Slot machines can make you rich...

[BeBMan]

...or can they?

43 million bucks won in the casino....but just get offered 2.25. Plus a free dinner

A US woman is suing a casino that told her the slot machine displaying a $43m (£34m) jackpot was faulty and offered a steak dinner instead, reports say.

Katrina Bookman took a selfie showing the machine saying "printing cash ticket $42,949,672.76" at the Resorts World Casino in New York last August.

But she was escorted out and was told the next day she could have just $2.25.

Her lawyer, Alan Ripka, says she is entitled to the full amount displayed on the machine.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40300062

Though 2.25 ist a vast improvement, as the article notes further down:

In 2011 the Iowa Supreme Court denied an 87-year old grandmother a payout of $42m after a Miss Kitty slot machine showed a message saying she had won a bonus of that amount.

The casino said it had been a malfunction and offered her $1.85 based on the symbols the machine was displaying at the time.

[rah]

I would think offering her a few grand would be cheaper in the long run saving legal fees and better PR.
A person hears a, sorry it's a malfunction and the actually payout should only be 2.35 a lot more clearly if they say we're sorry but here's 5000 grand.

[SlowwHand]

No kidding. The decision maker at the casino screwed up big.

[Elok]

They certainly can make you rich, provided you own them.

[jerrybrown]

I'd rather believe that gambling could make you rich. I mean if you have a strategy and you're good in sports and have strong analytical skills, then that could be a really good business

[Elok]

Gambling can make you rich if you're a professional poker player, bet on sporting events, etc. Slot machines, on the other hand, are painstakingly tweaked to extract the maximum amount of cash while giving as little back as possible. Modern electronic slots, for example, will intermittently present almost-perfect jackpot results to con patrons into thinking that they came very close to winning. Since there are no actual reels spinning in the machine, this is a false conclusion, and even if it weren't it wouldn't make a win more likely. But if a clever person could actually tweak the odds in his favor, one such clever person could in theory loot the casino bare. Not going to happen.

[rah]

Granted the odds are long but there are people that have become rich playing slots. Something has to sucker the rest of us to play them.

[Elok]

Yes, just like there are people who get legitimately rich playing the lottery. It's purely a matter of chance, with no skill component. A slot machine returns 90% of the money it takes in--I believe this is regulated by law. Most of that 90% is in a very few huge jackpots.

[giblets]

I've heard slot machines near the entrance have better odds so that people will see someone winning as they enter the casino. So, it might be possible to pick a good machine.

[rah]

Never said skill was involved. I have also heard that one about near the door, so it pays out 91% instead of 90% wohooo

[Ben Kenobi]

Sheesh. Hasn't she heard of the First rule of acquisition? Once you have their money you never give it back!

[rah]

If you had actually read it you would have seen that she never had their money. I

[Ben Kenobi]

No, but the Casino had her money!

[Dinner]

Casinos will do anything to get out of paying.

[The Mad Monk]

Slot machines can make you rich, but are far more likely to make you poor...

I only visit Casinos for the tasty, cheap buffets.

I make sure to thank the slots players in passing for subsidizing my meal.