Katrina Bookman secured the largest slot machine reward ever granted in the United States while enjoying her time at the Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens.
After winning the jackpot on a slot machine at Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens, Katrina Bookman was faced with an unexpected choice: a steak dinner or $43 million, the largest slot machine prize in US history.
However, despite her win, she didn’t have many options. In fact, Katrina would have secured a whopping $42,949,672 (£35.4m) had she been able to claim the prize.
After her win, Katrina Bookman used her device to snap a selfie to commemorate the moment. She later revealed feeling “numb” when she saw the prize amount displayed on the screen.
Despite being told to return the next day to discuss her reward, when Katrina asked what she had won, a casino employee simply replied, “You didn’t win nothing.”
The New York State Gaming Commission stated that Katrina Bookman was only entitled to $2.25 (£1.86) since her slot machine had malfunctioned.
As the machine had displayed a warning that “malfunctions void all pays and plays,” the commission argued that they were legally obligated to award her only the amount that she had legitimately won.
As a gesture of goodwill, the casino offered Katrina Bookman a complimentary steak dinner, but for someone who believed they had won enough money to dine on steak for a lifetime, this was hardly a cause for celebration.
According to Dan Bank, a spokesperson for Resorts World, when questioned by CNN: “Upon being notified of the situation, casino personnel was 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.”
One year after Katrina Bookman’s win, her legal representative filed a lawsuit against the casino, labeling their assertions 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?” Bookman’s attorney, Alan Ripka, voiced.
“And if so, does that mean that people that played there before [Bookman] had zero chance of winning?”
Ultimately, a settlement was reached between the two parties without the need for court proceedings.
Katrina Bookman, a single mother of four who had grown up in foster care, expressed her thoughts after discovering that she would be receiving only a small sum, stating, “All I could think about was my family.”