Slots Player Suing Over $43 Million "Machine Malfunction"

A New York woman named Katrina Bookman thought that she’d achieved every slots player’s dream – winning a $43 million jackpot. But this dream turned into a nightmare when Resorts World officials told her that the jackpot was due to a machine malfunction.

Resorts World offered Bookman a free steak dinner for her troubles, but she would rather have the $43 million and will sue to get it.

Bookman visited the Queens, New York Casino in August, where she began playing slot machines. After playing for a while, one of her spins resulted in a $42,949,642.76 payout, with the words “Printing cash ticket.”

According to the New York Daily News, the excited mother-of-four took a selfie next to her huge win.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Bookman told the Daily News. “My body went numb.”

The casino didn’t pay her right away like she expected. Instead, they escorted her off the floor and asked Bookman to return the next day.

Upon returning to Resorts World, Bookman recalled, “I said what did I win? (casino rep said) You didn’t win nothing.”

New York State Gaming Commission officials explained to Bookman that she’s not entitled to a payout because any malfunction voids payouts. The slot machine in question has since been pulled from the floor.

“There was nothing wrong with it when I was playing the machine,” said Bookman. “How do we know when there’s a problem with it? Once I hit something, now you’re going to say it’s a problem. I totally don’t think that was fair.”

A spokesman for Resorts World claims that the given machine is only set to offer a top payout of $6,500. They also said that before Bookman’s prize appeared, a printed ticket showed that she’d only won $2.25.

“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,” said the spokesman.

“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.”

Resorts World also points out that the largest slots jackpot in history was $39.7 million, which occurred through a multi-property, progressive jackpot machine.

Despite certain factors going against her, Bookman plans to sue the casino to recoup her money.

“She’s upset obviously,” said Alan Ripka, Bookman’s attorney. “She thought her life and family’s life would have been changed forever.”

Ripka strongly believes that Resorts World should honor the payout as shown on the machine.

“You can’t have it both ways,” said Ripka. “They’re saying that the machine was broken. Doesn’t that mean a place can claim a machine is broken every time somebody wins?”