According to CNN Money , Katrina Bookman thought she had literally hit the jackpot when a “Sphinx Slot Machine” told her she had won $42,949,672.76. The below photo shows the selfie Katrina took next to the slot machine that day, which proclaimed that it was “printing cash ticket” for nearly $43 million. Bookman was at Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York, when the melee happened.
If Katrina had won $43 million that day, Bookman would have made history and become the recipient of the biggest jackpot ever won via a slot machine in U.S. history. However, when Bookman tried to cash in on her $43 million in winnings, Katrina learned from a worker at Resorts World Casino that she didn’t win a thin dime. Instead, the worker offered Bookman a paltry $2.25, along with a free steak dinner. But Bookman wouldn’t bite. Katrina turned down the steak as well as the $2.25, and lawyered up.
As seen in the above photo, a gambler at the Resorts World Casino played a slot machine at the Aqueduct racetrack in the Queens, New York. In Katrina’s case, it was the penny slot machine that became the source of the controversy on a day in August in 2016. By November 3, 2016, the Resorts World Casino told the public that instead of Bookman winning $43 million on the penny slot machine, Katrina actually only won $2.25.
Dan Bank, a spokesperson for Resorts World Casino, said that casino workers figured out that the nearly $43 million shown as Katrina’s slot machine winnings on the penny slots was “the result of an obvious malfunction — a fact later confirmed by the New York State Gaming Commission.”
Plus, officials at the New York State Gaming Commission are pointing to a disclaimer on the slot machine that voids all payments due as the result of malfunctions. However, Alan Ripka, Bookman’s lawyer, has been trying to get more money out of Resorts World Casino for Katrina’s troubles, and filed a lawsuit on her behalf on June 14.
Ripka called the reasons given by Resorts World Casino for not paying Bookman “ridiculous.” The attorney said he has queried Resorts World Casino, trying to determine the reasoning behind the slot machine’s malfunction, but didn’t receive an explanation. Ripka is seeking at least $43 million in damages for Katrina, due to the “mental anguish” and loss of money.
[Featured Image by Julie Jacobson/AP Images]
