No free Vegas lunch for Powerball winners

Friday, May 29, 1998 | 2:20 a.m.

Frank and Shirley Capaci, the recent Powerball lottery winners, are welcome to come to Las Vegas as they plan, but don't expect the luxury hotels to roll out the red carpet for them.

"We will give them the same fine accommodations and extend to them the same hospitalities and amenities we would give to all millionaires and sub-millionaires," Alan Feldman, vice president of the Mirage, said.

Does that include a free luxury suite, comps to the gourmet restaurant and gratis show tickets?

"Absolutely not," Feldman said. "We would welcome them here and we would do everything to make sure their stay is comfortable. And we would fiercely protect their anonymity while they were here."

That may be the best perk of all. Since the Capacis, a retired middle-class couple from Streamwood, Ill., won the largest lottery jackpot in history -- $104.3 million -- they have had to get an unlisted phone number because it was ringing off the hook.

At a news conference this week in Wisconsin, the state in which the winning $5 ticket was bought, the Capacis told reporters that one of the items on their wish list was a trip to Las Vegas.

Wisconsin Powerball spokesman Andrew Bohage said the Capacis didn't give an exact date when they would take that vacation or at which hotel they planned to stay.

After the federal government takes 28 percent off the top of their prize and Wisconsin takes another 6.87 percent in taxes, the Capacis will receive about $67 million via bank wire sometime within the next week or two, Bohage said.

When the Capacis do come here, they will have to reach into their now-deep pockets and pay for their stay -- unless some resort tries to cash in on their fame and offers to foot the bill in exchange for publicity.

But indications now are that the larger properties are not interested in going that route.

"We certainly would welcome them here, and we wish them well," Phil Cooper, vice president of Caesars Palace, said while noting there would be no free room for them.

"Each year 20 million people come through our doors -- many of them longtime, loyal customers. And many of them have never had a free room."

Feldman and Cooper say comped rooms, meals and shows are reserved for customers who have a long history of play in the casino.

Some high-roller customers are so valued that resorts send private jets to pick them up. The Capacis do not fall into that category despite now being as rich as many high-stakes gamblers.

Then again, given the Capacis' strong work ethic -- he's a 67-year-old retired electrician who mows a golf course and she is a 62-year-old retired secretary -- the Capacis probably are not looking for a free ride.

How strong is their work ethic? They are in the process of setting up million-dollar retirement accounts for their three sons on one condition -- that the boys keep their jobs.