Katrina Bookman and a slot machine screen displaying what she thought were her winnings.

She grew up in foster care and raised 4 children as a single mother. “All I could think about was my family,” Bookman told WABC, her voice breaking. Instead, the casino offered Bookman a complimentary steak dinner. The machine, like all the ones in the casino, has a disclaimer stating, “Malfunctions void all pays and plays.” The New York State Gaming Commission said that Bookman’s machine had malfunctioned. “I said, ‘So what did I win? He said, ‘You didn’t win nothing,’” she told WABC. It’s like my whole body just got numb,” Bookman told CNN affilate WABC.īut when she came back the next day to find out the exact size of her jackpot, a casino employee crushed her excitement. It would have been the largest slot machine jackpot in US history. She even took an excited self-portrait with the machine displaying her winnings: $42,949,672. Katrina Bookman hit the jackpot on a slot machine in late August at Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens. It was a selfie she thought was worth nearly $43 million.

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