Gambler, 72, claims Atlantic City casino is refusing to pay out $2.5MILLION slot machine win
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A woman claims she hit a $2.5million jackpot on a slot machine at Bally's casino in Atlantic City - only to be told her win was a glitch that would not be paid out.
Roney Beal, 72, said the refusal came after a spin on a Wheel of Fortune slot in February, during which she hit the more than $1.2 million jackpot and a two-times multiplier.
The machine then told her she won, spewing out virtual coins as the word 'jackpot' flashed on the screen.
A crowd descended on the New Jersey senior to celebrate what seemed to be a big win, before a Bally's worker arrived to tell her she'd actually won nothing. Citing a supposed slip-up with the slot's inner working, he offered her $350 instead.
This has spurred Beal to retain an attorney, as she threatens to file a lawsuit demanding the same sum - plus another $1million - against the longstanding casino.
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'I was hoping for $1,000, saying, 'Please God let me win,'' she told 6ABC Action News in Philadelphia Friday, of how she funneled hundreds of dollars into the machine in question before being told her gamble did not pay off.
'And it went off. And [it] says, 'you're a winner',' she recalled. 'Gold coins popped out.
'This guy- this very nice guy - goes, 'Oh my God, you hit, you hit!'' she recalled, speaking from her Shamong Township home about a 40 minutes' drive from the east coast gambling stronghold.
'He said, 'Lady you're a millionaire,'' she went on - before describing how things went wrong when she hit the call button to request help.
'That's when the sentences came up 'tilted,'' she said, citing a particular sort of error that voids the win.
'When the man came over to talk to me, he said, 'Lady, get it in your head, you won nothing.''
The attendant, she said, proceeded to open the machine - which minutes before issued a voice telling Beal she'd won.
He allegedly asked her to spin it again so her winning slate would be wiped clean - a request Beal said she refused as a crowd of more gamblers gathered around.
'He had it rolling real slow. He had it opened and then he is pushing it,' she said.
The attendant hit a series of buttons inside the slot before offering her the $350 - leading her and her lawyer to now claim the slot was fiddled with.
The pair also claim Beal was wrongly told to leave the casino, which is not the first to face a lawsuit stemming from a reel tilt that halted a Wheel of Fortune payout.
Jacques Bezou, a Louisiana-based lawyer, sued Harrah's in New Orleans and slotmaker International Game Technology (IGT) in 2000 after his client Garrett Grigg disputed the same slot malfunction, leading to a payout of $1.35 million - the same as the almost-stolen jackpot.
During that case, which took more than six years to resolve, IGT took the position that even though symbols indicating a jackpot came up, it was not a win because the machine had declared it so.
Speaking to ABC6 Friday, Bezou recalled how during those a jury didn't buy that argument nor did an appellate judge - leaving IGT solely responsible.
This time around, Bally's - which has graced the Atlantic City Boardwalk for nearly 50 year - has again thrust responsibility onto IGT, saying in a statement, 'Bally's has no comment on this incident as we're only the casino who houses the machine.
'IGT handles the payouts and would be best to get a comment from at this time,' it added.
Speaking to New York Post, a rep for the London-based outfit said it 'is cooperating with the casino operator's investigation of this matter', as Beal's attorney, Mike Di Croce, said he is preparing to file a legal complaint against both Bally's and the gaming company.
'They fooled with the machine before anybody else had the opportunity to take a look at this,' he told ABC 6 Friday, revealing how they play to sue for $2.56 million due to her hitting a $1.28 million jackpot with the two-times multiplier.
In addition, he said he plans to file a $1 million-plus emotional distress claim, as Beal argues she has be left traumatized by the ordeal.
'Why would I ever go to a casino again in my life? Any casino? Why, if there is no hope,' she told the station, seated in her living room where she has her own slot machine.
She added to the Post: 'I'm upset because I want the money, and I will help people with it.'
She added that she had a heart attack a year ago, and is 'hoping and praying' she gets paid out before she dies.
She has a son who is homeless, she told the paper - with one of her first planned purchases being a trailer where he could live.
