$129,697 Slots Win Dampened By Nerve-Racking Ordeal At Mohawk Casino

A 96-year-old man from Morrisonville, New York has been celebrating his good fortune after winning a $129,697 slots jackpot at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino last Sunday.
Edward Garrow enjoys a weekly gamble and was visiting his regular casino with his daughter when he hit the jackpot on the progressive Wheel of Fortune slot machine.
At around 2:30 p.m., Mr Garrow was playing the slot at $1.25 a bet when he hit the huge sum and, as his daughter Holly McQuinn explains:
“There were no bells or whistles. He hadn’t been sitting there very long when he got a straight line of three Wheel of Fortune symbols in the center.
I said to him, ‘You won something,’ then people started gathering around and said he’d won $129,697. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ Then the casino staff and technicians started coming.”
However, despite the initial jubilation, their winning afternoon was soon dampened after the casino’s verification and procedurial routines began to weight heavily on the 96-year-old man and his daughter.
They soon found themselves swamped by technicians and security staff and were told that a slots representative would have to make his way from Buffalo to Akwesasne to confirm the win. The machine then had to be taken apart to ensure there was no malfunction, while they also faced a mountain of paperwork.
“I was shaking, not because I was nervous about him winning but because of the way they were all around us. It was the most uncomfortable situation I’ve ever been in in my life,” said Holly McQuinn.
Eight hours later at 10:30 p.m they were finally able to leave the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino, but were given the choice of 20 annual payments of $6,176 each for the 96-year-old or a “discounted single-cash offer.” Explaing her ordeal further, Holly McQuinn commented:
“This is not at all what anyone thought. We left the casino with a check for a little more than $6,000, and we may have to hire a lawyer and accountant. I don’t dare cash the check. The check is a contract, and if we cash it, it could mean we have to take the 20 annual payments.”
Holly McQuinn concluded by saying the whole experience left her and her father feeling quite exhausted, and took the fun out of their big win.
“It was a big rigmarole, and I won’t be going back there any time soon,” she said.