Katrina Bookman hit the headlines last year when she won the jackpot at the Resorts World Casino in New York.
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Although the Sphinx Slot Machine told her she’d won a $43 million (£35 million) jackpot, which would’ve been the largest jackpot in US history, she was shut down by the casino staff. When it came to collecting her prize, she was told that she hadn’t actually won any money and as condolences for the “mix up” she was offered a complimentary steak dinner and $2.25.
At the time, Resorts World spokesman Dan Bank apologised and said that:
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.
However, Katrina was having none of it and she did not accept the steak dinner or the $2.25. Her attorney Alan Ripkin has been fighting for months to get the casino to cough up the cash, but to no avail, so this week he filed a lawsuit. Bringing out the big guns. Here’s what he had to say:
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?
And if so, does that mean that people that played there before [Bookman] had zero chance of winning?
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The man’s got a point. I mean, of course $43 million is a ridiculous amount of money, but where does it end? Could the casino claim that it was a “malfunction” whenever they think that the sum is too high? I reckon the least they could do is give her a cool million or something – or even a few thousand. Basically, anything more than a mother fucking steak dinner.
Alan is not fucking about though, and he is seeking the full $43 million in damages. This guy sounds ruthless. The lawsuit is pretty fresh so we don’t know what the outcome is going to be. Hopefully Katrina gets some of the winnings. I would wish her good luck but I don’t think that she needs it with Alan Ripkin on her side.
To read about the man who beat up his wife and tried to blame it on the casino for serving him 15 whiskies, click HERE.
