Three armed security guards escorted close to $1 million in cash as a San Diego area casino awarded its largest players club jackpot in its 10-year history Friday.
Escondido resident Stanley Czapiewski was playing the penny slot machine “African Diamond” at Valley View Casino on Wednesday night when he won the casino’s Colossal Coin jackpot.
He said he didn’t think much when the machine asked him to wait.
Czapiewski said a pop-up window revealed a message ”Stanley, you’ve just won $733,501.59.”
The next thing he remembers, he was surrounded by security and other gamblers were cheering and asking to be adopted into his family.
Because the jackpot is routinely awarded in cash, a guard presented Czapiewski with a white metal briefcase containing stacks of bills in $10,000 increments in front of employees and local media Friday morning.
“I’m not usually at a loss for words, but I am right now,” he said laughing.
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For Czapiewski, who has been a longtime player at Valley View, it was one thing to learn that he had won but to see it was a whole different ballgame.
“That’s one hell of a stack,” he said looking at the briefcase.
When asked what they’ll do now, they didn’t seem to have any specific dreams.
“We’re kind of practical but we’ll splurge a little bit,” his wife Sabrina said. “We’re seniors, getting to be seniors, so we want to make sure debts are paid off and do some special stuff maybe travel a little bit.”
“Maybe buy a car?” she said looking hopefully at her husband.
Czapiewski was playing 60 cents a spin and had spent about $175 before hitting the jackpot.
In order to win the jackpot, you have a Valley View Casino Player’s Club card and it is inserted in the machine. Colossal Coin is paid in one lump sum, in cash.
This is the largest Colossal Card jackpot to date.
