Jess Battison
It’s actually hard to imagine seeing the numbers flag up that you’ve won £33 million at a casino. I honestly don’t even think I can truly picture that.
It would just seem too good to be true, right?
Well, for one woman, she was of course absolutely over the moon to hit the jackpot of £33 million. But it all came crashing down to reality when the casino offered her a steak dinner instead of all that money.
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Yeah, that seems a little more imaginable, albeit way, way less life-changing.
Back in 2017, Katrina Bookman was playing the slots at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York, when she appeared to have hit what would have been the largest slot machine jackpot in US history.
Completely buzzing with the idea her life had instantly changed forever, the woman snapped a selfie with the screen and the whopping number. But when she returned there the next day for an ‘official ruling’ on just how much money she’d be leaving with, she got some pretty sh*t news.
“You didn’t win nothing,” are the words that Bookman will probably never shake.
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Turns out that the machine she’d been using to play on had malfunctioned and her actual winnings were a whole lot less.
Just a measly $2.25 (£1.67). Yeah, not even enough for a meal deal. Well, probably not even enough for just the drink these days.
The machine had a disclaimer stating 'malfunctions void all pays and plays,' and as a result, the casino was only required to pay Bookman the $2.35 she'd actually won.
So to try and soften the blow, in a gesture of goodwill Resorts World offered her a steak dinner on the house to go with the pocket change – a pretty sad consolation prize in comparison to the life changing sum she thought she'd be walking away with.
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Following this gutting mishap, Resorts World spokesperson 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."