ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – All week, Sammy Zabib was getting an earful from his girlfriend for forgetting to buy her a pair of designer jeans she spotted in a casino boutique last weekend.

“She was mad,” said Zabib, a 42-year-old limousine fleet manager in New York. “We had an argument. More than one.”

They’re not arguing now.

On a return trip to pick up the jeans and end the grief Friday morning, Zabib won nearly $800,000 playing a slot machine.

He got up at 5 a.m. and drove three hours to Atlantic City, arriving at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa before the boutique, Whim, opened at 10 a.m.

In his pocket was a photocopy of a picture of the jeans that his girlfriend printed out for him, just to make sure there would be no confusion.

With some time to kill, he sat down at a Brazil Slingo slot machine and started playing, betting $4 a spin for about an hour.

“I was just trying to kill time until the store opened so I could get her those jeans,” he said. “Then the machine stopped working. I didn’t know why, so I called security. They came over, took a look at it, and said, ‘You won the jackpot!”‘

He called his girlfriend, whom he identified only as Anna, and she started screaming.

“She wasn’t mad anymore,” he said with a laugh. “She’s waiting for me at home now.”

After receiving his payout from the casino, Zabib completed his mission, buying the pair of “7 For All Mankind” jeans – Dojo style – that Anna had wanted so badly.

“They’re the hot brand right now,” said Borgata spokesman Michael Facenda. “They go for $149 a pair.”

Zabib doesn’t know what else he’ll do with his newfound riches.

“Maybe buy her some more jeans,” Zabib said.

AP-ES-01-25-08 1406EST

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