If you’ve been looking for news about online slots lately, you may have seen the story about the Slotland player who won $147,312 by playing Lucky Stars, one of the site’s many slot machine games. The story only got more fantastic from there: the player ultimately spent $125,000 on 500 acres of land on the moon – certainly one of the stranger ways to spend a potentially life changing jackpot.
Players around the world were in shock about the purchase, wondering how someone could think that this was the proper use for such a large slots jackpot. But there was no need to be concerned about the sanity of the jackpot winner: Slotland announced on their Facebook page that the announcement was just an April Fool’s joke – there were no Slotland players who were now claiming large segments of the moon as their own.
“Usually players tell us they’ll pay off the mortgage, get rid of some bills, send their kids or grandchildren to university, or save for retirement,” Slotland said in a Facebook post that explained the joke, as well as where they got the idea for it. “One recent winner used her jackpot win to fulfill a lifelong dream of opening a flower shop – but that’s the most unusual story we’ve actually heard.”
Although the moon purchase seemed like a great story, there were more than a few clues in the press release that should have helped readers realize that something was amiss.
First, a few of the details lined up just a little too perfectly or the story. The supposed winner – identified only as Suzanne S. – supposedly used the alias LOONIE when playing online, a perfect moniker for someone who wanted to live on the moon. In addition, the choice of game – Lucky Stars – seems a little too coincidental for an outer space purchase.
Finally, the supposed winner was very picky about the property they picked. According to the Slotland press release, it had a great view of Earth (what property on our moon wouldn’t?), and Suzanne claimed to have spent quite a bit of time shopping for just the right property before finding a “beautiful property in the Lake of Dreams area.”
In the end, though, the joke was just a bit of harmless fun. Players who clicked through to Slotland’s Facebook page were greeted with an explanation of the joke, as well as the option to take part in a small $10 April Fools bonus. Players were also invited to share their ideas for how they would spend a jackpot of their own.
Just in case you’re thinking that maybe buying some property out in space isn’t such a crazy idea, there are quite a few companies out there that are willing to sell you deeds to property on the moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies. However, the legal status of these purchases is dubious at best, and the fact that multiple companies are offering the same plots of land means that even should these purchases be considered legitimate, you might be battling several others for the same piece of lunar land. We’d recommend sticking with using your jackpots to buy property on Earth – at least for now!
