Cubillo by this situation,” the casino’s general manager David Christian told the paper.

Christian said that at the time of the win withholding the money was correct.

But he added: “Clarity is needed to determine when a gaming machine is considered abandoned and the appropriate action relating to any remaining credits.”