Page 15 - April 2003 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Wby Greg Aragon and Sylvie Norbu
e’re not alone dreaming of winning the “Big One”—that life-changing jackpot that will totally transform our lives. Most of us feel if we had a million dollars, life would be incredible! We’d quit our jobs, pay off credit cards, travel around the
world, buy neat stuff, give money away, and have fun! Well, we talked to two lucky instant millionaires: A very recent Southern California Millionaire, and the rst-ever Megabucks
Millionaire.
Southern California Gaming Guide Reader Instant Millionaire — Randy Burklund
Randy Burklund hadn’t been to Soboba Casino for so long, he had forgotten how to get there. He knew it was near Temecula, but that was it.
“I went there once around three years ago and I’ve always wanted to go back,” said Burklund, who lives in Torrance, California and visits casinos about twice a month. On February 21st, Randy got his chance. A reader of the Southern California Gaming Guide, Burklund picks up his copy every month at the Ralph’s on Artesia and Crenshaw in Torrance. While reading the February issue, he saw the map to nearby casinos, includ- ing Soboba Casino. He was then hit with a strange feel- ing, telling him to give Soboba another try. The feeling was so strong that he hopped in his car at 11 p.m. that night and drove straight there.
Seven hours later, he was a millionaire. After six and a half hours and $200 in quarters, he switched from video poker to a Wheel of Fortune quarter slot and hit the $1,614,696.65 progressive jackpot within ve minutes! A calm and cool player, Randy said he knew that he had won right away, but didn’t get too excited.
Aside from feeling lucky that night, Randy said that just before he hit the jackpot, he looked upward and said to himself, “Come on dad and mom, help me win.” Headdedthatwhenhehit,he
thought it
But his payout was a little more complicated than ve dollars. Things had to be veri ed, pro- cessed and cleared. In four hours, it was of cial; he had become Soboba Casino’s newest millionaire.
So what was the rst thing he bought with his money?
“I bought a 1973 Volkswagen Van,” he excitedly said “I’ve always wanted one.”
As far as other life-changing plans and purchases, Randy said he plans to pay off some debts and get a trust fund for his kids. After that, he might buy a new truck or a Harley Davidson motorcycle. And will he still visit casinos? “De nitely,” he said. “I was up on them before and now I am really up on them.”
First Slot Jackpot Millionaire — Terry Williams
In late January 1987, Terry Williams from Los Gatos, Cal- ifornia had gone to Nevada for a skiing trip. He went to casinos once in while, and one night late, he walked into Harrah’s in Reno to play Blackjack. Terry played for some hoursandwasupabout$200whenhedecidedtogetsome breakfast at a restaurant outside the casino.
one would give away that much money, but he kept winning so he played more and more.
And on one fateful spin, he saw rst one eagle, then two eagles, and then — three eagles land on the payline! Terry says at that moment all he could think about was that he had “beat” the machine! He yelled, and ran around, and before he knew it, the machine was cordoned off and he had a crowd of people around him! The champagne owed, and even the mayor of Reno came later to congratulate him. He made the TV news that day.
Terry says “ So began my odyssey into the world money.”
After putting about $47 into the Megabucks slot, Terry Williams won $4,998,837.14—the very rst Mega-
bucks progressive jackpot.
Before his win Terry held down two jobs. He was an electronics technician at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center from midnight to 8 a.m., and
during the day he was a counselor, working with abused children at the Santa Clara Valley Juvenile
Probation Of ce. He and his wife, an intensive-care nurse, worked hard, had a comfortable life, but
with little money to spare.
Now, sixteen years later, Terry is re ective about
becoming a millionaire.
He said, “The most dif cult thing was overcoming a lack
of knowledge about handling money. I didn’t know about the responsibility of having money like that.“
Terry quit his job at Stanford after two weeks, and stayed counseling for some time. But he said if you win, “Get prepared to be busier than you’ve ever been in your life.” He is now retired, and his wife still nurses part-time, after taking a year off to write a book on nursing transplant patients. And sometimes, he still goes to casinos!
was funny because his machine was quiet. “There were no bells
or whistles,” said the married father of twin 3-year-old boys. “All I could hear was the nickel and penny machines behind me. They pay ve dollars, and they ring and ding and chime
all over the place.”
When he
Megabucks
returned, slot
he saw
the
machine. He saw the meter on the machine, and it said $40,000 — no wait — it was $400,000 — no, it was $4 million something! Terry said he had no experience with so many decimal
points, so it took a while for the amount to sink in.
He only played slots when he was tired and needed a rest from the tables, and since he was indeed tired, he played. And he played. The Megabucks slot kept paying off for four hours! He said he had a small voice that kept telling him no
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April 2003 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE Page 15