14 DAY TRIAL // A casino cleaning woman from Lincoln, California has received a reward for finding $10,000 (€7,480) in cash in a restroom and choosing to return the money.
Thunder Valley Casino 10-year employee May Saelee stumbled upon the money as she was cleaning one of the venue's restrooms.
This is not the first time she has proved to be a loyal employee, as she has found a large a sum of money before. In the past, Saelee turned in $15,000 (€11,225) to her supervisor, instead of holding on to it.
At around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, January 8, she was working on cleaning the casino's high-stakes restroom when she made the massive discovery.
“That seat cover, no trash. Turn around, and ‘oh, money there.’ I said, ‘I don’t think that’s real money,’” Saelee recalls for CBS Sacramento in an interview.
“This is crazy,” she says, describing the unusual experience she has had.
Working at the casino for a decade, she claims she now knows every corner of the facility and nothing gets by her.
“I can see everything,” she notes.
A mother of two, Saelee is having a hard time explaining to her sons why she hasn't kept the cash.
“They said ‘Mom, can you keep the money?’ I said, ‘oh no,’” she explains.
Her manager has tracked down the rightful owner of the cash by analyzing CCTV footage. 46-year-old Linh Hoang has a prior arrest for neglecting her 2-year-old and 3-year-old sons, who she has left home alone while going out gambling.
“She said ‘thank you,’ that’s all. Then, I walked back,” Saelee details.
Hoang has rewarded the janitor with $500 (€375) for her honesty, but Saelee hasn't even kept that amount to herself. She tells reporters that she shared the “good Samaritan” bonus with her boss, who received $50 (€37).