Former Casino Thief Wins €138K Royal Flush Jackpot in the Netherlands

On February 9, Holland Casino Groningen, in the Netherlands, was a site of a curious drama worthy of a Hollywood movie. A 46 year old man, a tourist from a nearby country who primarily enjoys internet gambling, accidentally won a €138,791 jackpot from a multi-Poker Caribbean Stud video slot machine. The lucky winner, who was playing for less than half an hour prior to his big win, left his wallet locked inside his parked vehicle. After paying the entrance fee, he stated that he felt too lazy to retrieve it and too eager to gamble to walk all the way back to his car.

The man, whose name was withheld by Holland Casino, was one coin short on his final round of playing video slots from making the maximum bet. Fortune was indeed with him, as the lucky winner explained – "I already spend all the money I had in my pockets and was about to play without the maximum bet. Then I found a few Euros in the small pocket of my jeans I keep for emergency. I put in the max bet into the game and suddenly see Royal Flush and jackpot. Then I drink with people around me to celebrate my happiness."

Without the maximum bet, the Jackpot would have been a less impressive €6,623.

The man, after more than a few toasts, disclosed that ten years earlier he was convicted and imprisoned for stealing thousands of dollars in casino chips from (a different) casino. Management of Holland Casino Groningen, after consulting Dutch gambling laws, decided that since the winner was never banned from playing in the Netherlands nor did the crime occur in that country had no reasons for declaring the win invalid.

The man, who quickly sobered up after realizing that his loose lips could have cost him €138,791, asked for a security escort to his car, after filling out the mandatory paperwork.

A Royal Flush consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit with the ace-high. The man at Holland Casino has the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of hearts. The probability of a royal flush in poker is 1 in 649,740, with many lifelong poker players never experiencing one. Gambling is controlled by the Holland Casino monopoly and citizens are permitted to gamble legally at online casinos in Netherlands that must be hosted and operated within the country.