Emily Brown
Would you rather have $43 million, or a steak dinner? Unfortunately, one woman wasn't left with much choice even after hitting the jackpot on a slot machine.
Katrina Bookman was playing the slots at the Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens when she secured what would have been the largest slot machine jackpot in US history - $42,949,672 (£35.4m).
She took a selfie with the machine to mark the moment, and later said her whole body went 'numb' when she saw the life-changing figure.
Bookman was told to come back the next day to discuss her winnings, but when she asked an employee what she'd be walking away with, he responded: "You didn't win nothing."
Advert
The New York State Gaming Commission said Bookman’s machine had malfunctioned, and that she'd actually won just $2.25 (£1.86).
The machine had a disclaimer stating 'malfunctions void all pays and plays', and as a result the commission said that they were required by law to give Bookman only what she'd actually won.
As a gesture of goodwill, the casino offered Bookman a complimentary steak dinner - though that's hardly something to cheer about when you think you've won enough money to eat steak for the rest of your life.
Advert
A spokesperson for Resorts World, Dan Bank, told CNN: “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 year after she'd thought she'd won, Bookman's lawyer filed a lawsuit and described the casino's claims as 'ridiculous'.
Advert
"You can't claim a machine is broken because you want it to be broken. Does that mean it wasn't inspected? Does it mean it wasn't maintained?" Ripka told CNN at the time.
"And if so, does that mean that people that played there before [Bookman] had zero chance of winning?"
The case was ultimately settled out of court.
After realising she'd only be walking away with a couple of dollars, Bookman, who grew up in foster care and raised four children as a single mother, commented: "All I could think about was my family."