Casino says woman’s $43 million jackpot is actually $2.25
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A visitor to the Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct racetrack played an electronic slot machine, in Oct. 2014, in the Queens borough of New York.
NEW YORK » A woman who appeared to win a life-changing $42.9 million jackpot at a New York City casino is threatening to sue after being told the big payout she was shown was simply the result of a malfunction.
Katrina Bookman was playing the penny slot machine at Resorts World Casino in August when it displayed a message that read, “Printing Cash Ticket. $42,949,642.76.” She even took a selfie next to the screen to celebrate. But when Bookman tried to collect, the casino told her it was all a big mistake and she was only owed the $2.25 balance she had on the machine.
“Machine malfunctions are rare, and we would like to extend our apologies to Ms. Bookman for any inconvenience this may have caused,” the casino said in a statement
The New York State Gaming Commission investigated and said the bogus payout was “clearly a display malfunction.” The machine was taken out of service, repaired and put back a day later, the commission said.
The machine’s maximum payout is $6,500. Resorts World tells The Associated Press that the Gaming Commission told it the casino cannot legally pay Bookman even that amount because a malfunction voids all plays under state law. However, the Gaming Commission told the AP that there are no rules barring Resorts World from offering Bookman money to resolve the situation, even though she didn’t win anything.
Resorts World said Bookman printed out a voucher ticket to receive her $2.25 balance on the machine, but her lawyer disputes that.
Alan Ripka sent a letter to the casino demanding it resolve what he describes as “a terrible situation.” The casino responded that the machine’s manufacturer should be held liable, Ripka said. He believes a lawsuit could be Bookman’s only option and added that the court can figure out who’s at fault.
Ripka is hoping Resorts World will “come up with a resolution” to the dispute. He questions whether the broken machine means everyone who used it prior to Bookman should also get their money back.
“If the machine was broken, does that mean nobody could have ever been a winner?”
57 responses to “Casino says woman’s $43 million jackpot is actually $2.25”
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Cry baby!
The NY gaming commission is backing the casino that the machine malfunctioned and that the woman in not owed $43 million so how can she sue and win in court? Even though by law the casino cannot even pay her the $6,500 maximum award of the machine, for public relations sake the casino should comp her for something like $20,000 in credit to gamble at their casino, comp her hotel room and meals and pay for reasonable attorney fees. If she and her lawyer does not accept that then fight her in court which the Casino would probably win.
The profit made on that machine should be refunded if the machine was no good. At the very least they should give back any money the woman lost playing in that session.
Then pay the $6500. Don’t be cheapskate.
She can sue and win because a jury decides the facts and not the Gaming Commission.
But if the jury’s award violates the law, can’t an appeals court overturn it? I would think she has a better chance arguing the casino’s negligence cause her emotional distress and bring a tort claim, rather than try to prove she’s entitled to the gaming payout. But I’m not a lawyer, so what do I know.
Maximum payout for machine was 6,500. How can she think she won 42 million?
Because that’s what the machine said when she “won.” Duh
Didn’t the machine even mentioned the $6500 limit?
If somehow the bank accidently credits your account with someones million dollars, does that mean it’s yours??? NO
Funny stuff. Sure, my bank account is a lot like a slot machine and the same rules should apply.
What are the rules in Las Vegas when this happens?……..I wanna know.
I’m quite good at video poker, especially in Downtown Vegas. On one memorable early winter morning I was playing a “double down” machine at The Four Queens that, if I recall, I continually beat for several hours. It was actually quite easy to turn a minor winning hand worth, say 30 credits or coins, into an eventual payout of 480 or even 960. You just had to have the nerve to keep risking the loss of a sure winning hand. I didn’t win every attempt, but it was surely close to 75% of the time.
It even got to the point where the casino posted two armed security guards directly behind me to observe my play. Being euphorically confident at that time (and age) I even invited one of the guards to listen to me as I gave a running commentary about the strategy I employed with each specific hand I played. He eventually had to shake his head when it was clearly shown that all my plays were honest.
After a few hours, a couple of Four Queens employees arrived and “invited” me to leave, saying, “We have a policy that if a player “empties out” any machine a certain number of times, that machine is obviously defective and must be pulled out of service.” And so that streak, like all good things, ended.
Since then, I’ve made it a point to never linger too long at any particular machine or electronic game – no matter how lucky I happen to be; I suspect that in establishments where tokens or coins are still used, it is an unwritten policy to declare a “malfunction” if a gaming machine’s hopper is emptied out more than five times by a single player during a single continuous session.
While I’ve had maybe a hundred or so royal flushes over the years, I do sometimes wonder if I would’ve had the nerve to “double down” on a royal flush had that Four Queens video poker machine been so generous. (Probably it would never have happened as typically a maximum payoff win will lock up a machine until attendants arrive or unless the player cashes out.)
By the way, the best paying games at Vegas casinos still remain craps and blackjack. Video games or slot machines of any stripe used to be known as “sucker bets.”
Rotsa ruck to you all!
Good story!
Great story. Also very true, casino’s hate it when you’re on a winning streak. Whenever I visit Vegas and play video poker machines at the bar just to get my free drinks. I definitely get dirty looks from the bar staff when they see me playing for hours and freeloading drinks while breaking even the majority of the time on the game. Max loss is usually a buck or two! hahahaha
You do know he/she is telling ya’all an old wives’ tale; there is no winning strategy in machine slots in Vegas! Odds are 1 to 6 plus digits depending on the machine. Like both of you said, “Good story brah, my fish was this big!”
True, that. I did walk away from that machine with so many hundred dollar bills that I could not stuff them all in my wallet. The total payout was actually much more than any single royal flush with a max bet would’ve won.
The winnings were honestly won. The trouble with casino managers is that they understand probability tables only up to a point. A really, really protracted winning streak is highly unlikely, but it can happen. In the real world, events five or more standard deviations from the mean are just rare, not impossible. I still firmly believe that “friendly” machine was not defective or malfunctioning in any way; you still had to draw the right cards to win.
The way I see it, maybe it was a good thing Four Queens invited me to leave. After all, by that time the sun had risen and I really craved getting a good breakfast!
juscasting,
The story is absolutely true. You really should avail yourself to a remedial and elementary statistics class. Or, go flip a quarter a few thousand times. You’ll be surprised how often a 50/50 heads-to-tails ratio does not hold. In the long run yes it will, but not at certain intervals.
IRT juscasting: Delta is talking about video poker not slots. Read and comprehend before commenting.
Damn whiners. Obviously a penny machine with a max 6k payout is broken if it displays 42 million. Duh. Lot’s of precedent for stuff like this, policies are in place in all casinos to cover their butts when something goes haywire.
Sad to say all Casinos use this shoddy excuse, “a malfunction voids all plays.” If this is the case, how long has the malfunction been ongoing? Casino should refund all the money a person has played prior to the malfunction as the problem has clearly been going on for some time.
Sometimes you have to question the integrity of the Casino and the Gaming Commission. As in what if the machines are designed to display a “malfunction” to avoid paying out a big win? If VW can cheat emission testing, how far are the machines? Can’t trust the Gaming Commission, lapdogs to the Casinos.
There is a saying, “The house always wins.”
If you value your playtime even at the going minimum wage, it’s almost certainly true that there are surer ways to make money than wagering it away in a casino. Unless you’re talking about face-to-face poker games with actual human beings with all the bluffing, “tells” and so on, it IS all supposed to be in fun isn’t it?
There are serious/professional poker players playing at the tables. You are walking on very thin ice.
In the long run yes. In the short run not necessarily.
I’m sure this “ripoff” Casino just lost a lot of business ….. hope they go belly up and are forced to close
Pretty odd how a machine with a max payout of $6,500 could have an on screen message saying, “Printing Cash Ticket $42,949,642.76.” Saw it on one of the evening news. Right there on the machine.
CLOSE FOR AUDIT.
Good girl, fight for your money! I heard the Gaming Board; backs the Casino and Hotel……good example Vegas!
Or…don’t gamble.
Dunno how this lady could win. Machine was marked that the maximum payout would be $6,500.00. Anything above and beyond the maximum payout is a malfunction with the machine. If this went to court and I were on the jury, she’d lose. Not only did the signage on the machine indicate the maximum payout, but New York law limits the payout the casino can give for the erroneous ticket.
From a PR stand point, the resort company could have done a lot better than offering $2.25. Not only would it be a nice gesture, but it would also get them some positive media attention.
YEAH, AT LEAST ROUND IT UP TO THREE BUCKS. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Management reportedly offered a consolation prize of a comp steak dinner for two. I guess the steaks there just weren’t aged well enough.
The steak dinners are probably free.
Was the machine marked “Max payout $6500”? Or is that just what the casino is saying.
Saw the news story and video, if there was some kind of sign saying that the machines max payout is $6500, then it should have at least been showed on the news story. There was a sign saying if machine malfunctions, all winnings are void, and that was shown on the video, but no sign about the machines maximum payout.
Heck … $43 million for cherries sounds good to me. Let’s all not go to Vegas in November … starting now! That’ll teach them!
(Glad that I booked for December.)
If you can’t come to a quick resolution…litigate!!!
Even if her attorney loses, he will gain media exposure. Might not have a solid case, but I’m sure he’s got his reasons for wanting to litigate.
I’m sure the NCAA can probably solve that problem?, it might take several years but?????
BIG TIME BUMMERS MAN!!! Sounds like Casinos have a “BIG WAY OUT OF MAKING PAYOUTS”. Anytime someone strikes it huge on a machine, they can claim that the machine was “defective”. Who’s to know if it was or not, plus they could tamper with it after the fact to make it look defective. I’ve never trusted casinos, especially their “one-arm bandits” and now I have even a better reason NOT to give them business.
Especially if the “maximum win” is $6,500.00 and the machine tells you that you won a lot more. Seems a bit faulty to me.
I think many, if not most, slot players just walk up to a neat-looking machine and start playing it. They don’t read all the fine print.
Even if she’d seen “Max payout $6500,” seeing that “$43 MILLION!!!” would have made her forget that, or had her thinking she misread something.
Not surprised here; people who gamble are losers anyway.
Gambling, if looked upon as just another form of entertainment people are willing to pay for, is just another way for adults with disposable income to have fun. There are, admittedly, some people who are particularly vulnerable if put on an intermittent schedule of positive reinforcement. These gamblers may well turn out to be big time losers. There could be a genetic predisposition to this just as there could be one for chronic alcoholism.
No surprise here – people who generalize are losers anyway.
Isn’t it sort of like when a bank’s teller machine makes a mistake that benefits the customer? The customer has to make good on returning the money. Don’t laws usually protect the business (bank, or casino) from computer mistakes?
Your machine keeps inaccurate records,. It paid me the right amount.
the slot machine was hacked by anonymous. they did it for the lulz. and they still are.
They should give her the maximum payout amount for the machine $6500. It’s only fair.
If casino management had chosen to do so, they could have authorized a slot mechanic to generate a printout scrolling through the last several hundred plays made on her machine. This is simply accessing the machine’s “black box” and is a feature common to electronic slot machines made in recent years. Since the pay table is displayed right on the machine, it should easy to determine at what exact instant the payoff couldn’t have been possible given the preceding play.
Thank you, Trump Casino.
I was totally surprised to see soooo many comments from residence who’s State has NO LEGAL GAMBLING. Theres a casino 5 minutes from my house but I don’t go there.
Don’t have casino’s in Hawaii but they go in truck loads to Las Vegas all year long. So they know what their talking about.
That’s why ALL residents pay taxes. Money from gambling or a lottery could go into State coffers, but… Let gambling and lottery revenue go into the funds, and let me keep more of MY money in my wallet.
Just wondering what the screen showed on her final play? That is, with the cherries, bars, stars, and all the rest what would that play have normally netted? Zero?
Nice. Great approach. “That King and Ace was a MISTAKE! Wasn’t supposed to be! NO BLACKJACK!!” Or, what about all those times the machine says you lose? Mistake(s)?
If casino win…Allgood, no issues…
If player win…look for malfunction!!!!!!