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Malfunction Costs Couple $11 Million Slot Machine Jackpot
ainandil writes "Engineering mistakes, while frustrating, seldom definitively alter the end user's life. Not so in Cripple Creek, Colorado — MaryAnn and Jim McMahon thought their money troubles were over when they hit an $11 million jackpot at a casino Tuesday. Before paying the jackpot, the Wildwood Casino turned the machine over to the Colorado Gaming Division for inspection. A glitch was found, aha! The Wildwood Casino blamed a slot machine malfunction for the $11 million jackpot. Total actually won by the McMahons? $1,627.82."
Let's be clear. The 'engineering mistake' was that the machine hit the jackpot.
Its the American way.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
The House always wins.
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
So the casino isn't responsible for the operating condition of their machines, or for standing behind the results said machines promise customers? Why can the gambling industry get away with something we would never tolerate from power companies, car manufacturers, clothing companies, etc.?
They paid for a chance to win, and the machine told them they'd won. It's like buying a new shirt, finding a giant hole in it, and Banana Republic says "Sorry, the sewing machine was miscalibrated! No, we won't take it back. Maybe you can use it as leg warmers or something!"
Look, if they found evidence of fraud or tampering, throw the book at them. Otherwise, them's the breaks - pay the couple.
The casino deserves to be pilloried and lose their gaming license over this. It's bad enough you can be ejected or even banned for being too good at playing something. Now, it seems that they are extending this to games of chance. This seems a little too pat, as the casinos could avoid ever paying out anything by simply making sure that their slots always have some technical flaws.
"MaryAnn and Jim McMahon thought their money troubles were over when they hit an $11 million jackpot at a Cripple Creek casino Tuesday. It turns out they were wrong."
Maybe it's just how I was raised, but the first thing I thought upon reading that was, "If you have 'money troubles' then why the fuck are you blowing what money you DO have in a casino, you assholes??? "
~Philly
Generally slot machines have a posted maximum jackpot. I don't know about this case but in other cases like this the reported "winnings" have far exceeded the maximum the machine is supposed to possibly give out, as posted on the machine. The real issue here is how crappy the engineering must be on these machines, to allow this to happen so often it routinely makes then news. In my opinion all glitches should require a payout of the maximum possible winnings, which must be clearly posted on the machine, regardless of what it "should" have paid out. That would encourage casinos to invest in machines with actual sound engineering principles, without making them unfairly liable for massive amounts of money when a legitimate freak error occurs (even in the best systems, exceedingly rare circumstances could cause errors). It's a slot machine, it's a simple device, if they spend the money on reasonable robustness they can easily achieve extremely low error rates.
After pissing all over the message boards about how unjust this action was, I investigated further. To my dismay, it turns out that this is a popular practice among casinos. Apparently one of the problems with going to digital slots is that ANYTIME there is a huge win that the casino doesn't want to pay out on, they cop this "it was a glitch" excuse! I was given the impression that this is happening EVERYWHERE!!! I think it is time that we implement some sort of law or gaming regulation that states that if someone wins that they are ENTITLED TO THE FULL SUM DISPLAYED on the screen! The only exception would be that if the casino can prove that the win was "artificially" created/induced by the player via some "device" designed specifically to fuddle the machine. The penalty for not paying out the sum within 24 hours would be that the casino would be immediately CLOSED and their gaming license REVOKED for a full calendar year, or until the full sum was paid to the player! If you can't stand to lose, don't play the game....The same should apply to the casinos!
-Oz
It's a slot machine, it's a simple device, if they spend the money on reasonable robustness they can easily achieve extremely low error rates.
They already do. I've seen the engineering that goes into slot machines made in the USA, and know a little bit about the certification requirements and procedures. It's jaw-droppingly stiff. After all, these machines deal with *money* instead of mere lives.
If the Colorado Gaming Division says the machine is defective, the couple should sue them for allowing it into service.
Actually, the certification is done by a third party, so the couple should sue the casino and the certifier, and the CGD only if it doesn't revoke the certifying agency's license to certify in their state.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
"The casino's are ripping winners off."
... or, at least were supposed to be awarded one...
I'm reluctant to classify slots players as "winners". When I look at slot machines I see rats in cages desperately pushing the dispenser in the hopes of getting a food pill. Soemetimes they get a food pill, but more often a little blade comes out and cuts off a piece of the rat.
But we can soften it a bit... they're "people who were awarded a slot machine jackpot".
It doesn't? They just introduce an error somewhere and *you* don't get paid after winning the jackpot? This makes me sick to the stomach. Let's just turn them over to the Gaming Division each time people loose or win a small amount, shall we? Maybe I was supposed to win the jackpot! Who can tell?
Back In the day a miscalibrated machine could get somebodies legs/arms/neck broken
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What I don't understand is how when something goes wrong on the part of the gamer, the Casino can treat the transaction between the slot machine and gambler as a binding contract, yet when something goes wrong because of a fault on their end they can say "oops, we goofed - let's call it off"
I've heard of a couple of jackpots a while back called off because a user entering the coin, or pulling the lever, or even present while someone they knew gambeled was under the legal gambling age at the time and the jackpot was called off.
It seems only fair then that a goof on their end should not be able to nulify the standing "contract."
It should be the responsibility of the casino to test their equipment (or buy from only the most reliable sources which are well tested.) If there was a glitch in the machine itself, the casino should be responsible to pay out and able to sue the company that made the slot machine.
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
twistedsymphony hints at a major point: the McMahons or a trusted representative didn't retain control of or an eyeball on the device between the gaming floor and the offices of the Colorado Gaming Division.
Luke, help me take this mask off
Shouldn't the casino have some kind of insurance against this type of thing? Say, they have to pay out, but the insurance covers it since the machine was faulty. I suppose the manufacturer is probably ultimately responsible, so perhaps the manufacturers insurance should cover it.
At any rate, it doesn't seem very okay that the manufacturer can just ship faulty machines and not be held accountable.
United States corporations work on extortion. The legal system favors corporations far too much to have a fair chance in court. If you bring suit against a large company and lose you'll probably have to pay their legal fees too, and 80% of the citizens here could not ever hope to afford those kinds of expenses. The result is that not many people file suit, and most of the ones that do are just plain crazy and have no qualms with being a million or more in debt for the rest of their lives.
This is EXACTLY THE SAME as saying, "Sorry, no refund on your car. The welding machine messed up and welded the doors shut. We aren't responsible for what our machines do." and then saying, "We sent this to our legal department and they agree that it wasn't our fault the welding machine messed up so we don't have to pay you."
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
Stand on the street corner, *just* off the casino's property on the public sidewalk / shoulder of the road / etc. Hold a huge sign stating nothing but the facts of the case: We played the slots, the machine said we won big, the casino claimed technical difficulties and reneged on the large payout for a comparatively minuscule one. Stand there quietly with the sign, don't harass anyone approaching the casino, and only respond purely factually to any questions that any would-be patrons or other passers by might ask. Embelish nothing; use simple, unemotional, declarative statements. Say nothing that could vaguely be interpreted as opinion or that would be impossible to verify.
Say nothing untrue, nothing emotionally charged, stay *off* the casino's property, and do nothing to block anyone or prevent them from going about their business as they see fit.
See how long that takes to get at the very least a settlement offer. I'm guessing the casino manager would have legal on the phone in under 10 minutes and an offer made in under an hour. Might have to sweat them a little longer to hold out for a *reasonable* offer, but they'd definitely walk away a fair bit richer than the insult the casino gave them.
Absolutely they should pay the amount the machine says the player won. If that's a bug then they can deal with the slot machine manufacturing/distributing company, but pay the player what the machine says is due.
Simply put, the machine should pay the proper amount on all pay combinations. A machine should never lock up except for a genuine winning combination that triggers a handpay, and all touchscreen elements should work 100% of the time on the first touch. These newer video slots with 50 lines, 100 lines, 243 ways to win, 1024 ways to win, etc. if they can't find a way to make those machines absolutely and 100% bug free with all spin combinations tested and verified--then those machines should be illegal meaning the manufacturer cannot sell them to the casinos and the casinos cannot install them for players to play.
After all, the machine will glady take all of a player's money even if they don't win anything, even if their "bonus" round results in zero extra credits, and if there is a malfunction that doesn't pay it's often hidden by all those obscure line shapes so that a player really can't scan all of those pay lines during a free spins bonus round before the next free spin occurs.
"Malfunction voids all pays and plays" should be illegal too, if the machine might malfunction, it should be illegal.
If a construction crane malfunctions and ends up killing a bunch of people, should the construction company get to avoid liability simply because the machine malfunctioned?
In this case it involves money rather than lives, but I see no reason why casinos should not be liable for problems with the machines they operate.
"In prison you just have to shut your eyes and take it. Here you have to shut your eyes and give it."
I think that's his point though. "I didn't mean to do that action, I meant to do this one! I don't actually owe you as much money now." would be laughed away if any player tried to use it.
Everything will be taken away from you.
+5 funny please!
I'm Argentinian, and here there isn't less corruption than in the US, perhaps worse in some areas like environmental and health regulations. There's a reason big corps put highly inefficient and contaminant factories in the third world, their legal systems suck, And governments even gladly pay them subsidies for staying here. How can they refuse that?
To me, the details of the glitch are irrelevant. If the machine says you win X, then you should get X. If it's a machine error, then the casino has been wronged *by the machine manufacturer*, and the casino should sue that manufacturer, because they are the people who caused the problem. If the consumer follows all the rules, then the gambling overlords should protect their winnings.
Why should they have the liability? It could be the case that the ORIGINALLY 100% working crane was poorly maintained after sale, which caused the malfunction.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.