Gambler, 72, claims Atlantic City casino is refusing to pay out $2.5MILLION slot machine win

A woman claims she won a $2.5 million jackpot on a slot machine at Bally’s casino in Atlantic City, only to be told her winnings were a mistake that would not be paid out.

Roney Beal, 72, said the denial came after a spin on a Wheel of Fortune slot in February, in which she won the jackpot of more than $1.2 million and a two-times multiplier.

The machine then told her she had won and spit out virtual coins as the word “jackpot” flashed on the screen.

A crowd descended on the New Jersey senior to celebrate what seemed like a big win, before a Bally employee arrived to tell her she hadn’t actually won anything. Citing an alleged flaw with the lock’s internal workings, he offered her $350 instead.

This has prompted Beal to hire a lawyer as she threatens to file a lawsuit seeking the same amount — plus another $1 million — against the long-standing casino.

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“I was hoping for a thousand dollars and said, ‘God, please let me win,’” she said 6ABC Action News in Philadelphia Friday, how she funneled hundreds of dollars into the machine in question before being told her gamble didn’t pay off.

“And it went off. And [it] says, ‘you’re a winner,'” she recalled. “Gold coins came out.

“This man, this very nice man, says, ‘Oh my God, you’re hitting, you’re hitting!'” she recalled, speaking from her home in Shamong Township, about a 40-minute drive from the East Coast gambling stronghold.

“He said, ‘Ma’am, you’re a millionaire,’” she continued – before describing how things went wrong when she pressed the call button to ask for help.

“Then the phrases ’tilted’ came up,” she said, referring to a certain type of mistake that voids the win.

“When the man came up to talk to me, he said, ‘Ma’am, think about it, you haven’t won anything.’

The attendant, she said, proceeded to open the machine, which minutes earlier played a voice telling Beal she had won.

He allegedly asked her to spin it again so her winning slate would be wiped clean – a request Beal said she refused as a crowd of gamblers gathered around him.

“He let it roll very slowly. He had opened it and then pushed on it,” she said.

The attendant pressed a series of buttons in the slot before offering her the $350, leading her and her lawyer to now claim the slot had been tampered with.

The pair also claim Beal was wrongly told to leave the casino, which isn’t the first to face a lawsuit stemming from the table tilt that halted Wheel of Fortune payouts.

Jacques Bezou, a Louisiana-based attorney, sued Harrah’s in New Orleans and slot maker International Game Technology (IGT) in 2000 after his client Garrett Grigg disputed the same lock malfunction, leading to a $1.35 million payout – the same like the almost stolen jackpot.

During that case, which took more than six years to resolve, IGT took the position that even though symbols appeared indicating a jackpot, it was not a win because the machine had declared it so.

Speaking to ABC6 on Friday, Bezou recalled how during those discussions a jury did not believe that argument, nor did an appeal judge, leaving IGT solely responsible.

This time, Bally’s — which has graced the Atlantic City Boardwalk for nearly 50 years — has once again placed responsibility on IGT, saying in a statement: “Bally’s has no comment on this incident as we are merely the casino where the machine is housed.

“IGT is arranging the payouts and it would be best to seek comment at this time,” it added.

Speaking to the New York Post, a representative of the London-based company said so “is cooperating with the casino operator’s investigation into this matter,” as Beal’s attorney, Mike Di Croce, said he is preparing to file a legal complaint against both Bally’s and the gaming company.

“They tampered with the machine before anyone else had a chance to look at this,” he told ABC 6 on Friday, revealing how they are suing for $2.56 million because they won a $1.28 million jackpot had won with the double multiplier.

Additionally, he said he plans to file an emotional distress claim for more than $1 million, as Beal claims she was traumatized by the ordeal.

‘Why would I ever go to a casino again in my life? A casino? Well, if there is no hope,” she told the station, sitting in her living room where she has her own slot machine.

She added to the Post: “I’m angry because I want the money, and I will help people with it.”

She added that she had a heart attack a year ago and “hopes and prays” she gets paid before she dies.

She has a son who is homeless, she told the newspaper. One of her first planned purchases was a trailer for him to live in.