New Jersey senior left ‘devastated’ after Atlantic Metropolis on line casino denies her $2.5 million jackpot
Rony Beal thought her prayers had been answered when she hit the jackpot on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine in Bally’s Atlantic Metropolis Resort & On line casino.
“I hoped for $1,000, saying, ‘Please God, let me win,’” the 72-year-old informed 6abc Action News.
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By no means in one million years did she count on the machine to scream “jackpot,” with one fortuitous spin netting her a life-altering windfall of $2,555,910.
Sadly, Beal’s ecstasy was short-lived.
Bally’s safety workers swarmed over to the gang celebrating with the Shamong, NJ, resident and after a quick have a look at the profitable machine, they knowledgeable Beal it had suffered a malfunction known as “reel tilt,” which voided her whopping win.
As a substitute of paying out the $2.5 million, the on line casino supplied Beal a measly $350. She rejected their petty money and, in line with nj.com, she is now making ready to sue the on line casino to get the prize she believes she received honest and sq.. Right here’s what occurred.
Slot machine ‘malfunction’
Beal’s world turned the wrong way up throughout a go to to Bally’s Atlantic Metropolis in February 2024.
A longtime lover of the slots, she informed 6abc she dropped a whole bunch of {dollars} on the Wheel of Fortune machine earlier than it will definitely spun in her favor. She received the highest prize of $1,277,955, which doubled to the $2.5 million jackpot after a multiplier lit up.
Beal claims the on line casino employees who came to visit to research her win tried to get her to re-spin, citing a “tilt” message that confirmed up once they opened the slot machine.
Her lawyer, Mike Di Croce, believes they tampered with the machine — which is housed by Bally’s however manufactured and managed by IGT — to tamper any proof of Beal’s win.
“They fooled with the machine earlier than anybody else had a chance to check out this,” he informed 6abc. “You invite anyone to what you are promoting, they pay the cash [and] they win — you’re purported to pay. That didn’t occur.”
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Making ready a lawsuit
Earlier than approaching the information investigative staff or hiring Di Croce, Beal did attempt to resolve the matter herself. She returned to Bally’s the day after her contested win to talk to the on line casino’s administration, however she was given the chilly shoulder and requested to go away.
“She needed to attempt to get a proof and primarily they escorted her out,” Di Croce informed nj.com. “They informed her to go away the on line casino and never come again, which is a really impolite enterprise observe for somebody who had been going there for a really very long time.”
When nj.com approached Bally’s for remark, the on line casino distanced itself from the combat and pointed to IGT, which “handles the payouts.” IGT declined to reply questions however launched a one-sentence assertion saying it’s “cooperating with the investigation of this matter.”
Di Croce described Beal as “devastated” by the entire saga. “She’s a 72-year-old woman who has a coronary heart situation and had a coronary heart assault final 12 months,” he stated. “Think about your mother or my mother sitting there taking part in this factor, pondering that she received — and I consider she did win with all these individuals developing and celebrating behind her.”
They’re planning to file a lawsuit to safe Beal’s multimillion-dollar jackpot in June. This received’t be the primary authorized case the place a suspected wheel tilt has been disputed on a Wheel of Fortune machine.
In 2000, a decide and jury dominated in opposition to IGT over an analogous case involving a Wheel of Fortune machine in Harrah’s on line casino New Orleans. In the end, the gaming big was pressured to pay the plaintiff the total $1.3 million jackpot.
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