Casino Refuses to Pay $43M Jackpot

Slot machine was faulty, Colorado casino insists
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2010 2:52 AM CDT
Updated Apr 1, 2010 5:44 AM CDT
Casino Refuses to Pay $43M Jackpot
Lawsuits from gamblers who get jackpot messages from malfunctioning machines usually fail, experts say.   (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A customer at a Colorado casino was offered a free breakfast and $23 in lieu of the $42.9 million jackpot she won at a penny slot machine. Gaming authorities and officials at Fortune Valley Casino say the machine malfunctioned and that its top payout is only $251,000, but winner Louise Chavez says she's owed the full amount named on the machine.

"I just felt like, you know, I was being cheated," said Chavez, who earns $12,000 a year as a home assistant. "I was being cheated out of the money that I won." State authorities are probing the glitch, and say that while Chavez probably won some kind of prize on the machine, there's no chance she'll be getting anything close to $42.9 million.
(Read more Colorado stories.)

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