Underage gamblers beware.
A New York man hit the headlines winning an undisclosed slot machine jackpot whilst playing at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania.
However, things turned sour when he forfeited his winnings and was then charged with underage gambling.
Most US states prohibit players under 21. Needless to say, Pennsylvania law requires a person to be over 21 to gamble in casinos, much to the annoyance of Rong Lin of Fresh Meadows, New York, who was aged just 20.
Mr Lin tried to get past the state laws by using fake identification to enter the casino, playing the slots. Although the amount of his winnings have not been revealed, if it had been less than $1,200 he would likely have been able to collect the money and leave without much fuss. However, above that threshold a casino worker is automatically summoned to deal with an Internal Revenue Service form related to paying taxes on winnings, and a player must provide identification during the process.
Apparently, at that stage a casino security manager then became suspicious over the validity of his identification leading to a state trooper being called out and confirming Mr Lin had been using false identification.
Commenting on the whole incident, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman Doug Harbach, said: “We say all the time, casinos have got to be the worst place to go to commit a crime. It’s just not a risk people should be taking. They report this kind of thing right away. For these individuals to think they’re going to get away with something like this, they’re wrong! And there’s criminal charges attached to it and you could end up with a record.”