Let’s say you go into a casino and decide to try your luck. Just for fun, no big spending as you don’t want to leave everything at this place. Then, you hit the jackpot, get a lot of money, and you just can’t believe how fortunate you are! You are rich, all your dreams and things you have always wanted to buy or do are right there waiting for you. However, something happens and everything can change just as quickly. Veronica Castillo just wanted to have some casual fun at the casino, but things got a lot more complicated than that.

It all started as harmless fun

Veronica had decided to spend the day with her mom. As a loan officer, she has a demanding job and she just wanted a break from work and distract her mind for a little bit. Originally from Oregon, they were on vacation in Rochester, Washington state, when they decided to enter the Lucky Eagle Casino. They just wanted to have some fun and try the different options at the place.
Finally, they ended up heading towards the slot machines. Since they are very easy to use and have these colorful pictures, they tend to be the favorite of many people. Veronica had no idea what was about to happen.

Be careful what you wish for

Like many people when they try their luck, Veronica was aware of the fact that the odds were not really in her favor. After all, casinos tend to be the real winners in the larger scale so it was unlikely that she would be taking a lot of cash back to her bank from this casual adventure at the place. However, a small part of Veronica still hoped, which was the magic of casinos.
Against all hopes, she wished to be struck by luck and get incredible winnings that could totally change her lifestyle. What happened next would forever change her life indeed, but not exactly as she had hoped.

Playing with the biggest

Veronica had chosen the game Jurassic Riches, which seemed like a lot of fun and it was something different from the regular slots with fruits and number sevens. She decided to go for the more ancient animals, with plenty of dinosaur images. Veronica sat next to her mom and they started playing. She had a strategy in mind, which was one used by many people that head into the casino. It is not uncommon to see this take place although few get the expected earnings. However, she would soon find out that her strategy worked, maybe even too well.

Playing it safe gave wild results

Veronica had decided to play it safe on a strategy that seemed to be the most logical one. After all, many expert players do the same thing and they try to stay at the same machine for as long as possible. The whole idea is that the longer you stay on one machine, the more likely it is to hit some sort of prize.
This seems to work for a lot of people, including Veronica. She didn’t have the need to over complicate things so she stayed at Jurassic Riches and spent $100 from her paycheck in the same machine. Nothing surprising had happened until suddenly, everything changed.

And her life changed forever...or did it?

It seemed like she had been in luck. As she played, the machine started to align all the rows and she hit the jackpot! As slot machines would do, it started to sum up how much she had won. The number kept increasing and Veronica just couldn’t believe her eyes! Was this for real? Was she really a millionaire? The machine hit the $1-million amount and kept going.
Veronica’s heart was beating furiously, and it was a good thing she didn’t have a heart attack on the spot! Eventually, the machine stopped. Veronica had earned an amazing amount of $8.5 million! Life couldn't get any better than this…right?

A few minutes of hopes & dreams

When Veronica saw the size of her winnings, she just couldn’t believe it. Immediately, her mind started racing and going over all the things she could do, and we really couldn't blame her.
How many times have we asked ourselves what we would do if we had $1 million? Now multiply that by eight and the possibilities are endless. From buying a home to traveling all around the world, that amount could get you a lot of things. However, the managers of the Lucky Eagle Casino had some very distressing news for Veronica.

The plot twist that changes everything

As it turned out, according to the managers, the slot machine had malfunctioned! What happened to Veronica shouldn’t have occurred in the first place. The machine’s maximum winnings should only be $20K, and not anywhere near the millions. The casino was ready to be done with the issue but it wouldn’t be that easy.
Veronica, once again, couldn’t believe what was happening but this time, the disbelief came with disappointment instead of excitement. No cool mansions for her anytime soon. She was devastated but she felt there was something else that could be done, after all, she had won a multimillion-dollar prize! Where was it?

How is this not a crime?

Castillo couldn’t believe it. The entire thing was against the whole premise of a casino. They took her $100 while she was playing but then they wouldn’t give her the prize she had earned!
It wasn’t as if it was going to cause the bankruptcy of the casino if they paid her what she had won. But it would make a huge difference in her life. The whole situation was absurd and she was furious. The people at the casino just decided to take the machine away as they didn’t want it to malfunction while someone else was using it.

The very small & fine print

There are notes and announcements throughout most casinos to let it be known that in case of the machine malfunctioning, they are not obligated to pay for it despite making money from the users. This might be known by casino veterans but Castillo didn’t know this and she was deeply disappointed. She felt cheated and robbed and with good reason.
After taking the machine away, the casino offered something that would only make Veronica’s fury grow. What they wanted to give her instead of the $8.5 million was absurd and almost insulting. A fun day had turned into a bitter one quickly.

An offer that she could only reject

The casino decided to just pay her $80.35 which was a vast difference from the $8.5 million that she was supposed to have gotten. The fact that they didn’t even offer to give her the maximum amount the machine was supposed to give out was like adding salt to her wound. It didn’t make any sense and the issue quickly became national news.
After all, it was not every day a woman would turn into a millionaire for only five minutes. However, she didn’t spiral into depression, and she was determined to dig deeper into what had happened.

Curiosity arises, people want to know more

A local radio station called KOIN 6 sent Lisa Balick to investigate the issue. Lisa, the correspondent of the station, wanted to know more about what had happened and she decided to get into her car and go directly to the source, the ones that could give her the real story.
Therefore, she interviewed Veronica and the casino’s CEO, John Setterstrom to find out how this had happened. Lisa wasn’t the only one who wanted to know as the public had also become interested in Veronica’s story and they wanted to find out if this could happen to anyone. As it turned out, John was disconcerted as well.

Once in a lifetime of casinos

Despite the fact that John Setterstrom had been working in the casino industry for most of his life, he had never seen this take place. He could’ve gone into retirement without ever witnessing such an occurrence, but unfortunately for him and Veronica, that day, the impossible took place.
John had been a part of the Lucky Eagle Casino since its very opening and he could say with certainty that it was the first time something like this had ever occurred. However, this was little consolation for Veronica who had thought she was set up for life for about five minutes.

Can an expert help in solving the mystery?

A forensic investigation took place according to the casino’s management. The machine was examined in order to understand how technology had gone awry in this case. The company that created the actual machine, Rocket Gaming Systems, started an analysis. After all, it wouldn’t do to have hundreds or thousands of machines just like it all over the United States creating conflicts such as this one.
An in-depth investigation was taking place but Veronica remained skeptical as to the casino’s real motives. She was convinced that they simply didn’t want to give her the prize.

The harsh but apparently honest truth

As it was stated before, the maximum award that the machine was supposed to be able to give was $20K. However, Veronica’s play should have earned her $6K to add to her savings account.
The amount, although big for starting out with $100, was a far cry from the $8.5 million. The casino only offered the $80 voucher and an extra amenity hoping that it would suffice for Veronica’s disappointment. But she was not going to be swayed by just any casual offer, and this would soon be known by everyone involved.

A second consolation prize

The casino made an offer that they thought would be to Veronica’s liking. Instead of the $8.5 million, they offered her a free weekend stay and one of their hotel packages which included meals for the weekend.
She could’ve bought that a thousand times with the cash she felt she was owed and decided to reject the offer. It would do little to mitigate her disappointment to stay at the place where she had won and lost a fortune in a matter of minutes. But she wasn’t done with the entire matter and she was thinking of resorting to other measures like taking up the matter with a legal counsel.

The faceoff begins

Veronica could have chosen to stay with her mom for the weekend at the hotel and the matter would’ve been forgotten by her. But she couldn’t let it go and she was planning on pursuing things further, possibly with the employment of a lawyer.
This wouldn’t be an easy thing to do as going after a casino had been attempted by many and won successfully by a few. However, she had the tenacity and experience as a loan officer so this might have been a part of what fueled her search for justice.

A fight bigger than her

Veronica said that she was considering taking things to court if it was necessary, as what had happened was unfair. Furthermore, she was worried about other people that could’ve been scammed the same way. After all, the principle was simple: you would go into the casino, put some of your hard-earned cash into it, and hopefully, you'd win.
More often than not you would lose, but in the event that winning would happen as was the case with her, then you were supposed to get what you were owed, not given an excuse. Veronica soon found out that she wasn’t alone.

Veronica’s cautionary tale

She wanted to create awareness because a lot of people would play unsuspectingly at the slot machines when at any moment, they could suffer a disappointment just like hers. When researching on the matter, we easily realized that this was not the first event that had taken place.
These instances happened not at Lucky Eagle, but in other places where, when people won big, excuses and apologies were quickly given but no money was actually paid. Even if she didn’t get the payment, she wanted everyone to know and beware of these casino strategies. More information could lend support to Veronica’s case.

A mistake the size of a dinosaur

The commission that oversees the regulations and correct functioning of casinos in the area of Washington has something to say. Susan Newer, who was a part of the Commission, gave a very surprising statement. Apparently, this game was not regulated by the commission! This was not really something that was supposed to happen. Furthermore, the game had acted out before.
It might not be in the way that Castillo had encountered with all the credit it had given to her, but such that the slot machines spun in the direction opposite where the machines were supposed to spin. There were some irregularities here but how common were they really?

May the odds be one day in your favor

Due to the numerous checks that slot machines undergo by experts regularly, it really isn’t that likely that the machine might malfunction, as Heather Songer has explained.  The part that tends to fail is the credit displayer, which actually has shown to produce the same error in different slot machines in various casinos.
However, despite there being cases of these taking place, it is not common and it doesn’t mean that the machine can’t be trusted. The government agencies that supervise these things are supposed to guarantee the proper working of the machine so that the users can be free of anxiety as they try their luck as safely as possible.

The beautiful sound of a jackpot… or was it?

There was already a precedent for occurrences like this, as Veronica would find out eventually after she started her research. An unsuspecting Katrina Bookman was just playing with her chances at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, in New York State.
She was at the slot machines when her luck seemed to basically explode! The machine showed that she had won a staggering $42 million! She was terribly excited and immediately grabbed her phone to take pictures of her moment of fortune. But much like Veronica though, the excitement would be very short-lived.

A life built in seconds is taken away

In the minutes before Katrina reported the huge win, she could envision her future. As a single mom who had been in the system when she was a child, she had struggled to provide the best for her four kids.
She could imagine herself helping them out and also, giving part of her prize to charity and helping out her community. However, counting her eggs before they were on the basket would prove to be devastating for Katrina, as she received the crushing news when she went to collect. Can you guess what they told her?

The Sphinx got riddled

Katrina was at the Sphinx Slot Machine when the event took place. However, she was quickly informed that there had been a mistake as that exceeded what the machine was even supposed to give even if it was a jackpot.
Sounds familiar? Similar to Veronica’s case, Katrina was devastated. The impact of having won and lost was way worse than just trying the machine and losing. It was an emotional upheaval and a hit to her mental health. However, she was sure that she deserved more than what they were offering her. After all, according to the casino, she had only won $2.25.

Just take the dinner & go

What did the casino do when this took place? They offered Katrina a steak dinner! She rightfully felt that this was no compensation for her heartbreak and rejected that and the $2.25 they wanted to give her as her winnings. The whole thing was absurd to her and she refused to go down without a fight. She decided to sue the casino and hired an attorney to do so.
She was furious, not only because of the mistake but at how they had handled the entire thing. It was unfair and she wanted justice, much like the case of an elderly woman that fought for what she felt was hers.

A grandma that walked away empty-handed

Pauline McKee was playing at the slot machines with her daughter at the Isle Hotel Casino in Waterloo, Iowa. She was just having a bit of harmless fun with no big hopes of hitting it big when suddenly, she was awarded $41 million.
To cut a long story short, the machine was only supposed to give a maximum of $10K, which meant that it had been…you guessed it! Just a technological mistake. Pauline was devastated and she took the issue to court. Unfortunately for Pauline, she didn’t win the lawsuit. She probably refused to enter a casino after that. The judge stated that we should all read the contract first. Wait…what contract?

The contract that most people ignore

If you have ever played at a slot machine. then you should know that it actually explains how it works before you start putting your cash in there. And once you hit the start button, you’re technically agreeing to a contract, as the judge explained during Pauline’s case. These texts also state what the maximum amount that the slot machine is supposed to award.
Therefore, it would’ve set the wrong precedent if he had determined that Pauline was actually correct or if they had reached a lawsuit settlement. However, most people think there’s something unfair about this.

Mistakes are avoided with maintenance

As Pauline’s attorney at law had stated, the machines need to undergo regular maintenance in order to guarantee their proper functioning. Then this question was raised: If there was something wrong with the machine when Pauline won, was there something wrong as well when other users lost? It does seem convenient for the casinos doesn’t it?
Malfunctions are only talked about when people win big but not when they lose. This has raised concerns about the proper functioning of slot machines and the necessary maintenance to ensure these events never take place.

The inner workings of slot machines

Slot machines have been around for years now, however, these errors seem to be recent ones. This might be due to the fact that technological improvements also give way to computer errors that can sometimes be easily fixed by an IT consultant. The machines have two systems, one is the random number generator, which is the one responsible for the symbols or numbers you get and the other one is the credits display.
These separate systems mean that even when the display system fails, the random generator should be fine, and therefore, there shouldn’t be any losses by mistake. Nevertheless, there might be a glitch that you should know about.

Modern things break in modern ways

Just as computers crash and telephones die, the slot machine can malfunction. The worrying possibility is not only a fake win like what happened to Veronica, Pauline, Katrina, and some other innocent players.
If the random number generator is working fine but the credits displayer has an error, you might also be told that you’re getting fewer credits than you should. Therefore, it becomes more important to read how the slot machine actually works and checking the result after each turn. Way to take the fun out of it don’t you think?

Eyes on the prize, mind on the rules

If you know the rules and realize that there’s some sort of malfunction hurting your chances, then you should definitely speak out! The casino is supposed to guarantee the legitimacy of their games and machines and they are accountable for certain things, like your earnings.
We're not suggesting paying for a $42-million mistake or even one of $8 million like Veronica’s case, but considering that the machines are theirs, something can certainly be done. There are different ways to ask for compensation and you will want to know, just in case, your luck turns into dust.

What to do in case of an emergency jackpot

If you win a fake jackpot or if you’re losing your cash in a way that seems to be unfair, the right move is to call the commission that regulates this in your state. As the laws regarding casinos differ between the states, the regulating bodies are the ones who will know better what to do and how to go about the entire thing.
As a forensic analysis of the machine is made, you’ll be able to corroborate what is actually going on. The overseers of the industry are the ones better equipped to deal with such matters, and they have gotten the proper education to be able to better deal with these things.

The eye that’s always watching

Considering the large sums that are handled every day at any casino, they must be permanently supervised. Better supervision is necessary to protect the interests and well-being of both the patrons and the casinos from robbers or cheaters. No one wants to be robbed but a lot of people like to play their chances against the odds.
The odds are never in the user’s favor but this certainly doesn’t stop people from trying. But there must be a chance, however slim, for the entire setup to actually make sense. How likely are you to beat the odds?

Going against the odds can lead you astray

As it is known, going to the casino can become an addiction for many. Despite the many cautionary tales, people like to play against their chances and challenge the odds, and the odds are rarely in the user’s favor.
However, they do have the possibility of winning big –although if there's a glitch, huge disappointment might ensue-. What to do then? A piece of advice by Warren Buffett - a billionaire who is also known as the Oracle of Omaha - is to invest in things instead of leaving things to chance. This might be difficult for many but it shouldn’t be impossible.

Thinking like a billionaire

Warren Buffett once got a slot machine to teach a lesson to his kids. He would give them their allowance in dimes and, by the end of the day, he had the allowance back thanks to the slot machine. According to his own words, patience is the base to build a successful investment and he has written many works giving advice on how to actually build a life that is financially successful.
The attraction of getting lucky might be enticing, but investing in solid projects can be a safer and more solid decision in the long term.