Slot machine 'mistake' costs Vietnamese casino US$55 million
An American who hit a US$55 million jackpot on a slot machine in a five-star Vietnamese hotel has won his lawsuit against the casino after it refused to pay him.
A court in Ho Chi Minh City ruled in favour of the gambler on Monday.
Media reports said the hearing found that the man should be allowed to collect his winnings, which the casino said were more than one thousand times the supposed maximum from the machine and had been generated by a fault.
According to state-run newspaper, the man - identified as Ly Sam - saw the figure $55,542,291.70 flash up as he played on the slot machine at the casino inside the city's luxury Sheraton hotel in October 2009.
He took pictures of the machine and asked other gamblers to sign statements saying they had witnessed his win.
But the house manager refused to provide a written confirmation of the eye-popping sum and the casino later said it was invalid because the gaming machine had unspecified faults.
The casino owner said the maximum prize was supposed to be US$46,000.
The court rejected the company's argument, saying it had failed to show evidence of the fault in the machine. The casino said it would appeal.
