The feeling of winning a multi-million dollar jackpot must be overwhelmingly positive – but we can’t imagine how someone would feel if their windfall was taken away from them almost instantly. This unfortunate situation happened to Jennifer Carmin, a woman who believed she had hit a $28.9 million progressive jackpot prize, but was offered a steak dinner instead.
Ms Carmin had been playing a poker machine at the Blue Chip Casino in Indiana. When she had started to play a penny pokie, the machine started to flash ‘$28.9 milllion’. She believed that she had won a huge jackpot prize, but casino floor staff approached her and told her to step away from the machine. She was taken away from the scene and escorted to the manager’s office, where she was told that the machine had malfunctioned.
Rather than offering her a prize, the manager gave her a voucher for a steak dinner. “I mean what are two steak dinners? I don’t even like steak. I tried to explain that to them; they thought that was funny. I said I don’t think that’s funny,” Ms Carmin told reporters. The scorned pokie player may be seeking legal counsel over the issue, and it seems to be the right decision.
In the past, this situation has occurred at quite a few casinos. Each time, casino staff offered the players a menial prize. In one case, a man named Berhar Merlaku was told his machine malfunctioned after winning a $57 million jackpot. He was offered a meal voucher and $100, but decided to sue the casino. Eventually, he was awarded $1 million.
Pokie fans have expressed support for Ms Carmin, stating that she should be entitled to at least a portion of the jackpot that she believed she had won. She may have a case in court, and we will keep you updated if she settles.
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