On the 4th of July in the hood, a woman was biting into someone’s leg like it was fried chicken. When the other woman said she would press charges, she replied, “I’ll put a bullet right between your eyes.”
Just neighbors being neighbors in da hood.
A single mother put 40 cents into a slot machine at a New York casino and won $43 MILLION. The casino offered her a steak dinner and $2.25 instead. A judge sided with the casino. She walked away with nothing.
– Katrina Bookman grew up in foster care.
– She was homeless as a teenager. Raised four kids on her own as a single mother in New York.
– On August 5 2016 she walked into Resorts World Casino in Queens and put 40 cents into a slot machine called Sphinx Wild.
– Bells went off. Lights flashed. The screen displayed her winnings in full. $42,949,672.76. The biggest slot machine jackpot in American history.
– She took a selfie with the screen. She was already planning what to do with the money.
– A MILLION dollars for her son who wanted to open a barbershop.
– A casino employee told her to come back the next day to collect her winnings after an official review.
– The next day the casino told her the machine had malfunctioned. She had won nothing.
– They offered her $2.25, the amount showing on her printed ticket and a complimentary steak dinner as a gesture of goodwill.
– She said "Really? Are you serious? I felt insulted."
– She refused both and hired a lawyer.
– She filed a 17 page lawsuit against the casino, its parent company, and the slot machine manufacturer.
– Her lawyer argued that even if the $43 MILLION was a malfunction the machine's maximum legitimate jackpot was $6,500. The casino should pay at least that. The casino refused even that.
– The New York State Gaming Commission confirmed the malfunction.
– Every machine in the casino had a small disclaimer printed on it: "Malfunctions void all pays and plays."
– After years of delays including COVID the case finally went to court.
– A judge at Queens County Supreme Court ruled in favor of the casino.
– Katrina Bookman walked away with nothing.
– Not the $43 MILLION, not the $6,500. Not even the steak dinner.
A single mother who grew up in foster care put 40 cents into a machine, watched it display $43 MILLION, took a selfie, came back the next day and was handed $2.25 and a dinner reservation.
It was great joining Njideka Akunyili Crosby — a gifted Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based artist — to unveil our first portrait together. This piece reflects so many chapters of Michelle and my story, and we’re thrilled that it will be on display in the Hope and Change lobby at the Obama Presidential Center starting this Juneteenth.