Hutch has big day

Former Point Roberts port director James Hutchins finally got to retire, after winning $5.9 million on a slot machine in Reno, Nevada.
“It was one of those things that’s just sheer luck,” 60-year-old Hutchins said.

He and wife Kathleen were on their way back from visiting family in California and snow in the mountain passes almost made them skip the trip to Reno, but they went. At the Fizgerald Casino in downtown Reno Hutchins said he put $20 in a Wheel of Fortune slot machine and after half an hour he was up fifty cents. Then it was $5.9 million and fifty cents. “There were no bells, no whistles. It just said get an attendant but I didn’t want to leave the machine,” Hutchins said. “I was in shock.”

The progressive Mega Jackpot win sent Hutchins home with 20 percent of his winnings, the rest to come later, and he retired from his job as a customs and border protection supervisor the day after he got back. “It isn’t going to change us all that much,” he said of their sudden wealth. “It’s for the kids, the grandkids. I’ll fish more I guess.”

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