Posted on 10/25/2007 6:20:52 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
For about an hour last August, Gary Hoffman was a very lucky man.
Hoffman was playing the nickel slot machines at the Sandia Resort and Casino on an Indian reservation in New Mexico, when he appeared to hit the jackpot: the machine said he won nearly $1.6 million.
"I became ecstatic," he said.
But the ecstasy was short-lived. Hoffman says in a lawsuit filed earlier this year that Sandia refused to pay, claiming that the machine malfunctioned. Instead, he said, they gave him about $385 and a few free meals at the casino.[snip].....
[snip]Regardless, a jury may never get chance to hear Hoffman's case. Native American tribes, as independent nations, have their own court systems and can be sued in state courts only under limited circumstances. New Mexico law generally does not allow tribes to be sued in a state court over a contract dispute, Kleiman said.....
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I was thinking that a $1.6 million payout on nickel slots seems extremely unlikely - they just don’t have jackpots that big on nickel slots.
There was quite an article in the local paper last year pointing violations out; fire inspectors said they'd shut Fantasy Springs down if they could - improper exit signs, lack of safety "push" doors and that sort of thing.
I play the home version:
1. Take your money in one hand.
2. Throw it over your shoulder.
That way, my wife and kids always win.
Pennsylvania (slots only) and West Virginia which just added table games.
Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Jersey. Some on the Ohio river, Illinois I think, I believe I’d heard of casinos in Michigan.
I actually agree with the casino. The max jackpot on the machine was $2500 and states as such. The machine showed he won $1.6M. Not the same as if the machine was able to pay that amount.
They offered him the max payout. Apparently he refused it.
In order for me to accept that there would have to be big signs at every entrance of the casino warning that each and every slot machine has a posted maximum payout and that maximum is posted,very prominently,on each machine.The warning would have to further state that *any* payout displayed by a machine that exceeds that machine's posted max will not be honored.
The key to my statement is...no "fine print".The warnings must be large and must be found all over the casino...including on each machine.In fact,each machine must be set up to require that a player respond to some prompt from the machine informing each player of the limits rule and the response must be "I understand and accept these rules".
A glitch? What the rigged machined didn’t work as it was supposed to? Perhaps they should go back to weighted dice. The casino is responsible for its machines. It should have insurance to cover liablilty of gliches.
Think about it the other way: if you gambled with money you didn’t have (perhaps a bad check that initally passed), would the casino accept an excuse about a glitch in calculating your bank balance? Or would they take you out back and scalp you?
Additionally, the bank error analogy is erroueous since there was not a wager placed to win that amount.
Exactly. The definition of a win should be when the machine displays a win, malfunction or no, unless it can be proven that the player tampered with the machine. It is the responsibility of the casino the ensure that the slot machines are working properly.
I agree with the posters who say that NOT paying out the jackpot will probably cost the casino more in bad publicity and lost revenue than just paying it.
Also, a treaty is a treaty. If we granted them Sovereign Immunity, then they have Sovereign Immunity. Don’t like it? Stay off the reservation.
I'm inclined to agree.I've been to Vegas before (because I was dating a girl who lived there) and I've been to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun once (I was driving by).In the several visits I've made to casinos in my life I've wagered less than $5...and lost all of it.Lotteries and casinos were designed for those who flunked math.
You could certianly try to idiot proof it, but the world builds better idiots every day.
There was no wager placed to win $1.6 million either. He placed a wager to win $2,500.
He should sue the slot manufacturer, IGT. A billion-dallar company might pay off just to avoid the bad publicity.
If they have sovereign immunity how come they get to vote in US elections?
LOL. great post.
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