Seminole Casino Refuses to Honor Jackpot
A Florida man playing at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa says he's owed a jackpot that the casino refuses to pay. Bill Seebeck told WFTV-TV that the slot machine he was gambling on registered a payday of $166 million, but casino officials say the machine malfunctioned.
The incident is the latest in a line of disavowed jackpots by land casinos, who entice consumers to gamble on slot machines, but frequently use the malfunction excuse when a big winner appears.
Seebeck says he had been playing for half an hour on a Bally Ultimate Party Spin Slot game, falling behind by roughly $80, when the bells and lights on the machine started going off. The machine's display told him he had won $166,666,666.65
As is customary, casino officials cordoned off the machine, and examined it. After an hour, they told Seebeck he would not be getting paid, and asked him to sign an agreement that he was not owed money due to machine malfunction.
But casinos never refund money lost by customers who play at machines that may malfunction, causing some consumer watchdogs to ask if the policy isn't unfairly tilted toward the casinos.
Seminole casino spokesman Gary Bitner says the casino is positive a mistake was made because the maximum jackpot on that slot is $99,000. But the casino did not even offer to refund Seebeck's losses on the broken machine, let alone honor their commitment to stand by their equipment.
