A 90-year-old grandmother will not receive the $ 41million jackpot she thought she won at an Iowa slot machine after the state supreme court ruled her wining pull was caused by a software error . Pauline McKee thought she hit it big in 2011 when , after putting a penny in the 'Miss Kitty ' game at the Isle Hotel Casino in Waterloo , the screen announced she had won a bonus award of $ 41,797,550.16 . But on Friday the Iowa Supreme Court determined McKee , who has thirteen grandchildren , had actually only won $ 1.85 because of how the symbols had aligned in the game . The unanimous court ruled that the casino did not have to pay McKee because the game 's rules stated that the maximum award was $ 10,000 and that bonus awards were not allowed . Pauline McKee , 90 , will not receive the $ 41million jackpot she thought she won from the slots at the Isle Hotel Casino ( pictured ) in Waterloo , Iowa after the state supreme court ruled her win came from a software error . ' I had my doubts from the start , because that 's a lot of money for a penny machine , ' McKee told the Chicago Tribune after the ruling . ' I was hoping to help my children out financially , but it was n't meant to be . ' Justice Edward Mansfield wrote that the game 's rules and pay table , which are available for reading on the machine , amount to a contract between the casino and the player . The contract is binding , whether or not the player reads the rules , he said . 'Any message appearing on the screen indicating the patron would receive a $ 41million bonus was a gratuitous promise , ' Mansfield wrote in a ruling that dismissed McKee 's lawsuit . 'The casino 's failure to pay it could not be challenged as a breach of contract . ' Stacey Cormican , one of the casino 's attorneys , said the court 's decision will ensure fairness in Iowa 's large gambling industry . 'Casinos are required to post rules and follow those rules . If either the patrons or casinos could change the rules in the middle of the game , it would be absolutely chaos , ' she said . Cormican said the casino could have been forced into bankruptcy if the court had ruled in McKee 's favor . A $ 41 million payout would amount to about half of the gross revenue the casino generated last year . McKee , a widow , was playing the penny slots with her daughter during a family reunion when she thought she won the life-changing bonus . Casino officials investigated the machine after she informed an attendant that she had won the jackpot . The unanimous court ruled that the casino did not have to pay McKee because the rules of the 'Miss Kitty ' game ( pictured ) stated that the maximum award was $ 10,000 and did not allow for bonus awards . The machine was reviewed by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission and it 's hardware and software was analyzed in a laboratory , which discovered the erroneous bonus message . In 2010 Aristocrat Technologies Inc. , the game 's manufacturer , also warned casinos that the machine 's hardware was susceptible to displaying 'legacy bonus ' awards that had not actually been won . A sign on the casino 's game read that 'malfunction voids all pays and plays ' . The casino gave McKee a $ 10 card to play while she waited during the initial investigation and eventually paid for her family 's rooms . McKee sued the casino in 2012 after the commission determined the casino did n't have to pay-out because of the machine 's glitch . Her lawyers argued that the casino had an implied contract with the customers to pay whatever number they were awarded on the slot machine , according to the Chicago Tribune . Judge Mansfield found the argument to be 'contrary to precedent and general contract principles , ' he wrote . As for McKee , she said she will not be playing the slots at Isle Hotel anytime soon . 'They did n't give me anything except what I had on the machine , ' she said . 'If they 're not going to give me any money at all , that 's terrible . '
Pauline McKee said she hit it big when she put a penny in an Iowa slot machine and the game announced she won a $ 41.8 m bonus award . But the us supreme court ruled the game 's rules state it only allows a maximum award of $ 10,000 - and does not allow for bonus awards . During an investigation it was discovered the machine had a mechanical glitch , hence the game 's erroneous bonus messages . Court ruled that McKee only won $ 1.85 based on how penny 's price aligned .