He became a millionaire overnight but the reality is something else.
Jerry Rape was in a casino and trying his luck on an electronic bingo machine at Wind Creek Casino in Montgomery, Alabama. He tried his luck with a $5 and put it into the bingo machine. Surprisingly, the machine indicated that he has hit a jackpot amounting to $1,377,000.
The casino took the ticket from Rape, made him wait for 24 hours and then said ‘No, he won’t be paid’. According to the casino, the machine malfunctioned, owing to which, he won’t be getting that huge payout.
Rape wasn’t having any of it so he filed a lawsuit in the tribal court of Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Now things get interesting here, according to American Constitution, Native Americans have ‘sovereign immunity’ and hence can’t be sued in courts. So the sovereign immunity held in this case and the case was dismissed from the court.
Rape tried his luck by suing the Casino in state court but the situation got even more tricky because ‘Gambling is illegal within the regulatory and adjudicative jurisdiction of the State of Alabama’ — where the case was filed.
The end result of the matter was Rape couldn’t get a single dime and exhausted his time and money.
Always remember that in gambling odds are designed to be never in your favor.
