While some people are lucky enough to win big at casinos, the hardest part can sometimes be collecting the winnings.
- A Queens gambler thought she hit it big until managers at the Resorts World Casino said her $43 million slot machine win was a technical glitch — and tried to pay her off with a steak.
- 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.
- By Ron Dicker An unemployed mother of four says she is suing Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York City, after a slot machine indicated she won $43 million ― but all she got was a steak dinner.
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. It would've made video gaming history; the largest slot machine jackpot win in casino history. But the multi million dollar jackpot turned out to be fool's gold. And when she went from nearly 43.
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.
“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.
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But just like the others, she was told the machine had malfunctioned.
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“They took my money but didn’t want to pay my winnings,” she claimed.
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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.
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“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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