As a 90-year-old grandmother, Pauline McKee tries to maintain a sweet disposition.
When she played a penny slot machine that told her she had won more than $41 million, the Antioch woman remained pretty calm. "That was nice," she said, recalling her reaction. "Very nice."
And when she learned on Friday that the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the casino does not have to pay her the big bucks, McKee took it stoically.
Instead, she won a mere $1.85 on the bet.
"I had my doubts from the start, because that's a lot of money for a penny machine," she said. "I was hoping to help my children out financially, but it wasn't meant to be."
The court ruled that the Isle Casino Hotel in Waterloo, Iowa, does not have to pay McKee the $41.8 million she thought she had won in 2011 while playing the "Miss Kitty" slot machine.
The machine gave her a 185-credit win and declared on the screen, "The reels have rolled your way! Bonus Award $41,797,550.16."
But the court sided with the casino and said the game's rules capped jackpots at $10,000 and didn't allow bonuses. The court said the message about the bonus award was a "gratuitous promise" the casino didn't have to honor.
McKee said she is a widow who lives on Social Security, can't see well and is a grandmother of 13. She had been at the casino during a family reunion.
McKee sued to try to collect the prize after a state investigation concluded the bonus award wasn't valid and resulted from a software error.
The ruling noted the casino paid McKee the $1.85 she was owed, and gave her a free hotel room that night.
McKee said she still plays the slots occasionally — but not at Isle Casino. "They didn't give me anything except what I had on the machine," McKee said. "If they're not going to give me any money at all, that's terrible."
The casino could have been forced into bankruptcy if it had gone the other way, said one of its attorneys, Stacey Cormican. A $41 million payout would amount to about half of the gross revenue the casino generated last year.
Cormican said the ruling will ensure fairness in Iowa's large gambling industry.
"Casinos are required to post rules and follow those rules. If either the patrons or casinos could change the rules in the middle of the game, it would be absolutely chaos," she said.
She said such computer glitches are rare.
According to the lawsuit McKee filed against the casino, here's what happened on the night of the disputed winnings:
McKee's daughter had invited her to sit down next to her to play the "Miss Kitty" slot machine.
At one point after playing 25 cents, the machine's video screen indicated her win was 185 credits, or $1.85. But it also displayed a notice of a "bonus award" of almost $41.8 million.
McKee and her daughter summoned an attendant, and an employee opened the slot machine's main door to clean the central processor. The supervisor photographed the display, and a slot technician restarted the game.
The supervisor said she had to make a few phone calls and gave McKee a $10 card to play other games while she waited. The supervisor paid McKee $18.10 she had won overall on the machine up to that point, said the casino was looking into the machine and told McKee she would get a free hotel room that night.
The next day, the casino's vice president and general manager called the situation "unusual" and compensated McKee's family for additional hotel rooms they used. McKee was told the casino had contacted the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission and that the machine would be secured and studied.
The Gaming Commission conducted its own investigation through a testing laboratory, which concluded that the machine's hardware erroneously awarded the bonus, the suit said.
The manufacturer of the game, Aristocrat Technologies, had previously issued a bulletin that the game might show an erroneous bonus, with a recommendation to casinos to disable the bonus option.
The court ruling states that by playing, McKee entered a binding contract governed by rules and a pay table which could be displayed on the machine by pressing a button on the slot machine. A sign posted on the front of the machine also states, "Malfunction voids all pays and plays."
The rules made no mention of any bonus, so therefore the court, in an opinion written by Justice Edward Mansfield, concluded that McKee was entitled only to the $1.85. The decision upheld a lower court's granting of summary judgment to dismiss the case.
"Any message appearing on the screen indicating the patron would receive a $41 million bonus was a gratuitous promise and the casino's failure to pay it could not be challenged as a breach of contract," Mansfield wrote in a ruling that dismissed a lawsuit filed by McKee seeking the payout.
McKee's argument that the casino had an implied contract with customers to pay whatever the slot machines said "is contrary to precedent and general contract principles," he added.
The ruling followed similar decisions by other courts, such as a Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that a gambler was limited to the $8,000 maximum payout in the rules, rather than the $1 million bonus displayed on a game's screen.
In other cases, the courts have ruled in favor of gamblers if a bonus was provided for in the rules, or when a casino changed the rules after the game was played.
BS!
The casino could have been forced into bankruptcy if the ruling had gone the other way. Wow gambling is welcome unless you win, and the courts rule in the company's favor.If everyone were to boycott the casino until that woman got paid, watch how fast they cut her a check.Instead after she won they reset the machine, gave her a ten dollar gift card, a hotel room for the night. Heck she's ninety years old do we really have to pay her boss?
It's stuff like this that keeps me from visiting casinos.
I think I'll continue to play the lottery for my entertainment.
Yeah its a bummer to think you won 41 million but lets be real its a penny slot LOL.
The slots also all have payout scales even a progressive pot is listed so to be honest I think the casino was stand up with the way they dealt with her by giving her a free room slot play etc.. The fact she then later tried to sue is ridiculous to say the least, lets bankrupt a business and throw all the employees that work there to the wolves hell their baby's don't need to eat just so long and a 90 year old woman got her 41 million.
I liked how she said i wont go back there well hun I'm sure they will miss that big bad 40 bucks a year you spend there LOL
Wow that's messed up!!!!
DON'T count your chickens before they are hatched. LOL
I like her attitude, she has a big heart. She must be a happy person in nature.
Total BS.
I agree with you that's BS,it's just not fair she should get small amount,God don't like ugly
Malfunction voids all pays and plays. Simple.
It is entertaining for me when people throw away their money constantly to try to win a lottery game that has bad odds of winning
"It's stuff like this that keeps me from visiting casinos."
You mean stuff like being given a card that's good for some free bets and a few hotel rooms in addition to what you actually won?
First Off: I love my Grandmother. That being said- I think Mrs Mckee's Children and Grandchildren drove this lawsuit thinking they were going to get rich off " pennies". I agree with the court here. You can't get a scratcher that pays $40 mil and those puppies can run you $20.00 and up for the higher payouts... But you want to be paid $40 mil on playing pennies? Right...
I would not complain. $1.85 million is not so bad.
You wouldn't , but l bet those 13 grandchildren might. After all they would end up with $142,000 a piece Instead of $3 mil a person.
Show us where it says $1.85 million. She got $1.85 only.
She got $1.85 (one dollar and eighty five cents).
McKee said she is a widow who lives on Social Security, can't see well
I'll bet her lawyers cringed when she said that in court because their case was based on her believing she won $41 million on a penny slot machine. So far most of the comments are from members that probably never played a slot machine, don't know some machines scroll advertisements for other games, and don't know the games rules are on the front of the machine.
McKee and her daughter summoned an attendant, and an employee opened the slot machine's main door to clean the central processor. The supervisor photographed the display, and a slot technician restarted the game.
The display probably showed she matched the symbols paying 185 penny credits. If the machine had a bonus award, she could have received that amount, but not the $41.8 million which was an obvious malfunction. But since the machine had no "bonus award", she was paid what she won. She was giving a playing voucher and a room comp until they could resolve the problem.
Pie- I KNOW that the judgement was for $1.85. I am merely entertaining JKDL's "dream" payout here for the family.
Yeah... reminds me of a big news story about 10 years ago about Winstar in OK screwing a player. The casino claimed there was a malfunction. Ever since I just listen to my coworkers talk about their exploits up there.
You are so right...that is messed up!wow....so you put your money in the slot,the machine states that you are a winner and now it is snatched away...not right..that would make me want t stay away from the slots forever!
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'"So you put your money in the slot,the machine states that you are a winner and now it is snatched away".. If you put pennies in a slot Machine, don't bank on getting a $40 mil payout. Now if she played $1.00 on the MM lottery game and won $40 Mil.....
The only bad taste in my mouth is from discouragement that this casino [and probably several others] decided not to turn the "bonus" feature off; once they were made aware that it was broken and displaying way inflated $$ amounts. Also, unsavoury that this casino gave this woman and her several family members encouragement by offering them free rooms for the evening [unless they were planning to stay overnight, anyhow, that was simply wasting folk's valuable time and lasting emotions].
she must have hired a really bad lawyer..My take on situation, is prize caps out at 10,000 , she should have at the very least end up with 10,000[ Total BS]
This is a prime example of big business running the game . This place has no intention or interest in doing the right thing and apparently the court and justice system is in their pockets also . I have no respect for any of this . I hope this lady gets a Divine blessing of the greatest magnitude to make up for this injustice ..!!!!
Yes, the better thing for society would be to bankrupt the casino and have 1000s of people lose their jobs so this woman can get the money, pay 40% of it to the government, croak, then pay another 40% to the government on the remaining amount. It's the right thing to do!
I've only played the slots once at Black Hawk. Casino gambling isn't for me. I prefer Pick 4 state lotteries. A winning ticket cannot be denied.
Anyone who spends a penny at a casino and dreams of winning $41M probably doesn't know a bad lawyer from a good one. A dollar and a dream of winning a million is a stretch for lottery players but come on, a penny for $41M.