DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A Daytona Beach man thought he hit the jackpot. He thought he won $166 million on a slot machine at the very popular Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near I-4 in Tampa.

However, as soon as the crowds departed, the celebration ended. The casino told him that he didn't win a thing. The casino claims the slot machine malfunctioned.

Bill Seebeck, who lives on a houseboat, thought his ship had come in. His blood pressure skyrocketed and said he was screaming and celebrating. But then casino workers told him there was a malfunction and wanted him to agree to that in his report, even though they say they're still not done investigating.

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Seebeck had been playing the Bally Ultimate Party Spin slot machine for about a half hour and, at $4 a game, he had spent about $80. When bells started ringing and the numbers flashed in front of him, he'd won a cash bonus of $166,666,666.65.

“$166,666,666.65. I was screaming ... heart was beating really fast,” he said.

Casino managers came over and roped off the machine. Seebeck spent an hour deciding what he'd do with his millions. Then came the adrenaline crash.

The casino told him the Ultimate Party Spin had spun out of control, malfunctioned and he wouldn’t get any money for a malfunction. They wanted him to agree in writing, but he wouldn't.

“They make you think you won and everyone around you that you won, and then later, ‘It's probably a malfunction,’” he said.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino spokesman told Eyewitness News Monday that the slot machine malfunctioned because its top prize is $99,000. Seebeck was not even given that amount.

“I was told, ’No,’ even though the Seminole Gaming Commission has no idea how the machine malfunctioned,” he explained.

The casino spokesman also said a malfunction is a no-win, but could not say whether past players in malfunction cases were paid.

“I feel let down and ripped off, I sure do,” he said.

“Are you ever going back there?” WFTV reporter Kathi Belich asked.

“No,” Seebeck replied.

Seebeck says he's looking for a lawyer to help him through the maze of federal Indian gaming regulations. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino said investigators from Bally, the software company, and the Seminole Gaming Commission are headed to Tampa to look for the cause of the malfunction.