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Call it the almost $42.9 million selfie. Katrina Bookman flashed her multi-million dollar smile as a slot machine screen appeared to show evidence of her mega win. Bookman is seeking at least $43 million in damages. In a similar incident, BBC.com reported that in 2011 an 87-year old grandmother was denied a payout of $42 million by the Iowa Supreme Court. The casino, in that case, said the machine malfunctioned and offered her $1.85 based on the symbols the machine. Government of Victoria says that more than $43 Million has been spent in Victoria at poker machines. Slot machines games with bonus rounds. The report also states than an amount of $2.6 billion has been spent by the people of the state in last 12 months. There are many disadvantaged area in the state such as Dandenong, and the people from these places are spending high amount of money at slots machines.
Wow! What a crappy feeling it must’ve been for Katrina Bookman. You know, that feeling you get when you’re told you actually did NOT win $43 MILLION because the slot machine that said you won was malfunctioning. Or so the casino says.
“I kept thinking about my family,” Bookman said.
Veronica Castillo thought she had finally struck gold after pouring in $100 dollars' worth of nickels while playing the slot machine game 'Jurassic Riches' w.
That’s just about all Katrina Bookman could say when her thoughts turn to what happened back in August at Resorts World Casino in New York.
She already earmarked the millions to buy a barbershop for her son and a big chunk that would be given back to her community.
When she THOUGHT she hit the jackpot, Bookman’s partner captured the casino chaos on video. She was surrounded by customers, casino personnel and security.
That’s just about all Katrina Bookman could say when her thoughts turn to what happened back in August at Resorts World Casino in New York.
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She already earmarked the millions to buy a barbershop for her son and a big chunk that would be given back to her community.
When she THOUGHT she hit the jackpot, Bookman’s partner captured the casino chaos on video. She was surrounded by customers, casino personnel and security.
As she was being escorted off the casino floor, she just knew she was “in the money.” She probably didn’t think anything of it when she was told to come back the next day for the decision, reports ABC7.
“I said what did I win? (The casino representative said,) ‘You didn’t win nothing,’” she recalled.
Bookman said the only thing the casino offered her was a steak dinner.
The New York State Gaming Commission said Bookman’s slot machine malfunctioned. “Malfunctions void all pays and plays,” a warning states on all the slot machines in the casino.
“They win and the house doesn’t want to pay out. To me that’s unfair,” Alan Ripka, Bookman’s attorney said.
Ripka and Bookman believe she should win the maximum allowed on the Sphinx machine, which the casino said is $6,500.
“The machine takes your money when you lose. It ought to pay it when you win,” Ripka stated.
“I feel I should win the max and I will treat him to a steak dinner,” Bookman said.
According to the gaming commission, the casino could not legally award the max pay-out.
The gaming commission said Bookman was only entitled to her winnings: just $2.25.
The slot machine was pulled immediately after the incident, fixed, and put back out on the casino floor, according to the gaming commission.
Bookman plans to sue the casino.
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While some people are lucky enough to win big at casinos, the hardest part can sometimes be collecting the winnings.
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Inside Edition’s investigative team found people who thought they'd be taking home huge jackpots, only to discover that wasn't the case.
Katrina Bookman, 44, thought she hit a $42.9 million jackpot at Resorts World Casino in Queens, N.Y., in 2016. She even posed next to the winning machine as it displayed her earnings.
“I thought it was my lucky day,” she told Inside Edition.
“I thought it was my lucky day,” she told Inside Edition.
Crowds started to surround Katrina to congratulate her, but soon security took her aside and she was eventually told that the machine had malfunctioned and there would be no payday.
“Anytime a machine hits a lot of money, you are going to claim it’s broke,” Katrina said.
She hired a lawyer, Alan Ripka, to take the casino to court. The case is pending.
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“When you walk through the door, you expect if you are risking your money, that if you win, you will be paid,” Ripka said.
Construction worker Jerry Rape, 55, and his wife, Kim, couldn't believe it when a slot machine said he'd won $1.3 million at the Wind Creek Casino in Montgomery, Ala., in 2011.
“I thought I was a millionaire,” he told Inside Edition. “I thought it was my lucky day.”
But 24 hours after he thought he had “won,' he was also told the 'machine malfunctioned.'
“Very devastating,” he said
He also hired an attorney, Matt Abbott.
“In this circumstance, the Creek Indian tribe was the judge, the jury and ultimate say so on whether they were going to pay a jackpot that [they] should have paid,” said Abbott.
Veronica Castilla was stunned when the machine showed she had won $8.5 million at the Lucky Eagle casino outside Seattle.
“I was excited; I couldn't believe it,” she said. “I was in shock.”
She even took out her camera to snap pictures.
“I started to ask, 'Where's my prize?'” she recalled.
But just like the others, she was told the machine had malfunctioned.
“They took my money but didn’t want to pay my winnings,” she claimed.
Washington is among a handful of states with its own casino lab, where gaming machines are regularly inspected.
“Nationwide, it's extremely rare to see a major machine malfunction, so consumers should feel confident that when they are sitting down at a gaming machine, it's going to function properly,” Heather Songer of the Washington State Gambling Commission told Inside Edition.
That's little solace for Katrina Bookman, Jerry Rape, and Veronica Castillo, who felt like they were millionaires — for at least a few minutes.
“I'm going to fight,' Castillo said. 'This is not over.'
The casinos say malfunctions are extremely rare and when errors occur, any payouts are void. In the cases of Bookman, Rape and Castillo, the jackpots actually exceeded what the machines could pay out.
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