The title of this post is how much an Oregon woman is owed, in my opinion, after a slot machine malfunctioned and she thought she had won $8.5-million.
It happened at a casino in Washington. Veronica Castillo plunked $100 into the machine and hit it big, or so she thought. The number showing her winnings kept going up and up and up until it finally stopped north of $8-million dollars. She was elated, of course! And then the casino manager delivered the bad news. The machine had malfunctioned. Its top jackpot is $20,000. They gave her $80 and called it a day.
Veronica was embarrassed and angry. Rightfully so, I think. If the machine’s top jackpot is 20 grand, then that’s what she should have been given.
Earlier in the night, an employee at the casino noted that the machine was “acting funny”. That in itself should have been reason enough to put an Out of Order sign on it. But they didn’t. So Veronica is suing and if they’re stupid enough to let it get to court, casino management just might find themselves on the losing end of the gamble.
Do you agree that they owe her money? Or is saying, “oh, that’s not working right” good enough?
They owe her the maximum payout. She won the jackpot – if the jackpot is $20K, that’s what they owe her.
They owe her the 20K. Without a sign indicating that the machine was out of order, an employee who noticed it was acting funny and didn’t take action, there still bound by a legal contractual agreement for it is assumed that the machine was fully functional.