Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Denny Hamlin isn’t shy about showing he is living the good life as a NASCAR driver. So ask him about whether the casinos are good for him in Las Vegas, he just grins.
“They make sure I don’t pay for rooms in this city,” he said with a smile during his Saturday media session.
At least the casino gave him reason to smile during the NASCAR weekend at Vegas. Hamlin sped on pit road early and finished 25th in the race Sunday but in some ways apparently left Vegas a winner. He posted on his Instagram story a video of him hitting a couple of jackpots on slot machines, including one in excess of $126,000. The video went viral and had NASCAR social media buzzing about the Cup Series veteran who also co-owns 23XI Racing.
These weren’t your run-of-the-mill slot bets (at least not for those who don’t have seven-figure salaries) as it showed he was betting $300 a pull.
“That’s the first time I played slots,” Hamlin said. “My buddy plays them all the time. He gave up his hot seat for me and it worked out well.”
Hamlin’s social media is filled with people playing on a full-size indoor basketball court at his North Carolina home or him sitting courtside at the Charlotte Hornets.
So it shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone he enjoys his time at Vegas.
Hamlin did walk away from the slot machine after his big win Friday night.
“The great thing about slots, you can’t do anything,” Hamlin said. “It freezes you. Somebody has got to come over and pay you. At that point, it’s pretty easy to hit ‘Cash Out.'”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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