Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Casino says $42m slot machine win was 'malfunction'

When the lights and bells went off at a slot machine at the Fortune Valley Casino, in Central City, Colorado, Louise Chavez thought she had the win of a lifetime - $42 million. But after the casino claimed the machine malfunctioned, all Chavez got was a few dollars, some free meals and a room for the night.

Colorado gaming officials are investigating the incident, but said it could be nothing more than an unfortunate computer glitch. Chavez may not see a dime. "I put my money in there," Chavez said. "Whatever I won, I should get... There are dreams and there are things I'd like to do - helping my family, helping my kids. That's why I'm disappointed. I just don't know."

The Denver woman can remember all too clearly when she thought her life had changed. "All of a sudden I saw the light come on on top of the machine," Chavez said. "I'm like, 'Oh, my God! Oh, my God!' I'd never had this feeling before in my life, never."



The payout she was expecting? $42,949,673. She said she usually makes about $12,000 per year as an in-home personal care provider. But champagne and caviar dreams quickly evaporated. Casino employees told Chavez the slot machine had malfunctioned.

Chavez said the casino offered only to comp her room and meals and give her back about $20 she'd put into the machine. "My emotions changed from excited, thrilled to very upset," she said.

"We've been open for 15 years at Fortune Valley and this is the first time we've had something of this magnitude," Fortune Valley communications director Joe Behm said. "It's unfortunate when it happens," said Colorado Division of Gaming spokesman Don Burmania. "We don't like it to happen, the casinos don't like it to happen and in this case, the patron didn't like it, either."

7 comments:

arbroath said...

Hang on.  So, someone wins and all of a sudden it's decided that the machine must have malfunctioned?  What, are people not supposed to win?

arbroath said...

That is very convenient for the casino, having the machine "malfunction" every time someone wins big.

On the other hand, 42 million from a slot machine does sound unrealistic.

arbroath said...

Eh, mixed emotions on that. I totally feel her disappointment, but at the end of the video she just sounds like a greedy b*%$.
She still came out on top with getting free lodging and food. I doubt that business is even worth $42 mill.

arbroath said...

Check this out! She really is a winner! If the machine has a problem then it should be blocked from anybody to play it......then if she is playing the penny machine.......$42million is in pennies...therefore how much is it in $$$ you compute of the real truth.....the machine is really working fine!

arbroath said...

$42 million in pennis is still $42 million tobeb...

arbroath said...

She should at the minimum be entitled to the maximum jackpot the machine should have been able to pay out. If the casino feels entitled to keep all the earnings from a machine they say was malfunctioning, they should be equally comfortable paying out when the machine malfunctions.

arbroath said...

She only makes $12,000 per year...she shouldn't be gambling in the first place.