New York resident Katrina Bookman is suing Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York after a slot machine malfunctioned and displayed her winnings at almost $43 million. She quickly made plans to purchase a barber shop for her son and “give back to her community” using the money she won.
Her joy was short-lived, however, after a casino employee saw the display. “You didn’t win nothing,” a casino representative said according to Bookman, saying that the machine had malfunctioned. The casino denied her the money and offered only a steak dinner and her other winnings of $2.25, as all of the casino’s machines state that “malfunctions void all pays and plays.”
“They win and the house doesn’t want to pay out. To me that’s unfair,” says Alan Ripka, Bookman’s attorney. The suit asks for $43 million, but Ripka believes she should at least receive the slot machine’s maximum payout amount of $6,500. Bookman concurs: “I feel I should win the max and I will treat him to a steak dinner,” she says, referring to Ripka.
The New York State Gaming Comission, however, says differently: the commission told 6 ABC news that it legally can’t award the maximum payout to Bookman, and is only entitled to the earnings she won on functioning machines.
[Featured image via screengrab]