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Man wins £37m fruit machine jackpot… but is offered £60 and a free meal instead
- Casino bosses tell gambler win was a ‘software failure’
- Player to launch lawsuit to force prize payout
By
Allan Hall
Last updated at 5:31 PM on 12th December 2011
Gambling man: Behar Merlaku wants to force a casino to pay out the massive jackpot
A gambler who thought he had won £37million on a fruit machine has been offered a free meal and £60 instead, after casino bosses said the jackpot was due to a ‘software error’.
Behar Merlaku, 26, played the winning machine at a casino in Bregenz, Austria.
Despite only getting four of the slot machine’s five required matches, Mr Merlaku was told he had won the massive jackpot - complete with a winning bell and flashing screen.
However when he went to claim his prize, the Swiss player was instead offered the money and meal by casino bosses after they refused to pay out.
Now the disgruntled 26-year-old is to
launch a lawsuit in Austria next month to force the casino to honour the
‘win’, which Mr Merlaku’s lawyers says he is entitled to because of the
what machine said.
The civil action, thought to be the
biggest claim of its kind anywhere in the world, is being keenly watched
by gaming operators everywhere.
The incident happened in a Casinos
Austria AG establishment at Bregenz, which is run by a company which
also has UK outlets, on March 26 this year.
When Mr Merlaku made his claim the operators of the casino immediately blamed a glitch in the machine.
When he snubbed the paltry offer of
compensation he was banned from the casino. Lawyers for the plaintiff
say the company has passed the buck to the fruit machine manufacturer
and refuse to take any responsibility for the error.
It also cited Austrian law which said jackpots cannot normally be higher than two million euros.
A press conference is due to be held
tomorrow in Innsbruck, Austria, outlining the case against Casinos
Austria, which operates a casino in Glasgow.
From ecstasy to agony: When Mr Merlaku made his claim the operators of the casino immediately blamed a glitch in the fruit machine
Its UK subsidiary holds a UK gaming
operators licence. It also operates casinos in Cairns and Canberra,
Australia, and elsewhere.
Mr Merlaku’s legal team said: ‘The slot machine that produced the winning display was immediately accessed by Casinos Austria.
‘There
was no contemporaneous independent assessment of the claimed error, and
no opportunity has since been afforded by the company for the machine
software to be analysed, other than by Atronic, a supplier to it of
jackpot controllers.
‘The
regulator, the Austrian Ministry of Finance, has shown no interest in
pursuing an orderly investigation as would be the case in well regulated
gaming jurisdictions such as the UK, Switzerland, Singapore, the USA,
Australia and Macau.’
The first hearing in the case is scheduled for January 10 next year.
Lawsuit: The gambler’s legal team will argue that because the machine told him he had won he is therefore justified in pursuing a claim
Mr Merlaku, a Kosovar-Albanian who moved to Switzerland at the time of the Balkans wars, said in an Austrian television interview that the greatest moment of his life quickly turned into the worst.
He added: ‘The jackpot came up loud and clear. There was music and the sum I had won – nearly 43 million euros – was displayed on a screen.
‘I was so overjoyed and in my head I began calculating what I could do with all this money.’
Mr Merlaku even used his mobile phone to film footage of the winning noise and screen.
However, this could be used against him in court because the video shows he only had four of the five symbols in a line; in Austria there must be five matches.
His lawyers will argue that because the machine told him he had won and therefore is justified in pursuing a claim.
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I think he is one cherry short of a fruit cake .
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If for instance he had of got the 5 symbols and no jackpot alarm sounded then it would probably be because a reel (or two) are out of alignment.
Because the alarm sounded and the fifth reel had not lined up leads me to believe he did win it and the fifth reel is out of alignment.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to tell a customer “Malfunctions voids all pays” but I have experienced malfunctions just like this and paid the jackpot once it’s been established the win was correct (even though the reels said differently).
The only difference is that it tends to be in the hundreds and thousands and not millions.
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If the game instructions clearly state you need x stats for x prizes but you get Y instead then cant expect to collect the amount awarded for X but I dont blame the guy for trying.
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This guy deserves his dosh simples
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my brother used to say what goes in the top is theirs. what comes out of the bottom is mine. sounds fair
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If this had happened here, the casino would get away with it, as gambling is legally void under English law, so can’t sue for winnings. Bear that in mind whenever you gamble!
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Well known that playing slots is a road to ruin. I hope he gets it but I doubt he will. The best he can hope for is some compensation up to the 2 mil max jackpot. The casinos never mention all the ‘ glitches ‘ that occur every day when the machines take the punters money. But they never know. They call it the house ‘ edge ‘. Yeh right.
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He probably ‘rigged’ the machine to win anyway
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If the guy only got 4 out of the 5 needed then he clearly hasn’t won. I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
- Jonathan B, Guadalajara Mexico, 12/12/2011 18:17 — The glitch was only 4 out 5 were shown on the screen meaning he really won 5 out 5 and the jackpot showed. The glitch wasn’t the fact that the jackpot showed he won but the fact only 4 out 5 were shown on the screen which was the glitch, time to pay up.
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Why is it always a software error when there is a big jackpot to pay out? Happens all the time at BlackHawk in Colorado. I think these places should be forced to pay out – once and they’ll make sure their computer software never has another glitch. It’s not fair and 60 and a free meal certainly isn’t a fair payout. I know the pot is always bent in favor of the house but this is ridiculous.
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