A Graaff Reinet plumber has become The Boardwalk casino's second millionaire. The punter - who only wanted to be known by his nick-name "Mighty Mouse" - was passing the time while his vehicle was being serviced in Port Elizabeth.

His "Dream Machine" number 20607 paid out R1 054 479 after he had played just R22 on the one armed bandit.

"Mighty Mouse" nearly missed the big jackpot, however. He had previously played around R400 on the same machine before moving off to the 50 cent slot games at The Boardwalk. A last try for the big payout saw the dream machine symbols slotting into place one by one.

His next challenge was to convince his wife and mother back in Graaff Reinet that he wasn't pulling their legs, and that he really had struck the jackpot.

When they realised that the win was real, and that he would have a fat cheque as well as boiler parts and elements in his vehicle on his return home they "went into a state of shock they were so happy," he says. "The win means that my wife will be able to stop work and will be able to spend more time at home with our two children, who are three and seven," he told Boardwalk staff. He will also have more time to spend on golf and fishing.

"Mighty Mouse" is the second millionaire produced by Port Elizabeth's Boardwalk casino, which will have been open for a month on November 3. The first big win on the "Dream Machine" jackpot went to a sales representative from Lorraine, who won R1 027 947.

"It's wonderful to celebrate our first month in operation with a big win," says The Boardwalk general manager Graham Vass. "What's even better is that we have another winner from the Eastern Cape. We just love it when someone from our own province leaves with a huge smile on their face," he says.

The million rand jackpot machines at The Boardwalk are linked to similar slot machines around the country in what is called a Wide Area Progressive jackpot. This means that visitors to The Boardwalk benefit from the money played elsewhere in the country. It also means that the Millennium Mania and Wide Area Progressive machines pay out more often than they would if they were restricted to the Port Elizabeth casino.