Employees of the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino and Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) agents went the extra mile recently to track down a slots player who inadvertently walked away from a $229,000 jackpot. The lucky player was found, and received a nice lesson about the value of regulated gambling along the way.
According to a report on Las Vegas ABC affiliate, a player later identified as Robert Taylor was playing a progressive slot machine on January 8 and won a $229,000 jackpot. Due to a technical error, the machine did not Taylor of his big win. Treasure Island staff realized the error after Taylor had returned to his home in Arizona and reported the incident to the NGCB.
After reviewing surveillance footage from Treasure Island and the streets outside the casino (another benefit of regulated gaming) agents were able to identify and contact Taylor. On January 28, nearly three weeks after he walked away from his big win, Taylor collected a check a for $$229,368.52.
In a recent press release, James Taylor, Chief of the Board’s Enforcement Division lauded his agents who tracked down Taylor saying, “The Nevada Gaming Control Board is charged with the strict regulation of the gaming industry, the protection of the gaming public, and ensuring that the industry benefits the State of Nevada. I commend the agents of the Enforcement Division, particularly Agent Dan Nuqui, for ensuring that the public trust in the gaming industry remains strong by spending countless hours over two weeks to ensure that a patron is awarded winnings owed to him. I’d also like to thank the Nevada Transportation Authority for their assistance in confirming the identity of the patron. This has been a great example of government working together for the benefit of the public.”
Taylor has not yet commented publicly on his big win.