{"id":52506,"date":"2017-06-16T13:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T20:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=52506"},"modified":"2023-01-10T09:55:55","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T15:55:55","slug":"43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"$43 Million Slots Jackpot Malfunction Lawsuit Challenges Casino’s Refusal to Pay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Katrina Bookman hit a slots jackpot last fall at Resorts World in Queens, New York, with her screen displaying that she had won $42.9 million<\/a>. Or at least she thought.<\/p>\n

\"slots
From riches to really?! This New Yorker thought she landed a $43 million slots jackpot, but Resorts World said the gaming terminal erred. (Image: Katrina Bookman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the New York resident went to cash out her lucky ticket, casino personnel informed her the win was erroneous, and that the slot machine had malfunctioned. They offered her a free steak dinner, and $2.25, the prize she should have one on her one cent wager.<\/p>\n

She declined both the meat and the $2.25, and quickly hired a lawyer. This week, her attorney, Alan Ripka, filed a lawsuit on her behalf against Genting New York LLC, the parent company to the Resorts World property.<\/p>\n

She’s seeking $43 million in damages, as well as an explanation from the casino as to how the machine errored.<\/p>\n

\n

“You can’t claim a machine is broken because you want it to be broken,” Ripka told CNNMoney<\/i>. “Does that mean it wasn’t inspected? Does it mean it wasn’t maintained? Does that mean that people that played there before had zero chance of winning?”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Odds Against Bookman<\/b><\/h2>\n

Who wouldn’t be upset to think they just became a multimillionaire, only to be told you didn’t even win a gallon of gasoline? Bookman thought she had just snagged the largest slots jackpot ever won in US history, and instead received a free dinner.<\/p>\n

It would have been a good story, but alas, no dice. And the chances of the legal system siding with her are slim.<\/p>\n

\n

Each slot machine in New York is mandated to have a disclaimer that states, “Malfunctions void all pays and plays.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Resorts World said it’s clear the electronic equipment failed. The company said at the time, “The figure displayed on the penny slot was the result of an obvious malfunction.”<\/p>\n

The Sphinx Slot Machine Bookman was playing came with an advertised jackpot of just $6,500, or 0.015 percent of the $42,949,672.76 ticket that printed.<\/p>\n

The largest valid single slots jackpot in US history dates back to 2003. It was at the Excalibur where a man who wished to remain anonymous hit a $39.7 million win on a $100 Megabucks wager.<\/p>\n

Slot Machine Errors<\/b><\/h2>\n

Slot machines, like any technological device, aren’t immune to malfunctioning. And on casino floors, while still relatively rare, breakdowns do occur.<\/p>\n

\n

In 2015, a 90-year-old woman thought she had won a $41.7 million<\/a> jackpot on a penny machine inside the Isle Casino Hotel in Waterloo, Iowa. She was only given the $1.85 prize she was supposed to hit, but later sued.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In that case, a judge sided with the casino, explaining, “The rules of the game formed a contract between the patron and the casino, and the patron was not entitled to the bonus under those rules.”<\/p>\n

Regardless, Bookman’s attorney is pressing on. “The machine takes your money when you lose. It ought to pay when you win,” Ripka said last fall.<\/p>\n

Should he find a way to convince a court his client is due $43 million, Brookman would have enough money for about 860,000 filet mignon dinners at the Resorts World Prime steakhouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katrina Bookman hit a slots jackpot last fall at Resorts World in Queens, New York, with her screen displaying that she had won $42.9 million. Or at least she thought. When the New York resident went to cash out her lucky ticket, casino personnel informed her the win was erroneous, and that the slot machine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":52511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60,18,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n$43M Slots Jackpot Malfunction Lawsuit Challenges Casino Refusal to Pay<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The slots jackpot malfunction at Resorts World last fall that erroneously told a woman she won $43 million is now set to be challenged in court.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"$43M Slots Jackpot Malfunction Lawsuit Challenges Casino Refusal to Pay\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The slots jackpot malfunction at Resorts World last fall that erroneously told a woman she won $43 million is now set to be challenged in court.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-16T20:00:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-10T15:55:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/resorts2n-1-web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"970\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/\",\"name\":\"$43M Slots Jackpot Malfunction Lawsuit Challenges Casino Refusal to Pay\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/resorts2n-1-web.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-16T20:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-10T15:55:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"The slots jackpot malfunction at Resorts World last fall that erroneously told a woman she won $43 million is now set to be challenged in court.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/43m-slots-jackpot-malfunction-lawsuit-challenges-casino-refusal-to-pay\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/resorts2n-1-web.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/resorts2n-1-web.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":970,\"caption\":\"From riches to really?! 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