Katrina Bookman claims she suffered anxiety and embarrassment after she was duped into thinking she had won a $43 million jackpot. (Image courtesy of Katrina Bookman)
A New York woman is suing the Queens casino that told her a slot machine showing she’d won a massive jackpot was broken, then offered her a free steak dinner instead.
Katrina Bookman was ecstatic when a “Sphinx Slot Machine” at Resorts World Casino told her she had hit a $43 million jackpot in August of last year, prompting her to snap a smiling selfie. The jackpot would’ve been the largest ever won on the slots in U.S. history, CNN Money reported.
When Bookman went to collect her earnings, however, the casino claimed it was a machine error and offered her a complimentary steak dinner and $2.25. Now, she is suing in hopes that the casino will be forced to pay up.
At the time of the incident, Resorts World spokesman Dan Bank apologized for the error and explained that “casino personnel were able to determine that the figure displayed on the penny slot was the result of an obvious malfunction.” The casino’s claim was backed by the New York State Gaming Commission, who noted that in August, the machine displayed a disclaimer that read, “Malfunctions void all pays and plays.”
Despite the unfortunate error, Bookman’s lawyer, Alan Ripka, argued his client is entitled to the full amount shown on the machine. He filed lawsuit against the casino on her behalf on Wednesday, June 14, seeking at least $43 million in damages from the casino for its failure to maintain the slot machine, as well damages from game machine makers/operators Genting New York LLC and International Game Technology, citing common-law negligence.
“You can’t claim a machine is broken because you want it to be broken. Does that mean it wasn’t inspected? Does it mean it wasn’t maintained?” Ripka told CNNMoney. “And if so, does that mean that people that played there before [Bookman] had zero chance of winning?”
The New York woman said the entire ordeal left her anxious, embarrassed and depressed. In her 17-page lawsuit, she even included the selfie she took showing the slot machine’s “bells, noises and lights” and the message on the screen that read, “printing cash ticket $42,949,672.76.”
The casino has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
The case is similar to a earlier suit against an Iowa casino, where a penny slot machine duped an elderly woman into thinking she had won $41 million. The court sided with the hotel casino, however, ruling that “the game’s rules capped jackpots at $10,000 and didn’t allow bonuses, the Chicago Tribune reported.
