Jackpot, but she wants to sue

May 7, 2009
Jackpot, but she wants to sue

A Chinese businesswoman who has blown US$6.8 million ($10 million) in the gaming haven of Macau in two years, scooped a slot machine jackpot just as she was threatening to sue the casino. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

HONG KONG - A CHINESE businesswoman who has blown US$6.8 million ($10 million) in the gaming haven of Macau in two years, scooped a slot machine jackpot just as she was threatening to sue the casino, a report said on Thursday.

The woman won a HK$5 million (S$940,000) slot machine payout on Monday at the Wynn Macau, part of the gaming empire of US tycoon Steve Wynn, the Standard newspaper reported.

It was the second-highest slot machine payout in Macau's history, the report said.

Her win came a day after she threatened to sue Wynn Macau over the huge sum she has lost on slot machines since 2007. She claims that payout rates on the machines are too low, the English language daily said.

The woman, from the eastern Zheijiang province, was also unhappy because Wynn staff refused to let her, family and friends play 20 machines at the same time in a calculated attempt to beat the odds.

The report said the woman, who it described as a self-proclaimed billionaire, had insisted she was not addicted to gambling.

Despite the payout, the woman has threatened to continue her legal battle, the Standard added.

Macau has become a gambling paradise in recent years, with massive casinos springing up across the former Portuguese colony, helping the city overtake Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenue.

But income has been battered as visa restrictions placed by Beijing on Chinese visitors have stopped many of the biggest gamblers entering the territory, the only place in China where casino gambling is allowed.

No-one from Wynn Macau was immediately available for comment. -- AFP