Thousand Island Pays Out $33,000 To Woman Reaching For A Drink At Ontario Casino

Thousand Islands an OLG Casino has paid out over $33,000 to a woman who accidentally pushed the max bet button.

It looks like it was an accidental button push that has changed Shirley Lima's life. In fact, according to the lady herself, she still can't believe here look. "I'm still in shock," Shirley told the Kingston Whig-Standard when she was interviewed in her apartment in Amherstview, Ont. Her home is filled with pictures of her grandchildren and there sitting in the middle of the wall is a massive cheque for $33,858.

According to Ms. Lima, she had gone to the OLG Casino located on the Thousand Islands on July17th for seniors' day. She explained to reporters that she tried to go every week and she usually plays the penny machines. On this particular day she was doing her usual and playing the penny machines but she had a couple of wins early on and moved on to the five-cent bets.

"When I reached down to get my Pepsi I must have hit the max-bet button as I was hitting the spin button and everything was a complete accident," Lima explained. "The bet was for $11.25 and I didn't realize it because I was drinking my Pepsi and I hit it a couple of times. I managed to win 34 free spins and that is when I really looked and thought, Oh my God, why am I on a $11.25 bet?"

Ms Lima was in complete amazement and she figured that she could get some of her $11.25 back using her free spins. What she didn't expect was the amount she actually did win. She hit the spin button and it spun for a while before re-triggering for 160 spins which at that stage put her cash value at $6,000. "It was amazing," she said. "My heart was pounding and I need to take a break and go for a cigarette and a puff of my inhaler before I could carry on," she explained. When she arrived back to her machine there was a crowd of people gathered around it. The machine has re-triggered again and she had won more than $16,000. Ms. Lima went outside for some more air before returning to her machine. She recalled how the reels kept spinning and how it seemed like forever before they finally came to a stop. She said that she took her inhaler and at times felt like she was going to have a heart attack she was so excited. When the machine finished she had won a whopping $33,858.

Ms. Lima said that she thought it was a mistake, a good mistake, but it was no mistake. After being asked what she planned on doing with her winnings, she told reporters that she will be taking her husband on a trip and that they are deciding between Casino Rama Resort near Orilla, Ont., or Niagara Falls Fairview Casino Resort.

If you are feeling inspired by this story but you aren't sure about the legalities of betting in Canada you can check out our Ontario Casino page for more information.