Casino pays R1m slots jackpot on day 1
● It was a call from a desperate friend that persuaded a Cape Town woman to head to the casino when it reopened on Tuesday.
“She was in a desperate situation and needed money. The situation really bothered me. I kept wondering what I could do,” the Durbanville health executive told the Sunday Times.
Ninety minutes later, with her final spin of the GrandWest slot machine after losing all her stake money, the woman won R1m. Shortly afterwards she was on her friend’s doorstep and handed over a wad of cash.
“She called me the next day to say how thankful she was, and I feel good knowing she’s less stressed,” the woman said.
“I have had to take quite a big salary cut so I didn’t really have the means to help [my friend], but I ended up being in the right place.”
The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said with her last spin she had been hoping for four symbols, which would have paid out R200,000 — matching her previous biggest win.
“But I got five! I couldn’t believe it. I saw the amount and I jumped off my chair to take a closer look at the screen. I was ecstatic.”
The woman said the fact that her win came on July 1 seemed significant.
“I like figures and I had great expectations for 2020 because it’s a nice number — but it started so badly. I kept thinking, from July 1 surely things will get better from here?”
After her win, the woman — admitted to GrandWest under disaster regulations because she is a regular patron — asked for some of the jackpot in cash so she could take it to her friend.
The rest is in her bank account. “Now I know I can breathe, but I also know I have enough left over to also help people who are close to me,” she said.
A spokesperson for Sun International, which owns GrandWest, said the social-distancing and sanitising measures put in place at casinos had worked well so far and been praised by patrons.
Every second slot machine has been disabled, casino floors can operate at a maximum of 50% capacity and numbers have been limited at blackjack, roulette and baccarat tables. Screens have been built to separate gamblers.
The R1m winner said she had completed a Covid-19 screening questionnaire online before arriving at GrandWest.
“They have really tried to put everything in place and no-one can fault them on the protocols,” she said.
“At GrandWest they really do wear their masks all the time. I see them disinfecting all the time.
“I did take my own little sanitising wipes with but there was actually no need. I noticed when I got up a lady came and she wiped down my machine and seat. If you’re in the health industry you notice things like that.”