Katrina Bookman Settlement

You could have DOOR NUMBER 1: A $43 Million Dollar Jackpot

1. JAMAICA, Queens (WABC) - Call it the $42.9 million dollar selfie. Katrina Bookman flashed her multi-million dollar smile. Behind her, on her slot machine screen, evidence of her mega win.
2. Jun 15, 2017 Katrina Bookman captured national attention last year when she played a 'Sphinx Slot Machine' at Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York, and it appeared as though she'd won $43 million - which.

The Case of Katrina Bookman Just to show the types of error that a casino can make for which they won’t pay, we’ll start with the case of Katrina Bookman. According to CNN, Ms. Bookman was playing at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York, when she apparently won almost $43 million on a slot machine. Katrina Bookman was playing the penny slot machine at Resorts World Casino in August when it displayed a message that read, 'Printing Cash Ticket. She even took a selfie next to.

Or have DOOR NUMBER 2: (which is equally as great, I’m sure) – a free Steak Dinner

Hmmm… How should I choose?

Well in the case of Katrina Bookman… The choice was made for her. Meaning, she kinda didn’t have one. After trying her luck this past August, at Resorts World Casino, in Queens, NY, Ms. Boyd thought she had hit it big time, nearly $43 million dollars big, but instead was offered an unlikely alternative- dinner. A steak dinner to be exact.
Yes, you’ve heard correctly. Bookman, pictured below with winning casino machine, went to cash in her earnings but was told that there was a glitch in the system and to return the following day while they worked out the solution. Well she did return and you know what she was told??? That there were no earnings and that she could have a steak dinner instead.

How insulting!

Resorts World Casino explained to Ms. Bookman that a machine malfunction, which has since been fixed, is the cause of the false win. Ms. Bookman, and attorney, are planning a lawsuit to settle matters with the casino that doesn’t involve her receiving the free dinner.
“I would at least like the maximum that the machine pays out, then I could treat him to a steak dinner!” – says Booman.
We hope that Ms. Bookman, former foster child, and single mother of three, who has hopes of helping her community, is rewarded with a fair and decent settlement.

But we won’t hold our breaths.

While some people are lucky enough to win big at casinos, the hardest part can sometimes be collecting the winnings.

Inside Edition’s investigative team found people who thought they'd be taking home huge jackpots, only to discover that wasn't the case.

Katrina Bookman, 44, thought she hit a $42.9 million jackpot at Resorts World Casino in Queens, N.Y., in 2016. She even posed next to the winning machine as it displayed her earnings.
“I thought it was my lucky day,” she told Inside Edition.

Crowds started to surround Katrina to congratulate her, but soon security took her aside and she was eventually told that the machine had malfunctioned and there would be no payday.

“Anytime a machine hits a lot of money, you are going to claim it’s broke,” Katrina said.

She hired a lawyer, Alan Ripka, to take the casino to court. The case is pending.

“When you walk through the door, you expect if you are risking your money, that if you win, you will be paid,” Ripka said.

Construction worker Jerry Rape, 55, and his wife, Kim, couldn't believe it when a slot machine said he'd won $1.3 million at the Wind Creek Casino in Montgomery, Ala., in 2011.

“I thought I was a millionaire,” he told Inside Edition. “I thought it was my lucky day.”

But 24 hours after he thought he had “won,' he was also told the 'machine malfunctioned.'

“Very devastating,” he said

He also hired an attorney, Matt Abbott.

“In this circumstance, the Creek Indian tribe was the judge, the jury and ultimate say so on whether they were going to pay a jackpot that [they] should have paid,” said Abbott.

Veronica Castilla was stunned when the machine showed she had won $8.5 million at the Lucky Eagle casino outside Seattle.

“I was excited; I couldn't believe it,” she said. “I was in shock.”

She even took out her camera to snap pictures.

“I started to ask, 'Where's my prize?'” she recalled.

But just like the others, she was told the machine had malfunctioned.

“They took my money but didn’t want to pay my winnings,” she claimed.

Washington is among a handful of states with its own casino lab, where gaming machines are regularly inspected.

“Nationwide, it's extremely rare to see a major machine malfunction, so consumers should feel confident that when they are sitting down at a gaming machine, it's going to function properly,” Heather Songer of the Washington State Gambling Commission told Inside Edition.

That's little solace for Katrina Bookman, Jerry Rape, and Veronica Castillo, who felt like they were millionaires — for at least a few minutes.

“I'm going to fight,' Castillo said. 'This is not over.'

The casinos say malfunctions are extremely rare and when errors occur, any payouts are void. In the cases of Bookman, Rape and Castillo, the jackpots actually exceeded what the machines could pay out.

Katrina Bookman Settlement Update

Katrina Bookman Casino Settlement

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