You last visited May 21, 2013, 5:47 am All times shown are Eastern Time (GMT-5:00) | Man wins $7.2 million playing slots in friend's memory after funeral Gambling: Man wins $7.2 million playing slots in friend's memory after funeral53 Rating:A Michigan man went to Mississippi for a friend's funeral last week, and came back a multimillionaire. Tyler Morris, 73, drove with his wife to attend the funeral of his longtime friend Max Anderson, 86, on Feb. 15, and stopped by one of Anderson's favorite hangouts afterward: The Palace Casino Resort in Biloxi, Miss. He decided to play penny slots in honor of Anderson, who had often gone with Morris to the casino over the years, and always played the slots. Morris put his money on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship, a game with a maximum bet of $3.50, and ended up winning $7,217,175.15. "I was shooting craps at first, and I felt like somebody was watching me," Morris told TODAY.com. "I looked over my shoulder and zeroed in on that penny slot machine because my friend always played it. Then I won $7 million. As I was playing, I thought I was getting the message from my friend." Morris and his wife, Mary, were very close with Anderson, and traditionally traveled to New Orleans with him in February to celebrate Mardi Gras. But Anderson was too sick to make the trip this year, and passed away on Feb. 7. Morris, who had known Anderson for more than four decades, was one of three people selected to give a eulogy at his funeral. The two men had been part of the same social club in Michigan for a time, and owned shares in a hunting cabin together. "I was just kind of stunned when I won," Morris said of his good luck at the slot machines. "It felt like somebody was watching me when nobody was. Everybody down there was really happy that I won. They wanted to have their picture taken with me or touch me and have the luck rub off on them." When Mary initially couldn't find her husband at the craps table, she called him on his cell phone and he informed her that he was just collecting a jackpot he won on the slots. She soon saw a crowd around the Lord of the Rings machine. "I kind of tried to get closer and a lady grabbed a hold of me and said, 'That man just won seven million dollars,"' Mary told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Thursday. "I said, 'Oh my goodness."' Morris, who has three sons, said some money will be used to pay off the new car he and his wife recently purchased, after racking up over 200,000 miles on their previous car, and a large portion will be put away in a college fund for his grandchildren. He plans to continue working at Montague Metal Products Inc., the small manufacturing company he owns with his wife that sells aluminum items like flagpole eagles and weather vanes. "We were struggling a little bit through the recession, but we're hanging in there," Morris said. "This should help." (Click to display full-size in gallery)
Today We'd love to see your comments here! Register for a FREE membership — it takes just a few moments — and you'll be able to post comments here and on any of our forums. If you're already a member, you can Log In to post a comment. 18 comments. Last comment 3 months ago by . Bay Area/ California United States Member #136486 December 12, 2012 558 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 10:46 am - IP Logged | |
Now thats what l call paying your respects and your respects paying off.- Way to Go Tyler. RIP Max. | | |
5+1 Winner Arizona United States Member #116287 September 7, 2011 14662 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 11:35 am - IP Logged | |
Thats what I call "A winning play" | | |
mid-Ohio United States Member #9 March 24, 2001 15941 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 12:00 pm - IP Logged | |
I never met or knew Max but I may pick up some lottery tickets this weekend to show my respect. * The fundamentals of winning a lottery jackpot * * play a lottery you can win *
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United States Member #52818 May 21, 2007 1372 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 12:27 pm - IP Logged | |
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North Jersey United States Member #5812 July 18, 2004 15773 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 12:30 pm - IP Logged | |
Proof positive, Karma always finds it's way back.... Congratulations on the big win to Tlyer and his family.. RIP Max..! “There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.” | | |
U$A United States Member #106693 February 22, 2011 7587 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 12:44 pm - IP Logged | |
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Ridge Runner - Oracle of the Appalachians Way back up in them dadgum hills, son! United States Member #74415 April 28, 2009 12412 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 12:59 pm - IP Logged | |
He must love his job if he wants to keep working at 73. God bless him and his wife. | | |
CHERRY HILL, NJ United States Member #130222 July 9, 2012 197 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 1:12 pm - IP Logged | |
I have a lot of respect for the departed. As Catholics we call them Saints. You can always call on them. The Chinese, with their thousands year of history, has ancestor worship. I believe in that too. I believe they are in a place where they are watching over us. Some scientists believe in a parallel universe. They say nothing in this world is actually destroyed but actually just moves in and out of a parallel universe. | | |
Oklahoma United States Member #82920 November 12, 2009 3454 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 2:17 pm - IP Logged | |
WOW!!! Congratulations Mr. Morris . Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of my favorite books/ movies of all times. RIP Mr. Max Anderson Win BIG everyone..... I Love Pink & Green....1908 | | |
United States Member #103816 January 5, 2011 307 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 2:29 pm - IP Logged | |
Good story and sounds like he had a good friend | | |
Oklahoma United States Member #82920 November 12, 2009 3454 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 2:52 pm - IP Logged | |
I never met or knew Max but I may pick up some lottery tickets this weekend to show my respect. 
Win BIG everyone..... I Love Pink & Green....1908 | | |
Housekeeper MICHIGAN United States Member #82269 October 28, 2009 13107 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 5:06 pm - IP Logged | |
I never met or knew Max but I may pick up some lottery tickets this weekend to show my respect. I agree, and since I live in Michigan..... Awesome story, Congrats. | | |
United States Member #103816 January 5, 2011 307 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 5:16 pm - IP Logged | |
I never met or knew Max but I may pick up some lottery tickets this weekend to show my respect. Classic lotto has gone on long enough we must take it down this saturday in honor of Max | | |
United States Member #121760 January 16, 2012 1613 Posts Offline | | Posted: February 21, 2013, 7:23 pm - IP Logged | |
I have a lot of respect for the departed. As Catholics we call them Saints. You can always call on them. The Chinese, with their thousands year of history, has ancestor worship. I believe in that too. I believe they are in a place where they are watching over us. Some scientists believe in a parallel universe. They say nothing in this world is actually destroyed but actually just moves in and out of a parallel universe. I agree. Parallel Universe reminds me of the dragonfly story. The Dragonfly
Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions.
Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.
Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top.
When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.
So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed.
Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.
But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!
~Author Unknown~
Bonne chance à tous! Quand je gagne, nous aurons tout des crêpes avec la confiture d'oranges sur mon balcon à Paris. | | |
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