A woman was left furious after being offered a mere steak dinner instead of her rightful $43 million winnings at a casino.
Despite winning such an incredible sum, she realized that the world was far from being her oyster in this particular case.
Katrina Bookman's life took an unexpected turn when a malfunction in the casino's slot machine left her with nothing to claim as her prize.
The dramatic chain of events unfolded as Bookman tried her luck on the slot machines at the Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens.
To her amazement, luck seemed to smile upon her, and she hit the jackpot with an astonishing $42,949,672. Afterward, she joyfully captured the moment with a selfie.
However, her elation was short-lived as it became apparent that it wasn’t all as it seemed.
The following day, Bookman returned to the casino to discuss her winnings
Instead of the massive jackpot, she had actually won a mere $2.25.
Excitedly, she asked one of the employees about her prize. However, she was disappointed when, allegedly, they devastatingly responded: "You haven't won anything."
Later, she discovered that her ‘winnings’ had been snatched right before her eyes, as the New York State Gaming Commission confirmed that the woman's machine had malfunctioned.
Consequently, instead of the huge jackpot, she had actually won a mere $2.25.
Dan Bank, a spokesperson for Resorts World 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.”
One year after Bookman's hopeful belief that she had won the jackpot, her lawyer took action by filing a lawsuit and denouncing the casino's claims as 'ridiculous'. Eventually, the case was resolved through an out-of-court settlement.
Bookman's attorney, Alan Ripka, has been fighting for months for the casino to provide a higher payout for Bookman, but his efforts proved futile. Thus, on June 14, he initiated the lawsuit.
“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?” her lawyer told CNN at the time.
“And if so, does that mean that people that played there before had zero chance of winning?”
