What Can a Tribal Casino Jackpot Winner Do To Collect a Denied Jackpot?

Recently an Oklahoma woman won $8 million at the Newcastle Casino in Oklahoma. The casino won’t pay stating that the machine malfunctioned. I heard that she is getting a lawyer and “is going to sue”—a natural reaction to being denied her winnings! However, since the win was on tribal property (the Chickasaw Nation) it would appear that she will have to take action in a tribal court! I seriously doubt that the tribe’s elders will authorize this payment—does she have any rights to get this case to a court where she can get a fair hearing?

[Editor's Note: This answer is written by David McKee, writer of LVA.com's Stiffs & Georges blog.]

Where to begin?

To start at the end, it’s unfair to single out Native American tribes for players not getting "a fair hearing." Players prevail in jackpot disputes just as often in non-tribal hearings … which is to say almost never.

We’re hard-pressed to recall a time when the casino wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt, for reasons about which we’re loath to speculate. However, if you’re asking whether there are alternate means of recourse in a jackpot dispute with a tribal casino, the plain and simple answer is “no.” Tribes are sovereign nations (something that politicians often conveniently forget) and their law prevails in their casinos and nations.

For those of you not following the Newcastle Casino case, player Maribel Sanchez fed $1.25 into a Liberty 7s Class II machine — not the kind you’d ever see in Vegas — and promptly rang up a $8,469,498.95 jackpot. Fortunately for her, Sanchez had the presence of mind to take a photo of the jackpot screen. Hardly had she done so when the machine went dark, opening the door for the casino to claim that the jackpot was a "malfunction."

“The photo shows clearly the amount that she won,” said daughter Linda Sanchez, referring to the photo, “but now they’re saying it was a malfunction and not give her the amount.

“It’s crazy how they want to rely on ‘it’s a malfunction’ when somebody can easily go up there and lose all their money and ‘it’s a malfunction, give me my money back.’ It doesn’t work that way. So why would it work that way for them? It’s pointless,” the younger Sanchez concluded.

The duo hired an attorney and announced their intention to sue for the contested amount. Said lawyer Bill Zuhdi, “We’re going to go through the process that is provided by the casino at this time. We’re going to look at all her legal options and aggressively pursue her rights. She should be paid what she won.”

The casino did refund Maribel Sanchez $14.50 of her $15.75 coin-in. After maintaining that the case was “under [internal] review,” the casino referred it to the Chickasaw Gaming Commission. However …

Due to a situation unique to Oklahoma, Zuhdi may have found a loophole. The state of Oklahoma maintains that tribal/state gaming compacts lapsed last Dec. 31 (the tribes insist that they auto-renewed). Zuhdi intends to use this unsettled state of affairs to bring the Newcastle case before the relevant United States District Court. (The slot machine in question has been disabled until the case is resolved.)

Rhetorically, Zuhdi asked why, if there was a malfunction, Newcastle kept $1.25 of Sanchez’s coin-in. He added, “We have not been able to examine [the Liberty 7] yet. However, that really doesn’t matter. Why it doesn’t matter is that her matrix figures came up as jackpot prize. It said what she won. That’s what matters.”

In Newcastle’s defense, it’s possible that $8 million may have exceeded the electronic-bingo machine’s jackpot ceiling. (A similar instance caused a $43 million Resorts World New York jackpot to be voided in 2017 and there have been others.) However, the casino has been tacit on this point. Even if the federal court takes the case, it’s still a long shot for Maribel Sanchez, but it could be an exceptionally rare instance in which external legal forces trump tribal sovereignty.

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rokgpsman May-14-2020

Not very likely

She doesn't have much chance of getting the tribal casino to pay her the $8 million jackpot, but I wish her good luck. Those tribal casinos are pretty much outside the normal legal protections that players have at non-tribal casinos and the decision on what to do is entirely up to the tribal council. What the machine did or didn't do is controlled by the software inside. From what I know the machine can be opened and the last several spins can be re-displayed to help figure out if it was a malfunction or a legit winning spin. But the casino suits will be there while this is happening, and you know what they want. Smaller jackpots are usually happily paid, it is good advertising and encourages others to play, that's why casinos post those photos of lucky winners. But $8 million is a huge payout and behind closed doors they are doing what they can to avoid paying. This is the reason some people avoid tribal casinos, there is a history of doing this and you have little recourse.

Larry Stone May-14-2020

what if you really won?

has there even been a case of the player losing a spin on the slot machine...then an attendant runs up and says "there's been a malfunction, you really won, here's a million dollars"?

Jackie May-14-2020

Info

When Tribal gaming began many problems ensued so a nationwide (covering every Tribe) gaming commission, akin to the Nevada one, was formed.  This commission also fought for gaming rights in States that prohibited gaming of any kind, therefore the creation of Tribal/State gaming pacts.  If the Oklahoma pact had technically lapsed then any gaming at the time of the jackpot was illegal and the jackpot void. If not then the case has to be first reviewed by the Chickasaw Tribal commission, then the National Tribal Gaming Commission, and finally by a Federal court if allowed due to the Tribal/State Pact being not in force.  Also, the State of Oklahoma has rights under the pact to review the case and rule upon it. All of this is why the Newcastle Casino is being so tight lipped and conducting their own internal investigation.  Make no mistake, way too many eyes are watching this case so if at even the tiniest bit of proof rises to show a legitimate win Sanchez will be paid.

Ray May-14-2020

ridiculous

What everyone seems to tiptoe around is that those Liberty 7 machines in ANY casino do not have large maximum jackpots. It clearly is a malfunction if the machine claims you won millions of dollars. The general theme seems to be calling the Indians crooks because they refuse to pay out something that was not possible. Most of the comments, and even the answer, infers that she was cheated out of something that she was entitled to. That's the same as me complaining if my 25 cent VP machine says I won millions even though the max payoff on the machine is $1000. It's the woman and her lawyer that seem to me to be more crooked than the casino.

jay May-14-2020

dollars and cents

I would concur with the earlier comment that these machines are not likely to have such large jackpots. I would suspect this was a penny machine and the win is represented by coins and not dollars. That would make a $8million display a 80k jackpot and she should be paid.

rokgpsman May-14-2020

$8.5 million jackpot

Another blog discussion about this said the machine was part of a progressive jackpot. So it could be capable of a much higher jackpot than what a standalone machine could offer. In either case it's basic software coding in the machine to check that any jackpot is not more than the max limit for the machine. My understanding is that all slot machines are supposed to check this before they display to the player what the jackpot amount is. That's to protect the casino as well as the manufacturer of the machine. If it turns out that the machine tried to award the player a jackpot higher than the max permissable amount for the machine then look for the casino to bring the machine's manufacturer into the liability equation. It isn't the casino's fault if the machine did something that exceeds the highest jackpot level allowed because of a software error. This may be why the machine went dark right after the jackpot was displayed, but would be better if it went dark before that was shown.

Kevin Lewis May-14-2020

Scalped

Regardless of the validity of this particular woman's claim, this little anecdote shows why it is utterly foolish to gamble in an Indian casino--which, by definition, is NOT in the United States.

Jeff May-15-2020

Re: Kevin Lewis's "scalped" comment

In a sudden turnabout, Kevin Lewis expresses confidence in the integrity and incorruptibility of the U.S. legal system and large corporations while denigrating a minority community by accusing it of routinely making decisions based on self-interest and greed rather than on law and equity.  

I am not expressing a Kitchen Sink-style political opinion one way or the other.

I am just observing a disparity between Kevin's comments here and his oft-expressed contempt for the U.S., its mega corporations and their corrupting influence on every aspect of American life and his usual deference toward and confidence in the little guy, the less powerful, and the disenfranchised.

BTW,  the subject line of Kevin's comment is racist.

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