[$tinkle]

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3772215&page=1

New Mexico Indian Casino Says Slot Machine Malfunctioned; Refuses to Pay

For about an hour last August, Gary Hoffman was a very lucky man.

Hoffman was playing the nickel slot machines at the Sandia Resort and Casino on an Indian reservation in New Mexico when he appeared to hit the jackpot: the machine said he won nearly $1.6 million.

"I became ecstatic," he said.

But the ecstasy was short-lived. Hoffman says in a lawsuit filed earlier this year that Sandia refused to pay, claiming that the machine malfunctioned. Instead, he said, they gave him about $385 and a few free meals at the casino.

"I won money, fair and square, and I've been cheated out of my winnings," Hoffman told ABC News.

The casino says it's not responsible for what it describes as a computer error and says it offered Hoffman the maximum payout of $2,500 for that particular slot machine. But, a jury may never decide who is right. Lawyers told ABC News that gamblers like Hoffman may have little legal recourse against Native American casinos, which sometimes operate beyond the reach of U.S. courts.

this should make things even-steven for at least one of many broken treaties, no?

 

[LordOpie]

dumb indians.

They should've done what was done to them... give him whiskey, then take inappropriate photos.

 

[sanjuro]

Being a casino gambler, this is a complicated dispute which its subtlies will be lost on most.

The machine was nickle slots, which does not have a million dollar payoff. Actually the maximum payout was $2500.

I doubt this guy has a case, but it does garner lots of publicity for the casino, albeit bad pub.

 

[Westy]

dumb indians.

They should've done what was done to them... give him whiskey, then take inappropriate photos.

Or a blanket with Ebola.

 

[narlus]

a pox on their house!

 

[BurlyShirley]

I'd light up a pipe and sit, smoking it in the middle of the casino until they payed me or gave me a cool name.

 

[$tinkle]

I'd light up a pipe and sit, smoking it in the middle of the casino until they payed me or gave me a cool name.

careful: they may make you stand real still & hold cigars out front

 

[MarinR00]

Reminds me of that Simpsons episode. I want to go on a vision quest and talk to a tree.

 

[valve bouncer]

I'd light up a pipe and sit, smoking it in the middle of the casino until they payed me or gave me a cool name.

What, like "two dogs...."?

 

[LordOpie]

I was sure that Skookum would post in this threa.