Casino allows man to keep $1m after confusing him for prizewinner with same name

It was only after the casino re-watched CCTV footage that they realised they had made the wrong man a millionaire

Last week the Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati telephoned one of their patrons, a man named Kevin Lewis, to inform him he had $1 million to collect.

A casino has allowed a man to keep $1 million after confusing him for a prize winner with the same name and similar personal details.

Last week the Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati telephoned one of their patrons, a man named Kevin Lewis, to inform him he had $1 million to collect.

What they hadn’t considered was there were two men by that name who had visited the casino on the day the prize was won.

It was only after the casino re-watched CCTV footage of Mr Lewis coming to collect his money on Saturday that they realised they had made the wrong man a millionaire.

Speaking to Cincinnati.com, casino spokeswoman Jennifer Kulczycki said: “There were a lot of similarities between the two gentlemen that led to confusion on our end… it was human error”.

As the casino took full responsibility for the mix-up, it decided to award the second Kevin Lewis $1 million, but allow the first one to keep his prize as well.

It is thought that, as well as sharing the same name, the two Kevin Lewis’ were from the same town, around the same age, and shared other unspecified personal information.

Kulczycki declined to disclose if any casino employees were disciplined over the mistake, but Ohio state regulators say they are reviewing the error to ensure the casino has proper procedures in place to run promotions and giveaways efficiently in the future.