Jackpot Watch
A Clovis man hired an attorney after officials at a local Indian casino told him that a malfunction caused a nickel slot machine to show that he had won a $737,203 jackpot, a story in Sunday's paper reported.
According to the article, Sornpaserd Unkeowannulack, 31, was playing at the Table Mountain Casino on Friday when the "Deep Pockets" machine announced he hit the jackpot. But when Unkeowannulack began celebrating, officials at the Indian gaming club said the machine was broken and he wasn't eligible for any prize.
After a preliminary investigation Table Mountain Casino officials said Tuesday they would pay Unkeowannulack $10,000 -- the cash-equivalent jackpot for the progressive slot machine he was playing on -- as a "consideration and appreciation" for his patronage. As of late Tuesday night, Unkeowannulack's attorney said that his client did not yet have an answer for casino officials.
What do you think? Should the casino give Unkeowannulack anything, if it was a malfunction? Or should he get what the machine said he won, even though there was no winning combination of symbols showing on that play?
Comments
I think the gambler shouldn't have received anything. The pseud-jackpot reading was obviously a mistake. Table Mountain went out of their way to make this guy happy. I hope he is grateful for what they've offered him.
Posted by: Sydnee | September 20, 2006 7:49 PM
As awesome as it would be to win so very much money... every slot machine I have EVER played clearly states on the machine "Malfunction Voids All Plays."
Are the Indian Casinos are governed by a gaming commission like Nevada Casinos?
I would think there are specific gaming rules investigated by a commission -- and I doubt the Casino is required to pay out $10,000 -- Unkeowannulack should be thrilled to be awarded such a dividend.
The attorney likely wants to pursue legal options further to ensure HE gets the $10k in fees, leaving Unkeowannulack with nothing -- except the taxes due on the $10K.
Would the Attorney fees be tax deductible in this case?
Posted by: Mrs. Crews | September 20, 2006 10:03 PM
Surprising to me is that they didn't indicate the machine was malfunctioned BEFORE he started playing.
Perhaps the casino's ability to honor winnings is malfunctioned.
Posted by: Sean | September 21, 2006 7:42 AM