Alex Aris shows off his million dollar check
and the keno board with his winning numbers.

Million-dollar man

Alex Aris of Ewa Beach wins a
million dollars playing keno
at the Las Vegas Fremont

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By Rosemarie Bernardo
and Helen Altonn

Star-Bulletin

ALEX ARIS' family went back to work and school today despite lingering shock over his $1 million win in Las Vegas.

"We were like hysterical yesterday," said Rebyrose, 20, one of Aris' four children. "My mom couldn't even talk."

Today, she said, "We're just acting normal, what's our regular day. We don't know what happened or what's going on until dad returns. We're just going to watch the house, go to work, and wait for dad's phone call."

She said no one slept last night after learning Aris, 57, won the $1 million keno game at Fremont Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas Sunday night. "We were up all night. It's just so amazing."

"God give me this gift," said Aris, a cook at LSG Sky Chefs on Pohakulana Place near Honolulu Airport.

Aris is the first million-dollar keno winner of the Fremont Hotel & Casino and third million-dollar keno winner ever in Nevada.

"We're very happy for him," said a co-worker at LSG Sky Chefs, who asked not to be identified.

After winning the million-dollar keno, Aris and his 28-year-old son, Aristotle, were upgraded to the presidential suite of the hotel. "Everything is free," Aris said.

Howard Jochsberger, director of marketing at the Fremont, said: "It's unusual. It's more difficult (to win on keno) than a slot machine."

An Ewa Beach resident, Aris went to Las Vegas with his son through Boyd Gaming's Vacations Hawaii Las Vegas package. He arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday. After settling in, Aris spent $1 on each of five Keno games. At 11:03 p.m., Aris won the third game with all 10 numbers displayed on the keno board.

A lot of people were asking, "How do you do that?" said Aris.

He explained that he used his children's birth dates on the ticket that won him $1 million.

Aris' wife, Rebecca, was elated. "I'm very, very happy. Thank you, Las Vegas," she said.

"He had a feeling he was going to win something," said Rebecca, a special-education teacher at Waipahu High School and part-time hairstylist at Pearl Harbor and Barber's Point.

Before he left for Las Vegas, he had a dream that had to do with good luck, she said.

"He told me it was a good omen."

David Iwane, also a special education teacher at Waipahu High School, hadn't heard of Rebecca Aris' husband's $1 million win when he arrived at work this morning.

"Oh boy, I'm excited," he said. "I'm happy for her and her family. It's great. I'll be the first to congratulate her when I see her."

Alex Aris used the money he collected from his income tax refund to fly to Las Vegas to celebrate his son's 28th birthday on June 6. Originally, they planned to go to Disneyland. At the last minute, Aristotle changed his mind.

Rebecca said, "Lucky we change the plans."

Aris and Rebecca have three other children: Onassis, 25, Rebyrose, 20, and Jack, 14.

All heard the news yesterday afternoon through the media. Onassis said his father tried to call earlier, but nobody was home to receive the message.

"Omigod!" yelled Onassis when he found out his father hit the million-dollar jackpot.

"It's hard to digest," said Onassis, an instrument technician at Kaiser Permanente.

Aris, his wife and three children came to Hawaii from Manila in December 1983. The youngest, Jack, was born in Hawaii.

"We were struggling when we first arrived here from the Philippines," Rebyrose said. "We had nothing, absolutely nothing, and no one could help us. We just took it step by step. We went to church. God answered our prayers."

She said her father went to Las Vegas once or twice a year, using his tax refunds, and he gave any money he won to the children for books and tuition.

Her youngest brother is going to summer school and she and Onassis attend Leeward Community College, she said. "Everything's so heavy for me. Tuition is getting higher and I'm working, trying to pay for it. Now he (her dad) won't have to worry.

"Now, we can tell our mom and dad they can relax. They don't have to go to work early in the morning. Dad gets up at 3:30 or 4 in the morning and comes home at 5 or 6 p.m.

"For the peace of mind of us kids, we can just tell him, "Dad, you can retire now."

Rebecca said they plan to use the winnings for bills, expansion of their three-bedroom home in Lincoln Village, a new fence around the house and their children's education.

They have "greener pastures" for their kids, she said.