Bally’s Atlantic City, IGT Given 30 Days to Explain Why $1.2 Million Jackpot Wasn’t Paid
Posted on: August 22, 2025, 11:38h.
Last updated on: August 22, 2025, 01:12h.
- A woman claims she won a $1.2 million jackpot at Bally’s Atlantic City
- Bally’s and IGT say the slot malfunctioned
- A legal case regarding the matter is ongoing
Bally’s Atlantic City and slot machine manufacturer IGT have been given 30 days by a federal court to provide evidence as to why a jackpot worth $1,277,954.35 supposedly won in February 2024 wasn’t paid.
Plaintiff Roney Beal, 73, of Shamong Township, NJ, claims she and her husband, Richard Beal, were long-time customers of Bally’s Atlantic City. In her federal complaint against the Boardwalk resort, Beal says she was an invited guest of Bally’s during the weekend of Feb. 25, 2024.
On that Sunday, Beal alleges she was playing a Wheel of Fortune wide-area progressive slot machine when she hit the jackpot. But when a slot attendant arrived, the Bally’s employee informed Beal that the machine had malfunctioned and that she hadn’t won.
The Beals subsequently sued Bally’s and IGT, the latter being the gaming manufacturer of the slot terminal that is responsible for handling the progressive’s payouts.
Case Continued
Initially filed in state court, Beal’s complaint was moved to New Jersey’s federal district court in July 2024. The case has dragged on for more than a year, leading to this week’s ruling from Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Pascal.
Pascal granted Bally’s motion to “administratively terminate” the plaintiff’s complaint. However, the ruling didn’t “constitute a dismissal under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” but provides Bally’s and IGT 30 days to report back with an update of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s (NJDGE) investigation.
Bally’s says the NJDGE’s probe of the incident “remains ongoing.”
Bally’s and IGT say the Wheel of Fortune machine in question experienced a “Reel Tilt” during the winning spin. A reel tilt refers to a malfunction when a physical reel fails to display the outcome intended by the machine’s internal random number generator, or RNG.
Such malfunctions void all plays and pays. Beal alleges that the machine was working fine and never displayed an error message or “Reel Tilt” notification until after she hit the jackpot.
Prior to the spin in question, the machine operated normally and did not have any malfunctions, computer glitches, or tilts and had no problem accepting Plaintiff’s money,” Beal’s attorneys wrote in her complaint. “After hitting the jackpot, Plaintiff pushed the service button to get the assistance of Bally’s employees and, for the first time, a ‘REEL TILT’ message appeared at the bottom of the screen.”
Beal and her attorneys allege that Bally’s and the DGE have “failed to supply any information” about the malfunction.
Odds Favor Casino
This certainly isn’t the first time a casino has refused to pay a slot win due to a malfunction. In most lawsuits challenging slot malfunctions, the cases go the casinos’ way.
The New Jersey Casino Control Act requires all slot machines in Atlantic City to display consumer warnings regarding technical errors invalidating plays and pays.
“Each slot machine shall include conspicuous language which states that a malfunction voids all pays,” the state gaming law reads.
One infamous example of a slot malfunction voiding a win occurred in August 2016 at Resorts World New York City. A New York woman playing at the Queens racino thought she won a jackpot worth almost $43 million.
The video lottery terminal, however, which had a maximum payout of $6,500, had malfunctioned. She was instead given a free steak dinner. The video lottery terminal was also from IGT.
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