Featured Image Credit: ABC7
Topics: Food and Drink, Money, US News, World News
Poppy Bilderbeck
Instead of being handed $43 million for her jackpot 'win', a woman was offered a steak dinner instead. Tough choice, right?
Katrina Bookman was at the Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens, when she decided to have a go on the slot machines.
After pulling the lever, she secured what would have been the largest slot machine jackpot in US history - $42,949,672.
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Alas, the win didn't end up being quite as it seemed.
Prepare to feel her pain:
As the slots slowly rolled into place, Bookman's eyes widened in shock and her whole body went 'numb,' believing her life had just been completely changed and she'd become a millionaire.
Naturally, she took a selfie with the machine to mark the occasion and ran off to find an employee to tell them of her good fortune.
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However, after being told to come back the next day, she was also informed by an employee she 'didn't win nothing'.
But how was that so?
Well, the New York State Gaming Commission later spoke out, saying Bookman’s machine had malfunctioned, and that she'd actually won - wait for it, a measly $2.25.
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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.
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.”
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The year after she'd thought she'd won, Bookman's lawyer filed a lawsuit and described the casino's claims as 'ridiculous'.
"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?"
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The case was ultimately settled out of court.
After realizing 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."