"The reels have rolled your way! Bonus Award - $41797550.16."
That's what the Miss Kitty penny slot machine told 87-year-old Illinois grandmother Pauline McKee who was in Iowa during a family reunion in 2011. McKee and daughter thought they hit the big time—a $41.8 million payday. The two quickly demanded the mega payout from the Isle Hotel Casino in Waterloo.
But the casino refused to pay, concluding it was a computer glitch and that a sign on the game says "MALFUNCTION VOIDS ALL PAYS AND PLAYS." She sued, and took her case all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court. The state's high court sided with the casino Friday, ruling that the woman's heart-pounding payout was worth just $1.85.
The seven-member high court unanimously ruled (PDF) that the user-agreement, available on the touch screen, said the maximum payout was $10,000 and that "bonus" awards were not allowed.
As the saying goes in legal jargon—a contract is a contract—the court ruled.
"Any message appearing on the screen indicating the patron would receive a $41 million bonus was a gratuitous promise and the casino's failure to pay it could not be challenged as a breach of contract," Justice Edward Mansfield wrote for the court.
The court added: "McKee did not read the rules of the game or look at the paytable before playing the Miss Kitty game."
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission sent the machine—built by Aristocrat Technologies—for a forensics examination, which concluded a computer glitch was responsible for the faulty notice of a jackpot.
Adding insult to McKee's injury, Aristocrat Technologies in 2010 issued a bulletin to casinos that it had detected the "bonus" glitch as a "rare occurrence," and that casinos should disable that part of the system "as a preventative action." The casino did not do that.
That's what the Miss Kitty penny slot machine told 87-year-old Illinois grandmother Pauline McKee who was in Iowa during a family reunion in 2011. McKee and daughter thought they hit the big time—a $41.8 million payday. The two quickly demanded the mega payout from the Isle Hotel Casino in Waterloo.
But the casino refused to pay, concluding it was a computer glitch and that a sign on the game says "MALFUNCTION VOIDS ALL PAYS AND PLAYS." She sued, and took her case all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court. The state's high court sided with the casino Friday, ruling that the woman's heart-pounding payout was worth just $1.85.
The seven-member high court unanimously ruled (PDF) that the user-agreement, available on the touch screen, said the maximum payout was $10,000 and that "bonus" awards were not allowed.
As the saying goes in legal jargon—a contract is a contract—the court ruled.
"Any message appearing on the screen indicating the patron would receive a $41 million bonus was a gratuitous promise and the casino's failure to pay it could not be challenged as a breach of contract," Justice Edward Mansfield wrote for the court.
The court added: "McKee did not read the rules of the game or look at the paytable before playing the Miss Kitty game."
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission sent the machine—built by Aristocrat Technologies—for a forensics examination, which concluded a computer glitch was responsible for the faulty notice of a jackpot.
Adding insult to McKee's injury, Aristocrat Technologies in 2010 issued a bulletin to casinos that it had detected the "bonus" glitch as a "rare occurrence," and that casinos should disable that part of the system "as a preventative action." The casino did not do that.
