Martin Halka has been running the Bay Area Concrete Company with a dying Bobcat machine and three work trucks dating back to the ’80s and ’90s.
The recession slowed his projects to 107 driveways last year, down from the usual 170 in years prior. He couldn’t afford to replace his old equipment.
But on June 4, that changed. The 41-year-old walked into Hollywood Casino Toledo with $400 and came out with $100,000. His win is the biggest since the casino opened May 29, topping a Richfield resident’s $20,000 win and a Toledo resident’s $15,000 win days prior.
Halka has invested most of his winnings in his business already, purchasing a new Bobcat, two new work trucks and a trailer. The $100,000 night was his first stab at casino gambling since 2007.
He started out with Texas Hold ‘em and won $1,400, moved to a dollar slotmachine and won $680, took that to a $10 slot machine and hit $8,000 and inserted $1,000 in a $25 slot, winning his final earnings of $100,000, he said.
“I about had a heart attack,” he said.
