A man who won a Las Vegas jackpot has been tracked down after the machine malfunctioned and he walked away without realising he had scooped more than $229,000 (£169,000).

Robert Taylor was at the Treasure Island casino on the city’s famous Strip on 8 January when he unknowingly came up trumps.

A “communications error” on the slot machine meant neither he or casino staff were aware of his big win, said the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).

The casino tried unsuccessfully to identify the winner but Mr Taylor had already arrived back at his Arizona home, so agents from the NGCB took up the hunt.

In an investigation more normally associated with the likes of the FBI, they spent two weeks scouring hours of CCTV, interviewing witnesses, studying electronic records and digging into transport data from a rideshare company.

Mr Taylor was finally identified and three weeks after spinning the reels was notified that his trip had been rather lucrative, landing him a $229,368.52 jackpot.

He was heading back to Vegas to collect his winnings from the casino, said the NGCB in a statement.

Head of enforcement James Taylor said: “I commend the agents of the Enforcement Division, particularly Agent Dan Nuqui, for ensuring that the public trust in the gaming industry remains strong by spending countless hours over two weeks to ensure that a patron is awarded winnings owed to him.”

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