Vegas-Adjacent: Terminally Ill Man’s Final Wish Was to Gamble at His Favorite Casino

While this story didn’t happen in Las Vegas, it feels very Las Vegas, so we’re sharing it. Somebody sent us a photo (below) of a man on a stretcher gambling, and we figured it was fake. With the advent of A.I., we default to assuming everything is fake until proven otherwise. It’s not fake. A terminally ill man named Hans Zandbergen, 69, had one final wish: to visit his favorite casino. His wish was granted. Hans is our spirit animal. Here’s the scoop. Not everything is A.I. Yet. Hans Zandbergen is from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. If you went to public school in America, you have no idea where that is. Please refer to this handy map of Rotterdam and its neighbors. If you went to public school in Utah, Rotterdam is referred to as Rotterdarn. Zandbergen’s story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. You know, like a stripper giving you her phone number. Zandbergen was receiving end-of-life care (he has terminal lung cancer) at Hospice De Reiziger in Barendrecht, a suburb just south of Rotterdam, which you also can’t find on a map. He and his late wife, Ellen, gambled weekly at Holland Casino Rotterdam for more than three decades. Ellen passed away 21 years ago. We warned you the story was heartbreaking. Zandbergen expressed his interest in gambling at his favorite casino one last time to his daughter, Chantal. Chantal contacted a Dutch nonprofit, Stichting Ambulance Wens (or Ambulance Wish Foundation), to see if the organization could help fulfill her father’s wish. The nonprofit specializes in arranging meaningful experiences for seriously ill people who can no longer travel on their own. We need an Ambulance Wish Foundation in Las Vegas, stat. He was transported by ambulance from hospice to Holland Casino Rotterdam and spent a couple of hours playing his favorite machines. From a hospital stretcher. The casino also helped make Zandbergen’s wish come true. Holland Casino Rotterdam made room for his stretcher and reserved machines so he could gamble comfortably. Zandbergen was accompanied by his family. He broke even. That’s one of the heartwarming parts of the story. When you gamble, breaking even is winning. After his casino visit, Zandbergen and his family enjoyed a seafood meal near the beach. The outing was reported by Dutch news outlets, including RTV Rijnmond and CasinoNieuws, as well as the nonprofit responsible for arranging the trip. The story has since made the rounds as a meme that reads, “A terminally ill 69-year-old man’s final wish was to gamble at the casino in his death bed.” Yes, 69. We also aren’t making that up. We love this story so much, and not just because of the 69 thing. People often have emotional connections to casinos and gambling. Casinos are easy to demonize, but they are also woven into the fabric of people’s lives. It’s not really about winning or losing money; it’s about experiences and fun and creating memories. Many casino memories last a lifetime. None of us really knows how much time we have, but it’s important to spend that time doing things we love, with the people we love. Zandbergen’s story wasn’t unique. Another item on the Stichting Ambulance Wens site: “To the Casino, That Was Her Last Wish.” Now would be the perfect opportunity to review our incredibly creative April Fools’ story, “Las Vegas Company Helps Customers Spread Ashes of Loved Ones at Casinos.” In that story we pretend we don’t want our ashes scattered inside a casino. It’s illegal to leave human remains in casinos. A lot of illegal things happen in casinos. Hans Zandbergen’s story is yet another reminder that reality is often stranger than fiction. It’s also a reminder it’s never too late to try and win it all back. And that’s the story we’re sticking to. The post Vegas-Adjacent: Terminally Ill Man’s Final Wish Was to Gamble at His Favorite Casino appeared first on Vital Vegas.