Problem with New Zealand Slot Machine Turns a Win of Millions Into Hundreds

For a woman from New Zealand, Christmas arrived early this year, or so she thought. When this woman was playing a land slot in Dunedin, New Zealand, for a moment it showed a $A 36 million jackpot hit. She soon found out that the slot machine she was playing on was faulty and that she had only really won $A 420. Quite a difference.

The player who is an Otago mental health worker named Verna Brown, is reported as saying that for a brief, wonderful moment she thought she was a multi-millionairess. This followed her putting the sum $A 11.75 (NZ$ 14) into the poker slot machine located at the Law Courts Hotel in Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island. At the same time however, there was a malfunction light flashing on the machine but rather than calling in the receivers, the hotel decided to call a technician.

As far as Brown was concerned she had won close to $A36 million ($NZ42million) - and even had to deal with a joking marriage proposal from one of the other players.

She told the Otago Daily Times that she went up to the bar and said that she had won $42 million, at which point the bar lady thought that she had had a few too many.

One of the hotel's owners Eric Olsen said that when he saw what had happened he imagined that he would have to sell the place to pay it off and mortgage himself for the next 200 years.

Two and a half weeks later, after the faulty parts had been sent back to the Japanese manufacturer, the now unlucky Verna was told the truth, she had not received the instant fortune she thought she had.

She says however, that she does not need the millions and is happy with her $A420 ($NZ500).

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