New York woman left fuming after being offered steak dinner instead of $43MILLION jackpot she won
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The excited would-be millionaire was left empty-handed when her $43 million cash award was minimized into a steak dinner
A woman left a casino fuming after the business told her the $43 million she'd just won was invalid and instead gave her a steak dinner.
Katrina Bookman won what would have been the greatest slot machine prize in US history—$42,949,672—while she was playing the slots at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York. She thought her life had changed forever, so she happily took a selfie with the screen. However, when Bookman returned to the casino the next day to get a "official ruling" regarding the amount of money she would be receiving, they informed her that she had won nothing.
It transpired that the slot machine she was using had a malfunction, resulting in her meager winnings of $2.25. The machine featured a caution that read, "malfunctions void all pays and plays," thus the casino was only obligated to reimburse her for the $2.35 that she had actually won.
In an act of kindness, Resorts World gave her a complimentary steak dinner in addition to the change, which was a meager comfort given the amount she had anticipated receiving.
"Upon being notified of the situation, casino personnel were able to determine that the figure displayed on the penny slot was the result of an obvious malfunction – a fact later confirmed by the New York State Gaming Commission," Resorts World spokesperson Dan Bank told CNN after the incident.
"After explaining the circumstances to Ms. Bookman, we offered to pay her the correct amount that was shown on the printed ticket. Machine malfunctions are rare, and we would like to extend our apologies to Ms. Bookman for any inconvenience this may have caused."
A year later, Bookman sued Resorts World Casino, claiming that it was "negligent" and that its lottery equipment was not properly maintained, with the assistance of her attorney, Alan Ripka. Additionally, it stated that Bookman experienced "mental anguish" as a consequence of the event.
"You can't claim a machine is broken because you want it to be broken," Ripka told CNN at the time, branding the casino's justifications as "ridiculous." Does it follow that it wasn't examined? Does this imply that it wasn't kept up? "And if so, does that mean that people that played there before [Bookman] had zero chance of winning?"
The case was ultimately settled out of court. A New Jersey woman filed a lawsuit against Bally's Casino in May, claiming the establishment misrepresented her $1.27 million slot machine jackpot.
On February 25, while playing the Wheel of Fortune slot machine, Roney Beal, 72, of Shamong, New Jersey—about 42 miles north of Atlantic City—was informed by flashing lights that she had just won the jackpot. But shortly after, the festivities came to an end.
