HONOLULU -- U.S. District Court Judge Samuel King, the boss of an 80-year-old Hawaii woman who became an instant millionaire, but then suffered a medical emergency, said he thinks she will be fine.

King, 93, just got back from a mainland trip, where he learned his longtime secretary Rebecca Berry won a $1.3 million jackpot in a Minnesota casino, but then suffered a sudden turn in fortune hours later. She was rushed to the hospital because of a medical emergency.

"She's getting better. I haven't spoken to her, but I told her daughter she's on sick leave beginning yesterday," King said.

The family is now requesting privacy. King said he does not know what happened except that Berry has had medical problems for years, including some heart issues.

Her office desk now sits empty. She has been working for King for 56 years and started straight out of secretarial school.

The judge said Berry is smart, meticulous and tough. He said he is confident she will be back to work. That was not what Berry said immediately after winning.

"I was planning to retire early next year, but I'm going to call him and say, 'I quit,'" Berry told a reporter in Minnesota.

"I said, 'Wait a minute. You can't quit,'" King said.

King said he thinks Berry will eventually go back to that "Wild Cherry" slot machine in Minnesota to try her luck again.