Instead of winning $43 million for her lottery ‘Prize’, a woman was provided a steak supper. Isn’t it a difficult decision to make?
Katrina Bookman was visiting the Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens, when she chose to play the slot machines.
After pressing the lever, she won what would have been the biggest slot machine prize in US history: $42,949,672.
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Unfortunately, the victory did not turn out to be as expected.
Watching the slots slowly fall into place, Bookman’s eyes grew wide with shock. She thought her life had just changed totally and she was now a millionaire.
She had to take a picture with the machine to remember the moment, then she ran to find a worker to tell them about her good luck.
But she was told to come back the next day, and then an employee told her she “didn’t win anything.”
How did that happen, though?
The New York State Gaming Commission afterward said that Bookman’s machine had broken down and that she had won, wait for it… a measly $2.25.
There was a notice on the machine that said “malfunctions void all pays and plays.” The commission said they had to give Bookman only what she had won because it was the law.
The casino was nice enough to give Bookman a free steak dinner, but that’s not something to be happy about when you think you’ve won enough money to eat steak for the rest of your life.
Dan Bank, a spokesman for Resorts World, told CNN, “Once the casino staff were told about the situation, they were able to figure out that the number shown on the penny slot machine was the result of a malfunction, which was later confirmed by the New York State Gaming Commission.”
“We told Ms. Bookman what was going on and offered to pay her the correct amount that was written on the ticket.” Accidents with machines don’t happen very often, and we’re sorry for any trouble this may have caused Ms. Bookman.
Bookman’s lawyer sued the casino a year after she thought she had won, calling their claims “ridiculous.”
“You can’t say a machine is broken just to make it look bad.” That sounds like it wasn’t checked. Does that mean it wasn’t taken care of?” At the time, Ripka told CNN.
“And if so, does that mean that people that played there before [Bookman] had zero chance of winning?”
The case was finally solved without going to court.
When Bookman, who grew up in foster care and raised four kids by herself, realized she would only be getting a few dollars, she said, “All I could think about was my family.”