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NEW YORK — It was a selfie she thought was worth nearly $43 million. Katrina Bookman hit the jackpot on a slot machine in late August at Resorts World Casino in Queens. She even took an excited. Katrina Bookman, a New York woman, has sued the casino and slot machine maker, saying they need to pay up. They say it was a malfunction. A slot machine glitch said she won $43 million. Katrina Bookman took a selfie with the Sphinx Slot Machine telling her it was 'printing cash ticket $42,949,672.76' as she celebrated her whopping jackpot. But a worker at the Resorts World Casino.
NEW YORK (CBSMiami/CNN) — Imagine winning a nearly $43 million dollar slot machine jackpot but then learning the house says you didn’t really win.
READ MORE: 'That Was Outrageous And Frightening' Second Teen In Custody After Chaotic Miami Beach Police PursuitThat’s what happened to a New York woman who is now taking the casino to court. In August, Katrina Bookman took a selfie in front of the slot machine at Resorts World Casino in New York, and flashed her multi-million dollar smile. Behind her, on the slot machine, evidence of her mega win.
“I kept thinking about my family,” said Bookman.
But after the jackpot flashed on the screen, she was told the game had malfunctioned and she wouldn’t receive the prize. Bookman is used to disappointment. She was raised in foster care, was homeless as a teenager, and raised four kids
“The struggle I’ve been through, it’s hard to cope,” she said.
Bookman had already earmarked some of the cash prize to buy a barbershop for her son and planned to give a big chunk back to her community. In video shot by Katrina’s partner after the apparent jackpot hit, it was casino chaos. She was surrounded by customers and casino personnel and security escorted her off the casino floor. She was told to come back the next day for the decision.
READ MORE: Woman In Critical Condition After Being Struck By Vehicle On Miami Beach“I said what did I win? You didn’t win nothing.”
Katrina says the only winnings the casino offered was a steak dinner. She declined the offer.
“They win and the house doesn’t want to pay out,” said Bookman’s attorney Alan Ripka. “To me that’s unfair.” Ripka says at the very least, Katrina should win the maximum allowed on the Sphinx Machine. The casino says its $6,500. “The machine takes your money when you lose. It ought to pay it when you win,” said Ripka.
The New York State Gaming Commission said the slot machine was pulled from the casino floor and fixed after the incident.
The commission says any malfunction makes the game null and void.
Katrina still thinks, at the minimum, she should be awarded the max payout on that slot machine. “I feel I should win the max and I will treat him to a steak dinner.”
MORE NEWS: Palm Beach COVID Compliance Team Investigating DeSantis Event For Maskless CrowdKatrina Bookman Casino
The Gaming Commission says the casino can’t give her the max pay out by law. They claim the only win she is entitled to is $2.25.
Katrina Bookman lawsuit: A Queens woman files a suit against a local casino after refusing to pay a $43m jackpot they claim was an error.
Katrina Bookman, a Queens woman has launched a lawsuit against New York’s Resorts World Casino after contending that the casino offered her a free steak dinner instead of $43 million jackpot earnings.
It was while Bookman was playing at the Rockaway Beach venue last August that Bookman took a screenshot in front of the ‘Sphinx Slot Machine’ showing she’d just won the grand prize of f $42,949,672.76.
Katrina Bookman Settlement
Easier said than done.
When bookman went to collect her cash, casino employees told her she hadn’t actually won and offered her a complimentary steak dinner and $2.25 — the prize they claim her slot machine actually should have delivered.
Bookman’s lawyer, Alan Ripka, told CNN Money his ‘outraged’ client turned down the offer. Instead, the mother of four filed a lawsuit against the casino off Rockaway Boulevard in the Queens County Supreme Court on Wednesday after repeated attempts of an an out-of-court settlement were snubbed.
Ripka is seeking $43 million in damages from the resort. The suit also takes aim at Genting New York LLC, the casino’s parent company, and International Game Technology — the maker of the slot machine — for alleged common-law negligence, breach of contract and negligent representation, according to the 17-page complaint.
‘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. ‘And if so, does that mean that people that played there before (Bookman) had zero chance of winning?’
A resort spokesperson had previously claimed Bookman’s win was the ‘result of an obvious malfunction,’ noting the Sphinx Slot Machine’s highest payout was $6,500.
Which is to wonder, instead of offering Bookman a scant $2.25 why didn’t it offer the woman who had played the game in good faith at the very least $6500?
Adding to the fissure, the state Gaming Commission also dismissedthe win as the machine displays a sign stating ‘Malfunctions void all pays and plays.’
The machine was taken out of service, repaired and put back a day later, the commission said.
Katrina Bookman Casino Settlement
Which is again to wonder, if it was malfunctioned, what was doing it being put out for the public who played the machine in good faith and who in hindsight never stood a chance of winning, despite the casino happily taking their money.
Katrina Bookman Facebook
Since lodging her complaint, Bookman alleges the entire ordeal has caused her ‘mental anguish’ and resulted in a financial setback because she did not have ‘the chance and/or opportunity to win.’ Which is to also wonder, what is a mother who has four children dependent on her doing gambling any spare money she has at a casino?