Pauline the state supreme court thought she hit it big when she put a penny in an Iowa slot machine and the game announced she won a $ 41.8m bonus award . But McKee 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 software glitch , causing the game 's erroneous bonus messages . Court ruled that the state supreme court only won $ 1.85 based on how game 's symbols aligned .
Pauline McKee thought she hit it big when she put a penny in an Iowa slot machine and the game announced she won a $ 41.8m bonus award . But the state 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 software glitch , causing the game 's erroneous bonus messages . Court ruled that McKee only won $ 1.85 based on how game 's symbols aligned .