"They were stuck to the floor, they had been there so long. They were real gunky and dirty, and had become like part of the cement. We had to dig them out of the floor with a knife."

It's the casino equivalent of reaching under your couch cushions and finding a buck or so in loose change.

Only the take at the former Sands Casino Hotel topped $17,000 worth of coins that fell under or around slot machines over the past three decades.

The casino was closed last November and will be torn down later this year to make way for a new gambling hall. So when workers began removing the 2,350 slot machines for use at other casinos owned by the Sands' parent company, they expected to find some stray cash. Read more