The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood Florida. They get the award for the following.

MIAMI -- The name of the game is the Swipe and Win progressive jackpot, but to Freddy Howard it feels more like the win and swipe.

Officials at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood paraded Howard around after telling him he had won nearly $260,000, even presenting him a giant cardboard check, but told him nearly 15 hours later he had won nothing.

Howard said he was showered with attention Aug. 29 after he swiped his Players Club card and was told he had won the free promotional game. But he spent hours waiting anxiously for the $259,945.75 before managers called him into an empty room.

"They just said, 'You know the jackpot that you won? We're not going to pay it,'" said Howard, 53, of Sunny Isles Beach. "It was like I was in a movie. I couldn't believe it."

The casino acknowledges the mistake but says a verification process showed that Howard did not actually win.

As part of the Seminole reservation, the casino is not governed by state or local laws. The Seminole Tribal Gaming Commission is investigating Howard's complaint, and he has hired attorney Keith Herbert.

The Casino may be exempt from federal and state laws but they aren't exempt from things like bad publicity. What will Mr. Howard's story do for the casino's reputation. Will gamblers stay away feeling that the Hard Rock can't be trusted? I wouldn't go there and advise others to stay away too.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino beat Freddy Howard and may or may not win in the market place with future gamblers. They did win one thing, The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is today's knucklehead of the day.

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