TAMPA — Denis Lawson says he came back from a few hours of gambling with his wife to find urine covering his car in a parking garage at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.

The mess was really just beginning for the 84-year-old retired claims adjuster. The stench was unbearable — two cleanings weren't enough and he ultimately replaced his car.

Nearly two years later, Lawson filed a lawsuit to get the casino's attention, asking for just over $1,000. Despite the June 6 filing, it wasn't until a reporter reached out to the casino Friday that officials said they learned what happened.

Lawson wrote in his lawsuit it seemed that staff and security "seemed uninterested" in helping him.

"We want to thank the Times for bringing this case to our attention, so we can begin to clean up this mess, and not just the mess on the car," said Seminole Hard Rock spokesman Gary Bitner.

Lawson declined to comment Thursday, but confirmed he'd been contacted.

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Four days after the Nov. 19, 2016 incident, Lawson faxed a letter to the Hard Rock, a copy of which was included in his lawsuit. In it, he described the ordeal as "very disgusting and scary!"

When he and his wife returned "two hours and several hundred dollars later" to the north garage's second floor, they found a sticky liquid on the car's hood, windshield and roof, according to court documents.

While examining the car with a security guard, Lawson said a construction work admitted the garage had no rest rooms for workers so they "simply urinated on the floor." Above their heads was a yellowish stain on the concrete, as well as the floor, photos included in the lawsuit show.

The staff instructed them to still pay the $10 for parking, according to the lawsuit. The stench made the couple severely nauseous on their drive back to the Ocala area. It still lingered even after a three-hour cleaning.

Bitner said the Hard Rock offered the couple a free weekend at the hotel and complimentary dinner, as well as money to cover damages.

"We also intend to… apologize, in person, for what happened in 2016 and for what has occurred since then," Bitner said.

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Contact Sara DiNatale at sdinatale@tampabay.com. Follow @sara_dinatale.