Seminole Casino In Tampa Settles With Gambler After Fake Jackpot

The Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida has paid out may slot jackpots in the past. On Sunday night, they denied Bill Seebeck, a gambler at the casino, a jackpot worth over $1.6 million. The casino claims the jackpot was a "computer glitch."

Seebeck was playing the Bally Ultimate Party Spin slot machine. The maximum payout the machine could produce, according to the casino, is $99,000. The machine malfunctioned, causing the screen to flash the large amount of money that Seebeck thought he had won.

Acting aggressively in the situation, the casino asked Seebeck to sign a waiver that said that he acknowledged that the jackpot win was a result of a malfunction. That occurred within an hour of the supposed win, but the gambler refused to sign. Part of the agreement was that Seebeck would also acknowledge that he would receive no money from the win.

After the refusal to sign, the casino must have reconsidered their position. Although they believe they were not bound by law to pay Seebeck any amount of money, the two sides have come to an agreement on compensation. The amount of the compensation has not been released.

"The Seminole Hard Rock Casino has made an offer to William Seebeck, and he has accepted....," said the casino, in a statement, "Determination of a malfunction was made by representatives of the machine's manufacturer and software provider....The casino has opted to settle this matter for an undisclosed amount as a good faith gesture, and we look forward to welcoming Mr. Seebeck on future visits."

This is nothing new to the casino industry. There have been several instances where malfunctions within the system have caused jackpots that did not really occur. The casinos are under no obligation to pay out on malfunctioning machines, and there have been law cases that have been brought on because of the issue.

November 4, 2009
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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