Casino Refuses To Pay Massive $55 Million Slots Jackpot

A Vietnamese American man is currently in the middle of a bitter lawsuit after allegedly winning US$55.5 million at a Ho Chi Minh City casino, which then subsequently refused to pay out the staggering amount.
On October 25th, 2009, Ly Sam was playing the Landlord Game slot at the Sheraton Saigon Hotel’s Palazzo Club, when the machine indicated he had won the incredible $55.5 million cash prize.
Allegedly the club manager then told Ly Sam he would receive payment within three days but then refused Sam’s request for written confirmation of his winnings.
Not wanting to rely solely on trust, Sam then took his own steps to safeguard his winnings including composing his own report, collecting witness signatures at the casino, as well as taking photos of the winning machine.
It would seem his concerns were well founded because the three days soon passed with the Palazzo Club then ignoring his subsequent correspondences.
Eventually Sam was contacted by the club’s operator, Dai Duong Joint Venture Company, and was told no payment would be forthcoming. In the letter written by Dai Duong affiliate Ewarton Consultancy Co., Ltd, Sam Ly was apparently informed that; “the winning result was invalid because it had resulted from something wrong that happened to the game machine.”
Consequently, in what has now become the biggest ever lawsuit claim in Vietnamese history, Ly Sam is currently in the process of suing Dai Duong for the huge $55.5 million jackpot. Commenting on the case, his lawyer Tran Cong Ly Tao said:
“Dai Duong Joint Venture must pay the money. Players pay money to play and so when a player wins, the game operator must pay the winner…Even the Penal Code can be based on to charge the game operator with abusing trust to appropriate assets.”
In the meantime, the case was delayed recently while additional evidence was presented to the court and the presiding judge Mai Xuan Binh has since announced that the case will be dealt with soon.
It will be interesting to see what compensation, if any, Ly Sam receives from the Palazzo Club and we will endeavour to bring you an update to this interesting case as it occurs.