106-year-old woman hits the $1,000 JACKPOT while celebrating her birthday in her favorite local casino – only for staff to then double her winnings
- Sarah Petersonk from Milwaukee made a big impression playing slots
- She had hit the $1,000 jackpot on her annual birthday visit to a local casino
- To mark the occasion, the casino presented her with a cake – and extra cash
A centenarian hit the jackpot while celebrating her 106th birthday at her favorite local casino, with the company in turn doubling her $1,000 winnings in honor of the occasion.
Serafina “Sarah” Papia Petersonk, a lifelong resident of Milwaukee who currently lives in a retirement home in the surrounding suburbs, made her annual visit to the city’s Potawatomi Casino for her birthday on Aug. 23.
It was while playing the slot machine that Sarah got her luck.
“Suddenly we saw ‘jackpot,’ and we looked down and she accidentally pressed 400 instead of 50, and the jackpot was over $1,000,” Sarah’s niece, Marge Larson, told locals. CBS affiliate WDJT.
Serafina “Sarah” Papia Petersonk, 106, won a big win at Milwaukee’s Potawatomi Casino during her annual birthday visit to the establishment on Aug. 23
While playing the slot machine, Sarah got her luck and won a $1,000 jackpot
Casino employees handed Sarah a cake in the wake of her win, as well as extra cash to double her winnings
A casino employee counted out the extra amount and placed the bills one by one in Sarah’s hands
“I am happy to win this money. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it, but I’m going to make a good choice,’ Sarah explained further. ABC’s WISN.
“I was so happy that you came here and then saw you win that jackpot — and what I wanted to do was bring you your own birthday cake from Potawatomi,” casino CEO Dominic Ortiz tells Sarah in a clip as another employee appears next to her , cake in hand.
‘And not just that, that $1,000 jackpot? I want to double that jackpot!’ he continues, to which Sarah responds with an excited “Oh!”
Moments later, a third employee begins counting a stack of $100 bills and placing them in her hand one at a time.
“We’ve welcomed Sarah every year for her birthday and are grateful that she and her family are celebrating with us,” Ortiz told WISN.
“We were all thrilled to hear about her big win and wanted to make her 106th birthday even more special,” he added.
Sarah told WISN about her secret to longevity, “I lived a good life… I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke, I didn’t go to the inn. I just lived a good life. I took good care of myself.’
She went on to tell WDJT that her love of singing and cooking has kept her going.
Sarah emphasized her desire to live for her dog, who, she added, is not just a dog to her: “He’s a person. He takes good care of me,” she said
But, she added emphatically, “I want to live for my dog. He’s not a dog, he’s a person. He takes good care of me.’
Just like her carers and family, about whom she continued: ‘That means a lot. That they love me. Everyone loves me and I love them too.’
Born to Sicilian immigrants in the Milwaukee area, Sarah spent her entire life in metropolitan Wisconsin.
She’s not the only centenarian sharing her tips for longevity.
In 2019, then 104-year-old Virginia Leitner shared her lifelong credo in an essay she wrote for STAT News: “I always say, ‘Just don’t tell me to be good because I want to dance and have fun.’ .”‘