Woman Wins $100k Casino Jackpot From Abandoned Dollar

After a year and a half of stress and uncertainty, an Australian woman has finally been paid the $100,000 jackpot she won at the Adelaide Casino, in South Australia.
Cecilia Cubillo won the huge sum after playing a dollar credit left in a  slot machine by another player. However, her initial jubilation soon turned to despair after the casino refused to allow her to keep the money, citing an ‘abandoned credits’ state government rule.
At the time casino officials were keen to point out that the ‘abandoned credits’ rule existed to allow players to take a break from a slot while keeping their place on the machine.
The casino’s decision concerning Cecilia Cubillo was then upheld by Adelaide’s Office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner last Christmas, leading to huge disappointment for the Australian woman.
However, Cecilia Cubillo has now had that decision overturned by the regulatory commission and last Thursday collected a AUS$105,731 (US$106,830) cheque from Adelaide Casino general manager David Christian. Expressing his delight that the mistake had finally been rectified, David Christian commented:
“We are sorry for any stress and embarrassment caused to Ms Cubillo by this situation … but clarity is needed to determine when a gaming machine is considered abandoned and the appropriate action relating to any remaining credits.”
Although the jackpot winner’s ordeal has finally come to an end and she will be celebrating extra hard this Christmas, a feeling of bitterness still lingers over how the casino handled the whole affair. As her friend Diana Awarau explains:
“Cecelia is very happy that she has her prize and she and I am going to have a nice Christmas break.This is a fantastic win but there are some issues about the way the payment was handled that we need to sit down and talk about in the New Year.”