AP News, January 25th, 2008
All week, Sammy Zabib was getting an earful from his girlfriend for forgetting to buy her a pair of designer jeans she spotted in a casino boutique last weekend.
"She was mad," said Zabib, a 42-year-old limousine fleet manager in New York. "We had an argument. More than one."
They're not arguing now.
On a return trip to pick up the jeans and end the grief Friday morning, Zabib won nearly $800,000 playing a slot machine.
He got up at 5 a.m. and drove three hours to Atlantic City, arriving at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa before the boutique, Whim, opened at 10 a.m.
In his pocket was a photocopy of a picture of the jeans that his girlfriend printed out for him, just to make sure there would be no confusion.
With some time to kill, he sat down at a Brazil Slingo slot machine and started playing, betting $4 a spin for about an hour.
"I was just trying to kill time until the store opened so I could get her those jeans," he said. "Then the machine stopped working. I didn't know why, so I called security. They came over, took a look at it, and said, 'You won the jackpot!'"
He called his girlfriend, whom he identified only as Anna, and she started screaming.
"She wasn't mad anymore," he said with a laugh. "She's waiting for me at home now."
After receiving his payout from the casino, Zabib completed his mission, buying the pair of "7 For All Mankind" jeans — Dojo style — that Anna had wanted so badly.
"They're the hot brand right now," said Borgata spokesman Michael Facenda. "They go for $149 a pair."
Zabib doesn't know what else he'll do with his newfound riches.
"Maybe buy her some more jeans," Zabib said.
(This version corrects the name of the jeans to "7 For All Mankind" — Dojo style; not Dojo 7.)
