One lucky player at the Apex Casino got to ring in the new year a little early with a million-dollar win.
Michael Huppe got the successful pull at about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“He won $1-million on our Diamond Millions slot machine,” said Sarah Van Dusen, marketing manager for the casino.
“[A] perfect way to ring in the new year.”
Huppe is taking home $1,000,935.
“He plans to purchase a new vehicle. His had just broken down so he said it was perfect timing for him,” Van Dusen said. She said he’d mentioned he was still thinking about getting a 2012 truck instead of buying brand new.
It’s hardly the first big win at Apex. The casino had another million-dollar win in 2012, Van Dusen said, but it’s still exciting.
“It’s just a great feeling for everybody. Everybody in the casino gets really excited, all the staff is really happy and the players too,” she said.
The slot machine that provided Huppe with his big win has an Alberta-wide progressive jackpot that’s always starts at $1 million.
“When it wins, the top of the machine lights up and it blings and it makes all this noise, and it’s just really kind of exciting and interactive. And then, we heard some ‘whoo’-ing and some clapping and you know, a bunch of people started surrounding Mike and patting him on the back,” Van Dusen said.
That kind of win doesn’t go without scrutiny from the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, which administers slot machines in the province.
“Right away AGLC was calling us and letting us know that they saw it too, and they were going to come check out the machine, and so we had the machine all fenced off,” Van Dusen said.
The win was verified and Huppe has to be paid out within 10 days by the AGLC.
“We’re just really ecstatic and we’re happy to be able to give back,” Van Dusen said, noting that the casino often hosts charity groups that get exposure and a percentage of any money made by the casino over the two days the charities work.
