Casino says no way to $62 million slot machine payout

Aug 16, 2011, 9:49 pm (29 comments)

International

BREGENZ, Austria — It seemed too good to be true — a slot-machine jackpot of almost 43 million euros.  And maybe it was.

Austrian state broadcaster ORF reports that Behar Merlaku is going to court over the refusal of the Bregenz casino to give him what he considers his win on March 26.

Casino officials do not dispute that the gaming machine showed a payout of nearly 43 million euros — almost US$62 million. But they say that a malfunctioning computer chip was responsible for what they say was the faulty display.

Both sides are going to court. In the meantime, says the ORF website, Merlaku has been banned from the casino in the capital of Austria's westernmost Voralberg province.

Thanks to Coin Toss for the tip.

AP

Comments

Boney526's avatarBoney526

On the fence here.

 

Obviously it was an error, no casino pays out that much......

iGlenn

So when I lose I'll just say that the machine was faulty and get my money back.  Wink  Yeah, that'll work.

Piaceri

Quote: Originally posted by Boney526 on Aug 16, 2011

On the fence here.

 

Obviously it was an error, no casino pays out that much......

If it was one of those multi location progressive slots, $62m is not unheard of. Those seem to have more than their fair share of malfunctions on wins and I avoid them unless it is a fun game like Wheel of Fortune, or my fave, the long gone Elvis Slots.

On the other hand, if the machine shows a payout of $62m on a single machine with a max $5k, then you go by the win chart stated on the machine. That's a no brainer and should be tossed out of court.

The article did not give enough info.

Boney526's avatarBoney526

Quote: Originally posted by iGlenn on Aug 16, 2011

So when I lose I'll just say that the machine was faulty and get my money back.  Wink  Yeah, that'll work.

Well I'm assuming the difference is that the Slot machines JP wasn't actually supposed to be tens of millions, just 10s of thousands, and that they'd have no problem paying that...

 

I mean honestly if I was in charge of a casino, and expected a return of a couple percent per bet placed, but the machine errored and made the return for the casino negative, by hundreds of percents b/c the jackpot was more than 1000 times higher than it was supposed to be, I'd just want to explain to the guy what happened, and pay him the 10s of thousands he won.

 

I certainly wouldn't think it's fair to pay the guy millions because a machine was on the fritz.

iGlenn

Quote: Originally posted by Boney526 on Aug 16, 2011

Well I'm assuming the difference is that the Slot machines JP wasn't actually supposed to be tens of millions, just 10s of thousands, and that they'd have no problem paying that...

 

I mean honestly if I was in charge of a casino, and expected a return of a couple percent per bet placed, but the machine errored and made the return for the casino negative, by hundreds of percents b/c the jackpot was more than 1000 times higher than it was supposed to be, I'd just want to explain to the guy what happened, and pay him the 10s of thousands he won.

 

I certainly wouldn't think it's fair to pay the guy millions because a machine was on the fritz.

I'm just simply pointing out that if the machine malfunctions it'll always be in the casinos favor.

Boney526's avatarBoney526

Quote: Originally posted by iGlenn on Aug 16, 2011

I'm just simply pointing out that if the machine malfunctions it'll always be in the casinos favor.

lol true.  I'm not in the situation myself, and the story didn't give all the details.  But it seems like an understandable mistake, because I've never seen any Casino Jackpot anywhere near that high.

diamondpalace's avatardiamondpalace

Sounds like I've heard this story before. Player won big prize, Casino said it's machine error.

redhot7's avatarredhot7

It doesn't matter if it was a machine error or not. As long as the guy didn't cheat, the casino was obligated to pay. I hope he wins in court.

sully16's avatarsully16

Pay the man his money!!!! Simple boycott that casino until they fork over the cash.

BaristaExpress's avatarBaristaExpress

Quote: Originally posted by redhot7 on Aug 17, 2011

It doesn't matter if it was a machine error or not. As long as the guy didn't cheat, the casino was obligated to pay. I hope he wins in court.

"WRONG" I have not seen not one slot machine at anytime in any casino not say right on it that, any and all malfunctions voids any payouts! And that also goes for any video poker machines as well.

Next time your in a casino go and read the front of the machine where the coin goes in or where the bill slot is and you'll find it around there about any malfunctions voiding any payouts!

rcbbuckeye's avatarrcbbuckeye

A few years ago there were a couple of slot winners at Winstar in OK that didn't get paid due to "malfunction". It was a pretty big news story in the Dallas area. I work with a couple people that play there a lot, but I avoid that place like the plague.

cbr$'s avatarcbr$

No Pity!a  lot of casino have signs posted on the walls telling you before hand they are not obligated to pay you if is due to a machine malfunotion you play at your own  risk  , if the casino has even one sign on wall or machine saying this this person lose.  95% of machine have this statement on them . the machines have the warning on them. the best this person can hope for comp; lunch, dinner, or maybe extra comp;points extra comp;play money', a couple of free or reducted rate stays at their hotel and we are sorry sir for any inconveniencce it cause you but a error has been made etc........  politely. this is the bottom line period!!!

time*treat's avatartime*treat

Somehow, they always manage to leave the "erroneous" bait/display up until someone wins.

Lucki723

Quote: Originally posted by iGlenn on Aug 16, 2011

So when I lose I'll just say that the machine was faulty and get my money back.  Wink  Yeah, that'll work.

I Agree!

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