Iowa Casino Slots Player Hits $1,500 Jackpot, Now Faces Years in Prison
Posted on: July 30, 2025, 10:03h.
Last updated on: July 30, 2025, 10:28h.
- A slots jackpot at an Iowa casino led to a man’s arrest
- The undocumented person is facing Class D felony charges
- The winner had a friend try to claim his slots win
An Iowa casino player won big earlier this month playing a slot machine, but his fortune quickly changed.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office arrested Luis Miguel Mejia last Tuesday, July 22, after law enforcement located him on a warrant that was granted by a local court. The warrant was approved after police told Lyon County’s Judicial District 3 Court that they had sufficient evidence to believe that Mejia had committed two Class D felony offenses while at the Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort in Larchwood on July 13.
Police allege that Mejia was gambling on a slot machine at the property owned and operated by Elite Casino Resorts on Sunday, July 13, when he won a jackpot of $1,517.40.
Since the slot win was north of $1,200, the threshold that requires a slot attendant to provide the winner with a tax form and pay their cash winnings by hand, law enforcement alleges that Mejia quickly had a friend sit in the seat to collect the winnings and the associated IRS tax document.
Citizenship in Question
The criminal complaint contends that Mejia has no Social Security number. Iowa court records show that in February 2015, he was charged with speeding and driving a vehicle without a license.
The complaint against him for the slot win incident alleges that Mejia had a friend sit in the machine to avoid his detection of not being a registered resident. Since Mejia allegedly has no Social Security number, driver’s license, or other proof of residency/citizenship, the Grand Falls Casino slot attendant wouldn’t have been able to complete the handpay.
Iowa court records show Mejia has been charged with two Class D felony charges for “gambling — avoid forfeiture of money” and “conspiracy to commit non-forcible felony.”
Attorneys with McCarthy & Hamrock, a Des Moines law firm, say each Class D felony conviction carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500.
Elite Casino Resorts, along with Grand Falls, owns and operates Iowa’s Riverside Casino & Golf Resort and Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport. Elite also owns casinos in Nebraska and Illinois.
Slot Jackpot Redemption Process
A handpay is triggered when a slot machine at a commercial or tribal casino hits for $1,200 or more.
The slot attendant is tasked with verifying the winner’s identity. The attendant is then mandated to furnish the winner with a W-2G form showing that their winnings are being reported to the federal government’s revenue service.
Failure to report W-2G gambling winnings on an individual’s annual return leads to an increased risk of an IRS audit.
The slot tax reporting threshold will increase to $2,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The increase came by way of President Donald Trump and the Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Efforts continue in the nation’s capital to increase the slot threshold to at least $5,000. The $1,200 threshold hadn’t been changed since 1997.
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