Slots Granny Bettor Off

[enforcer]

5/22/09

Atlantic City, NJ - A 79-year-old woman and Harrah's Resort Atlantic City have settled a lawsuit accusing the casino of cheating her out of an $86,000 slots jackpot.  Angela Domino, of Egg Harbor Township, sued when the casino told her she had won just over $20,000 instead of the bigger amount her slot machine flashed on its meter.  Her lawyer  says both sides agreed not to talk about the settlement.  "All I can say is it has been resolved by the parties, subject to a confidentiality agreement," said Domino's attorney, John Donnelly.

-AP

[StatFreak]

If they split the difference, they would have paid her $53000, which. after attorney fees, would end up netting the old lady somewhere around $35000. I guess that since the money was paid though the suit that it was non-taxable (or was it in a case like this?)

[rickhunter]

"Winnings" from lawsuits are taxable if it's a punitive  reward. Unless the proceeds go toward reimbursing some kind of loss then the damages are considered punitive.  In this lady's case, it's clearly not compensatory as it would have been taxable winnings had the litigation had never taken place.

It comes down to you basis on the case.  If you lost $10 as a result of an action of the defendant, then those $10 you get back are not taxable, since you had them to begin with.  If had $0 and got $100,000 out of the lawsuit, then it's all taxable.

[Brianzz]

The rest of the story.. file this under "Woops, the meter didn't reset as quick as it should have"

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTIC CITY -- A 79-year-old woman and Harrah's Resort Atlantic City have settled a lawsuit accusing the casino of cheating her out of an $86,000 slots jackpot.

Angela Domino of Egg Harbor Township sued when the casino told her she had won just over $20,000 instead of the bigger amount her slot machine flashed on its meter.

Her lawyer says both sides agreed not to talk about the settlement. The suit had planned for trial on Tuesday.

"All I can say is it has been resolved by the parties, subject to a confidentiality agreement," the attorney, John Donnelly said.

On the evening of May 3, 2007, Domino was playing Atlantic City Spin Poker, a progressive slots game in which gamblers at several casinos compete for the same jackpot.

The lure of progressive games is that jackpots can build faster and larger than individual slot machine jackpots.

At 8:26, Domino was playing the nickel slot machine when it indicated she had won the top prize. A meter advertised the prize as $86,000, according to her lawsuit.

Soon, the meter on the jackpot reset itself to $20,000, the default prize amount offered after a jackpot has been won, according to her lawsuit, which was filed in state Superior Court in January.

Shortly afterward, a Harrah's employee met with Domino at the machine and said her prize was only $20,035, not $86,000. A worker from IGT, the slot manufacturer, said the same thing, according to the lawsuit.

They told her that three minutes earlier, a player at Trump Marina Hotel Casino had actually won the $86,000 prize, and that the jackpot Domino had won was only $20,035.

She said the jackpot meter read $86,000 when she had won and refused to accept the lower amount.

In March, an arbitration panel sided with the widow, but its ruling wasn't binding.

Harrah's had no immediate comment Thursday, and an IGT spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.