A Queens limo-fleet manager won an $800,000 slot jackpot in Atlantic City yesterday during an impromptu trip sparked by an argument with his girlfriend over jeans.
Sammy Zabib, 42, had been hearing it all week from his gal pal after he failed to pick up a pair of jeans she spotted last weekend in a boutique inside the Borgata Hotel & Casino.
Tired of the badgering, Zabib jumped into his car at 5 a.m. and returned to the Borgata, only to see the store hadn’t opened.
That’s when he sat down at the Brazil Slingo slot machine and changed his life in a single pull.
Brazil Slingo takes as little as 2 cents for a single play, but Zabib maximized has payout by investing $4 in the winning pull, which came after 40 minutes of play.
“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 gal pal, Anna, and the couple quickly ended their feud.
“She wasn’t mad anymore,” Zabib joked. “She’s waiting for me at home now.”
After receiving a promissory note – a formal IOU guaranteeing payment – for $779,532.51, Zabib purchased the Dojo 7-brand jeans that his girlfriend had so badly wanted.
He also plans to buy a new car with his winnings.
“We visit Borgata often because we enjoy coming here for the restaurants and entertainment, as well as the gaming,” said Zabib, an Astoria native.
“But today was just a quick trip to make good on my word and purchase these [pants] for my girl. I really was not expecting to walk away with not only the jeans, but almost $800,000?! It’s very exciting.”
The girlfriend sent Zabib to the store with a photocopy of the exact pair of jeans she wanted from the WHIM store at Borgata.
“They’re the hot brand right now,” said Borgata spokesman Michael Facenda. “They go for $149 a pair.”
A jeans-company executive said she was delighted for the couple – but couldn’t understand why Zabib didn’t just stroll down Madison Avenue for the valuable denim.
“Well 7 is a lucky number!” said Jennifer Highman, the company’s vice president of US sales.
“Maybe there was a certain wash [color] that she could only find there. But certainly our jeans are available in most stores, like Barneys, Bloomingdale’s, Saks, just to name a few. I think it’s great he went so far for her.” With Post Wire Services