Woman Who Won $43 Million At Casino Offered Steak Dinner Instead Of Her Winnings

Which would you prefer: a steak dinner or $43 million? Unfortunately, even after winning the jackpot on a slot machine, one woman didn't have many options.

When Katrina Bookman won what would have been the highest slot machine prize in US history – $42,949,672 (£35.4m) – she was playing the slots at the Resorts World Casino in Jamaica, Queens.

Credit: ABC7

She used the device to take a selfie to capture the occasion and later claimed that she felt "numb" when she saw the transforming figure.

Bookman was told to return the following day to discuss her rewards, but when she inquired as to what she would be taking home, an employee answered, "You didn't win nothing."

According to the New York State Gaming Commission, Bookman only truly earned $2.25 (£1.86) since her machine had broken down.

Because the machine's warning that "malfunctions void all pays and plays" was present, the commission claimed that they were bound by law to only give Bookman the money she had actually won.

The casino gave Bookman a free steak meal as a show of goodwill, but that hardly causes for celebration when you think you've won enough money to eat steak for the rest of your life.

A spokesperson for Resorts World, Dan Bank, told CNN: “Upon being notified of the situation, casino personnel was able to determine that the figure displayed on the penny slot was the result of an obvious malfunction – a fact later confirmed by the New York State Gaming Commission.”

“After explaining the circumstances to Ms. Bookman, we offered to pay her the correct amount that was shown on the printed ticket. Machine malfunctions are rare, and we would like to extend our apologies to Ms. Bookman for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

The year after Bookman had believed she had won, her lawyer filed a lawsuit and called the casino's claims "ridiculous."

"You can't claim a machine is broken because you want it to be broken. Does that mean it wasn't inspected? Does it mean it wasn't maintained?" Ripka told CNN at the time.

"And if so, does that mean that people that played there before [Bookman] had zero chance of winning?"

In the end, a settlement was reached outside of court.

Bookman, a single mother of four who was raised in foster care as a youngster, remarked after realizing she would only be leaving with a few dollars: "All I could think about was my family."