Woman Wins $8.5 Million Jackpot on Slot Machine but Casino Blames Malfunction

Have you ever had a moment in your life where you felt like you finally hit the jackpot? That everything was finally going your way? Well, for Maribel Sanchez of Oklahoma, that feeling was all too real in February 2020. She hit the jackpot on the Liberty 7s slot at the Newcastle Casino and won almost $8.5 million dollars. However, her moment of glory was short-lived as the casino has refused to pay her the winnings, citing a machine error.

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Should Casinos Be Able to Claim Slot Machine Malfunction?

Now, let's just take a moment to appreciate the irony of a casino, whose entire business model is based on people betting and losing money, suddenly becoming so responsible when someone actually wins big. It's like a dog catching a car it's been chasing for months, only to realize it has no idea what to do with it now that it's caught it.

According to reports, the woman's attorney has moved the case forward, and the casino is still refusing to pay up. I mean, what are they even waiting for? A miracle that the machine will somehow un-jam itself and magically spit out all that sweet, sweet cash? Newsflash, casino, that's not how it works. You can't just change the rules when someone finally beats the house.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! 💸

What would you do if you won $8.5 million?!

A woman claims she did at the #Newcastlecasino today but they’re not giving her the cash. 💰

Find out why tonight at 9 on @OKCFOX pic.twitter.com/Pe7KhY1xsR

— Erika Stanish (@Erika_Stanish) February 22, 2020

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It's almost like the casino is saying, "Hey, we want people to think that they can win big here, but not THAT big. Come on, we're not made of money!" Well, actually, casino, you kind of are. That's kind of the whole point. You're supposed to be a place where people can come and potentially win life-changing amounts of money. It's like a car dealership telling someone they can test drive a car, but they're not allowed to actually buy it if they like it too much. What kind of madness is this?

But let's not forget about the woman who is being denied her winnings, Maribel Sanchez hit the jackpot on the Liberty 7s slot at the Newcastle Casino and won almost $8.5 million dollars. Can you imagine the frustration and disappointment of winning almost $8.5 million dollars, only to have it snatched away from you because of a "machine error"? It's like the universe is playing some cruel joke on her. "Congratulations, you've won! Just kidding, you actually didn't. Ha ha!".

Disturbingly, this is not the first time such a travesty has occurred. In 2016, a woman named Katrina Bookman thought she had won the $43 million-dollar jackpot at a New York casino slot machine. Her life was changed forever....until it wasn't. The casino claimed also "malfunction" and voided the winnings.

Compensation? I Don't Think So

It's enough to make you wonder what the machine was even doing wrong in the first place. Was it not dispensing the correct amount of quarters? Was it only giving out tokens that could be used at Chuck E. Cheese's? Whatever it was, it must have been pretty serious for the casino to refuse to pay out such a massive amount of money.

In conclusion, it's hard not to sympathize with the woman who is being denied her winnings. The casino's refusal to pay up is almost comical in its absurdity. It's like they're the Grinch who stole Christmas, except instead of presents, they're stealing millions of dollars from a lucky gambler.

But hey, at least we got a good chuckle out of it, right? Just don't forget to check under your bed tonight for any lurking casino executives. They might be coming for your piggy bank next.