Gambler Says She Won $42M But Casino Won't Pay Up

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Louise Chavez on the CBS Early Show on Wednesday morning in New York.

CBS

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) ― A Thornton woman claims she won $42 million at a penny slot machine, but the casino says it's a mistake.

Louise Chavez says a casino in Central City owes her the $42 million after she won the jackpot.

The Colorado Gaming Department says the jackpot Chavez hit shouldn't have been possible and now they are performing a full forensics investigation on the slot machine's computer board.

"I was shocked. I was like, 'I don't buy this and I'm not going to buy this,'" Chavez said. "I just felt like, you know, I was being cheated. I was being cheated out of the money that I won."

Chavez was playing the penny slots at Fortune Valley casino last Friday night.

The Gaming Department says the total jackpot she could have won playing the penny slots was about $250,000 that's on a state-wide progressive pot system.

Chavez says she plays a lot of slot machines but is now not sure she will ever return to Black Hawk or Central City.

"I will never go back to that casino. I can't say right now if I'll ever go back to any of the casinos only because now I don't have trust in any casino because of what happened," Chavez said.

The investigation into what happened with the slot machine could take more than a month.

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