It was a selfie she thought was worth nearly $43 million.
Katrina Bookman hit the jackpot on a slot machine in late August at Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens. She even took an excited self-portrait with the machine displaying her winnings: $42,949,672. It would have been the largest slot machine jackpot in US history.
"I can't even describe the feeling. It's like my whole body just got numb," Bookman said.
But when she came back the next day to find out the exact size of her jackpot, a casino employee crushed her excitement.
"I said, 'So what did I win? He said, 'You didn't win nothing,'" she said.
The New York State Gaming Commission said that Bookman's machine had malfunctioned. The machine, like all the ones in the casino, has a disclaimer stating, "Malfunctions void all pays and plays."
Instead, the casino offered Bookman a complimentary steak dinner.
"All I could think about was my family," Bookman said, her voice breaking. She grew up in foster care and raised 4 children as a single mother.
The New York State Gaming Commission said that they immediately pulled the machine from the casino floor to fix it, and it is now up and running once again. The commission said that by law they can only award Bookman her actual winnings of $2.25, printed by the machine.
"They win, and now the house doesn't want to pay out. To me that's unfair," says Bookman's attorney, Alan Ripka. He's fighting for the casino to pay Bookman the maximum amount allowed by the Sphinx slot machine — $6,500.
"The machine takes the money when you lose. It ought to pay it when you win," Ripka said.
Resorts World spokesman Dan Bank said, "Upon being notified of the situation, casino personnel were able to determine that the figure displayed on the penny slot was the result of an obvious malfunction — a fact later confirmed by the New York State Gaming Commission.
"After explaining the circumstances to Ms. Bookman, we offered to pay her the correct amount that was shown on the printed ticket. Machine malfunctions are rare, and we would like to extend our apologies to Ms. Bookman for any inconvenience this may have caused."
The casino couldn't send a portion of its revenue to a New York state education fund, as mandated by law, if had to pay out massive jackpots like the one displayed on Bookman's machine, Bank said. In five years, the casino has generated more than $1.6 billion for the fund, he said.
But Bookman remains frustrated.
"I should win the max. And I feel like I should treat him (the casino employee) to a steak dinner," she said.
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
Thanks to LottoAce for the tip.
Tilt!
Strange How Machine Malfunctions Only Occur on Big Payouts!
And I had the foolish thought every time I saw the signs posted on the machines that it doesn't mean what it says---they would never do that to a victim of their greed.
What an idiot I have been! Shame on these casino <snip>s and the politicians who make them screw the poor after they're screwed by the politicians.
ms bookman keep the faith i could only wonder how you felt god will give you a chance again and this time it will be for real. start playing your kids birthday and age. lottery mega million and power ball casino s r rip off i think they should put on machines for fun only
"Malfunctions void all pays and plays." THERE OUGHTA BE A LAW. This is total bullcrap. If you lose it's ok but if you win it's a malfunction. SERIOUSLY?
OK everyone:
1) What was the jackpot stated on the machine? I seriously doubt it was even close to $10K.
2) WHY did she come back THE NEXT DAY to see what her jackpot was? When I've won jackpots on slot machines, I'm paid right then and there.
She hired an Attorney? Good luck with that, paying $300/hour for an unwinnable case, she needs her head examined. Am I supposed to feel pity because she's a single mother of several children? No, I don't.
Sorry to sound harsh, but this is clearly a no-brainer. She better be careful drawing all this attention to herself over this foolishness or she'll be a defendant from the casino's side of the law.
If my memory serves me correctly: There was a previous incident similar to this one where a person "won millions" playing the penny slots- it was ruled null & void as well. Something like " You can't win millions of dollars playing pennies. Go figure.
.
Exactamundo!, Mr./Ms. Raven62,
That's exactly how I feel about this whole doggone mess.
To hell with slot machines and casinos altogether!
(except my poker, please don't take poker away. You can empty the casino, just keep a place for others and myself to play hold 'em. And maybe that video craps game.).
Imagine them pulling a stunt like this. If I were a nearby employee, and witnessed this injustice,
I'd walk off the job.
Who wouldn't?
At least with Cash, Mega and PB, if the state tried something like this, you'd have the whole country's/whole world's attention. What do you have after you pull some old slot handle?
(shoo', afta I pull the slot handle, I be lucky if I gots a bus ride back home.)
Groppo
.
Casinos are always getting richer; No thanks to casino goers' illusions.
(But with lotto, I expect to lose anyway, every week. Still, I can dream though.)
Lol why do u play if u expect to lose, u can dream for free, I'm jus saying..
That's why the house always wins...
I will never set foot inside a casino. Even for the shows. Bunch of crooks.
So, the maxium payout of the machine was 6500, which she did not even win. So why is this unfair?
.
Mr./Ms. EZMONEE,
Simply because of all the success stories we've read on here.
This or that guy or gal, in Georgia or North Carolina won so many doggone millions.
This or that person in Californy or Ohio won another set of millions, or at least the second prize.
Yet, another in New York, wins enough to liberate them from that hell hole.
How many success stories (I mean with what frequency), are published on some guy's successful weekend trip to the casino?
I don't spend as much doing my lotto thing.
I still do wish some lotto winner would come my way, and offer me a bunch of their extra loot.
I'm several thousand in debt with credit cards.
So, that's not a real problem. I just want the extra money, with the least possible BS. Who doesn't?
Mr. Groppo
(good question, though)
They are soo full of do do.
they remove the machine and fix it alright didnt even give her cab fare...smfh thieving as$!!
$6k at least should been her pay out!!
yes girl sue for a couple more steak dinners!
Wow!!!ssmdh!!
I guess you have never sued anyone!!!
NYC is sued city central!
I had a case never paid a penny up front but of course when i got paid my loyal got his share!
I really love my Jewish lawyer!!
i would have printed out my ticket and taken it to the cashier.. why come back the next day???
Well, the heads up that it had malfunctioned was the amount she won. Come on, $42 Million off a penny slot ? I hate penny slot machines just for the fact they don't pay out a large sum.
No, never sued anyone. Her dragging the casino through the mud isn't very wise IMO but what do I know?!
Your last sentence made me laugh. While stationed @ Walter Wonderful or Wally World (Walter Reed Army Medical Center) many African Americans worked there. One gal I remember from like '83 said if you ever get into trouble get a White Jewish lawyer.
They should have to pay her the $43 million!
That's crazy. That's what the casinos be doing. Same thing happened to someone I know. Not for that much though. What would you do? They'd have to kick me out of there. That's messed up. Steak dinner...f outta there.
At least the max. payout it will give. But only giving her, her money back and a steak dinner is total bull sh..
Sorry Mrs,Katrina Bookman better Luck next time
I thought this story might get a considerable amout of attention.
Great Job to Todd and the LP staff for the swift and accurrate verification,
edition and release of this story.
Heres my take.
The machine is only designed to pay out
$6500 bucks.
if it was a machine malfuction. ok...
however, she oviously did nothing to envoke that malfuction.
so she is not to blame.
who's to say that the machine didn't malfuction
after winning a jackpot?
if the software in the machine is only designed to pay out
$6500 this alone could have caused an error
when the payout would have been $6502.25
(Jackpot plus money in machine)
there are thousands of reasons that machine
could have malfuctioned.
what was the amount printed on her ticket?
look at the screen in the selfie and you will see
that the machine is printing a ticket. bottom line
clearly states "please remove your ticket"
Casino's offer of a steak dinner is a slap in the face.
Vegas serves them up for a few bucks, and the drinks are free
as long as your gambling.
if the Casino is smart they will pay her the $6500 plus the
$2.25 cents, that she originaly won and let ride.
have her sign a legal disclaimer agreeing that she is
not entitled to any further casino compensation for this
debt...
otherwise they may end up in court.
if this occurs, no one knows how it will turn out,
but it will be further bad publicity for the casino
which will probably cost them a whole lot more
than $6502.25!
The Casino should just pay thier debt to her and close
the case. otherwise there going to be stuck paying whatever
sum the courts render fair, plus loose buisiness, plus
court cost, thier laywer fees, and probably hers as well.
In my humble opinion from years of experience
if this goes to court, Miss Katrina Bookman will
most likely not walk away empty handed.
just my 10 cents. (inflation sucks)
"They should have to pay her the $43 million!"
So you're saying that the casino should be liable for the $43 million? do you even realize this was a penny slot machine and none worldwide have ever had a legitimate prize anywhere close to that amount.
The max payout on that machine is $6500.
If you saw were selling a home for $1.5 million and the newspaper mistakenly advertised it for $1.50, do you think you are obligated to selling it at that price?
I might have missed it, and will check various websites, but want to see what the screen shows. Not the $43 million payout, but if there are any symbols visible to ascertain if that was a winning combination.
People can't read don't read and don't look at small fine print. Atlantic City in 2001 I had a 4 grand flush and I got lucky on it and they gave me cash and just to do my own taxes on it at that time my father told me to save a certain amount. You're right about another thing lawyer fees and they're not cheap
Common sense should tell anyone that if it costs a person a dollar or more to play either the MM or PB jackpots in order to win millions- what makes them think they can get around that by playing pennies to win millions? The lines would be stretching around that casino with people waiting their turn at playing those penny slots machines.
There never was a $43 million jackpot on that machine so the amount on the "printing ticket" message was an obvious malfunction. Below that is says "remove ticket" and seriously doubt the machine printed out a ticket valued at $43 million.
"But when she came back the next day to find out the exact size of her jackpot, a casino employee crushed her excitement."
The screen showed the payout amount and said "remove ticket" so why did she come back the next day to find out the exact size of her winnings when that should be on the ticket?
Depending on how many lines you play penny slot machines can easily go into the dollars, for example there is a penny Megabucks slot machine but in order to be eligible for the jackpot you have to wager 3$.
I feel sorry for her, I was at the resorts world "casino" and it looked like a gym with slot machines in it, very boxy and boring, no fun atmosphere. Almost all the players looked dejected and shifty, many people looked like they played with their last 5$.
The slot machine can't pay out more than the pay table allows, which in this case is 6500$. There are a lot of false comparisons here. This is more like hitting the Powerball for 4$ and the reader says "Congratulations, you are a jackpot winner" when the play slip only has 2 correct numbers, and then complaining about not being paid your 100MM$+ jackpot
EDIT: I don't think Resortsworld cares about what people say, it looks barren and still has the highest revenue while having crap payouts, if I remember correctly.
Sue the casino u have a picture on ur phone...Good Luck
The yellow highlighted sentence is my whole point...you never leave a machine and come back the next day.
Granted my jackpots weren't all that high $5K; several $2K and some $1250, but the machine automatically calls the Attendant and you are given a slip of paper and told to wait. Then Security and Attendant come and pay you off and give your IRS form too.
That is exactly what transpires when I won.
If you win Megabucks for example, they do very extensive testing and can take sometime before you see any kind of payout. That's what scares me about playing in McCarran or Reno/Tahoe Airports, you'd miss your flight. Then again, if you won millions, who'd care about the darn flight? Not me.
I would have to get me my steak dinner but they would have to serve my 43 mill. as my side.
Seriously, this woman needs to sit down. It was a PENNY machine!! I'm not a big fan of casinos, but I hope this casino don't pay her and her shyster lawyer one cent!!
Sue the casino for what???? The casinos have lawyers high paid ones too. She would be shelling out more money than has to be. Tax payers have to pay for this if it did. Not worth it.
My experience with a slot machine no matter which one is this. The casino workers have to get over to the machine. Then they have to verify of any winnings. I know this and if anyone seen my comment back in 2001 I hit for $4002 in AC. The machine lights go on. Then they have to record what there is and perhaps depending on prizes and you have to give ID.
There are questions concerning this woman and the casino. If anything the machine stops. So how are you going to argue over a computer.
DO you all get my point? That machine wasn't paying out $43 million. No casino is paying that money out and perhaps a malfunction. The lawyer is def making money and this patron oh well move on not even worth it. She is putting out more money on lawyer fees. If they settle she might get $1000 because of what happened. They settle out of court and people need to learn to read fine print.
I used to hang out with this friend that was so obsessed with penny machines. He would call me up and tell me he won $75 in 8 hours. WTF!!! And he was excited. I was like are you freaking kidding me???
You can't fix stupid and we shouldn't have to pay for it.
If the max payout for that machine is $6500, they should at least pay her that amount. How many times do you think those machines have malfunctioned resulting in loses to the patrons and none the wiser? I guess they were right when they said that the house always wins.
RL
I work for a casino soo I see how they work. I wouldnt put any money in a slot machine bacause they eat your money! I have seen poeple sit at a slot machine all day long and win nothing. Then get angry and sucker punch the machine!! I have seen some crazy stuff happen on my job. Looks like to me she got played!! I am not surpised!
Are they strict on their dress codes? Here in Philly the Parx casino not allowed to have any facial hair. You probably have seen everything. You'll get a pension hopefully. How long you been working for one?
REALLY? You think NYC is the only sue city the whole U.S Is like that!
I suppose you are just one of those people that looks for a reason to sue so you're loyal(guessing you meant Lawyer?) can have his share?
I FIND IT VERY STRANGE THE CASINO DIDN'T NOTICE THE LARGE PAY OUT AMOUNT ON THE MACHINE UNTIL SHE WON? WHY IS THAT!
REALLY???? I, Don't even know where to start with YOU...........
So what if your friend spent 8hrs at a Casino and won $75. they were excited, had fun and thought you being a FRIEND would be excited for them!
America a litigious society. Each and every lottery winner of millions of dollars must familiarize themselves with Asset Protection. Before claiming. You will need professional help here.
Pay her the money it was malfunctioning when she was losing her money pay her or closed down
"I FIND IT VERY STRANGE THE CASINO DIDN'T NOTICE THE LARGE PAY OUT AMOUNT ON THE MACHINE UNTIL SHE WON? WHY IS THAT!"
She never won a jackpot; her actual winnings were $2.25, but the screen showed it was printing a cash ticket, below that $43 million and "please remove ticket". The article doesn't say if the machine printed a ticket worth $43 million, but because "she came back the next day to find out the exact size of her jackpot,." it doesn't look like she removed the ticket.
If you checked a $1 pick-3 box ticket using a ticket scanner and it said you won $43 million, would you think really won $43 million?
People should accept that technology is not foolproof.
Correct...you've got to protect yourself from the bottom feeders. They want something for nothing and think they're entitled. Screw that.
true
You are so correct. When you hit the 'big one' they take you to a private area. I read about someone complaining about Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. They won a multi-million dollar or large amount (can't remember now) and were upset because it is paid over 20 years. Since I never had the pleasure of winning anything like that, I wonder, would they give you the cash option instead?
Come to think of it, I'll email IGT about that. I have seen on Megabucks machines that it is paid over 20 years and nothing about cash option. Lotteries haven't had cash option all that long.
I read on a Vegas community baord and in the "Las Vegas Sun" an interview with an official from IGT Gaming that Megabucks does have a cash option, which is similar to that of lotteries, so nearly half.
Danke Schoen!
I thought so but wasn't sure.
How does Merkel think about our election? No comment here, not happy is all I'll say.
Good point you brought up.
Why did she take the steak dinner instead of winning the largest jackpot? That was very lucky.