Woman who won $43m jackpot denied payment

Casino says machine malfunctioned

An American woman could not believe her luck when she scooped a slot machine jackpot of $43million but her joy was quickly dampened when the casino she was gambling in refused to pay out.

Katrina Bookman took a selfie of her big buck prize but even that was not proof enough she was a winner, with the venue in New York saying the machine had malfunctioned.

The maximum prize was $6,500 and it said it wasn’t prepared to giver her the cash.

Bookman said: “I said what did I win? (The casino representative said,) ‘You didn’t win nothing.'”

Bookman said the only thing the Resorts World Casino offered her was a steak dinner and her original win of $2.25.

When she had her win on the Sphinx slot machine in August, she was surrounded by other customers, security and staff from the venue.

Bookman was escorted from the floor and told to come back the next day to be told what the decision was on a payout.

She had already started making plans to buy her son a barber shop and use some of her winnings to help her community.

A ruling by the New York State Gaming Commission decided the slot machine had malfunctioned, which voided her play.

All the slot machines in the venue have a sign that says: “Malfunctions void all pays and plays.”

However, despite being told she wasn’t getting any winnings, Bookman is now planning on suing the casino.

Her attorney Alan Ripka said: “They win and the house doesn’t want to pay out. To me that’s unfair.

“The machine takes your money when you lose. It ought to pay it when you win.”

Bookman said she felt she was entitled to “win the max” and joked she was happy to take the casino director for a steak dinner with the money.

According to the New York State Gaming Commission, it told ABC7 the machine was pulled from the floor and fixed.