There’s absolutely nothing that distinguishes 27-year old Rawiri Pou from the rest of us. The young man from New Zealand, currently working at a KFC fast food restaurant, lived a humble life and, much like many of us, he loved to play online slots from time to time. His slot of choice was “Mega Moolah”, which is famous for having one of the biggest jackpots in the world and having already made several people into millionaires. Little did Rawiri know that very soon he would be joining their exclusive club! That success didn’t come immediately, of course (it rarely does) – at first, the young gambler only won $1500, which, while not a bad sum, isn’t even close to the multimillion jackpot that “Mega Moolah” offers. Making a risky decision, he decided to roll over the money instead of withdrawing them and continue playing, risking it all for a chance at the big break! If you’re reading this, then you already know how this turned out!
Indeed, Rawiri managed to win over $10 million (or £5,7 million), which were given to him in the form of a giant novelty check on June 21st during a press conference at an Auckland hotel. The young man claims that, despite the gigantic win, he has no plans to quit his job at KFC, mostly because he doesn’t “know what to feel” about hitting the jackpot. He did admit, however, that one of the best parts about the experience was being able to finally show his parents, who had berated him for a long time, that online gambling wasn’t just a waste of money after all. Honestly, I’m quite inclined to agree – shutting up annoying parents is almost as good of an experience as winning £6 million. Almost.
Regardless, not all the news coming from this event is good. While Rawiri will probably enjoy the money without problem, future gamblers from New Zealand might have a bit of trouble. After all, online gambling is unregulated in the country, and while local casinos are not allowed to operate, there’s nothing stopping gamblers from signing up to international casinos, which is what Rawiri did. As a result, all of those casino wins and transactions are completely untaxed by the government, which is potentially costing them a lot of money. This high-profile win will undoubtedly open the government’s eyes to the prospect of taxing online gambling, and in the worst case scenario, local gamblers may be forbidden from signing up on foreign casinos until the proper laws are in place, which could take years. Best case scenario, any future big win of this sort will be taxed by the New Zealand government by as much as 15%. Thankfully, at least one lucky KFC worker won’t have to worry about any of this.