A woman from Portland, Oregon has a weird, unusual, and infuriating story to tell about how a “slots malfunction” cost her $8.5 million. Veronica Castillo is not a regular gambler, but she decided to try her luck at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington. Castillo was playing alongside her mother at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington when the bells and whistles went off to announce her jackpot win. ‘I was very excited and happy’ Castillo said, until casino staff came over and told her the machine had malfunctioned.
Lucky Eagle Casino Slot Machine Malfunction Jackpots
It’s common to see slot machines in land-based casinos that have warnings stating “Malfunction voids all pays and plays.”
This may seem like a harmless disclaimer, because how often have you had a slot machine malfunction on you? But it’s also a legal loophole to protect casinos in the case of a malfunction that awards a huge payout.
There have been some high-profile instances of slots malfunctioning and voiding life-changing payouts for players.
One of the best instances involved Veronica Castillo, who won an $8 million jackpot at Lucky Eagle Casino in Portland, Oregon.
After investigating, Lucky Eagle officials told Castillo that her jackpot was the result of a machine malfunction.
“I was very excited and happy, then I couldn’t believe it,” said Castillo. “The casino staff came over and told her the machine had made an error and malfunctioned. They shut off the machine, took it away, printed out a ticket and gave me $80.”
It doesn’t seem fair that the machine showed Castillo an $8 million win, when, in actuality, it was worth one hundred thousand times less than this. But Lucky Eagle was able to determine that the machine in question, which only offers a $20,000 top prize, did malfunction.
Another example involves Stephen Wilkinson, who hit a $102,000 jackpot at the Philadelphia Park Casino. But Philadelphia Park employees informed Wilkinson that the machine malfunctioned, offering him 2 free buffet tickets to make up for it.
Fortunately, after the incident went public, Philadelphia Park said that the error was human in nature, thus giving him the $102,000 payout.
In the vast majority of cases, big payouts from slot machines are legitimate. But just be aware that the “Malfunction voids all pays and plays” sign actually means something and can void a jackpot in rare cases.
Veronica Castillo was thrilled when she found out that she had won an $8 million jackpot from a slot machine at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, New York. Unfortunately, that happiness was short-lived, as she was promptly informed by casino staff that she would only receive $80.
Ms Castillo had spent $100 on the Jurassic Riches video slots game. When the machine’s lights flashed, the display showed her that she had won $8.5 million. However, casino staff quickly showed up and informed her that the game does not offer a progressive jackpot and that the prize was actually an error.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said in an interview. “They shut off the machine, took it away, printed out a ticket and gave me $80”.
At casinos across the country, all gaming machines feature a sign that states a malfunction will void any prizes and plays. The Jurassic Riches machine that Ms Castillo played also displayed this sign, but she still feels cheated by the casino. She continues:
“My first thought was, how many people has this happened to? They think they won, then going away empty-handed.”
John Setterstrom, CEO of the Lucky Eagle Casino, has stated that this type of malfunction has never occurred at the venue before. He said that he has been in touch with the slot machine manufacturer to find out more about the error, and hopes to keep Ms Castillo as a customer.
This is not the first time that a slot machine malfunction has occurred at a casino. Many victims seek out compensation from the casino operator or the game manufacturer, but Ms Castillo has yet to take legal action. It will be interesting to see if she takes this case to court.