Lawsuit alleges Wheel of Fortune slot game bonus wheel is rigged
Four slot-machine players, including a Las Vegas woman, have filed a class action lawsuit against IGT and five casino companies alleging that the bonus wheel on the popular Wheel of Fortune game is rigged, and that millions of players nationwide are being defrauded.
The lawsuit says the bonus wheel’s design is deceptive because even though its segments are of equal size, they don’t have an equal chance of landing on a certain segment because a computer program controls the outcome of the spin.
“Before the advent of electronic gaming devices, casinos offered mechanical spinning wheel games of chance to their patrons,” the lawsuit says. “Roulette is a classic example of such a game. A commonly understood trait of these spinning wheel games is that the wheel has an equal chance of stopping on each space. That is because spinning wheels are naturally subject to the laws of physics and because the area of the wheel attributable to each number is the same, meaning the wheel has an equal chance of landing on 5 as it does 0.”
But that isn’t the case with the Wheel of Fortune bonus wheel, the lawsuit says. In modern-day slot machines, the outcomes of the spinning reels are pre-determined by a computer chip containing a random number generator.
Reno attorney David O’Mara filed the lawsuit Nov. 21 in U.S. District Court in Nevada against manufacturer IGT and casino companies MGM Resorts International, Bally’s Corp., Penn Entertainment Inc., Station Casinos LLC, and Boyd Gaming Corp., which have casinos that host the game. London-based IGT has an enormous presence in Las Vegas and Reno.
Plaintiffs include Las Vegas resident Jessica Naumann, Detroit resident Charlotte Bownes, East Providence, Rhode Island resident Joseph Lagreca and Louisville, Mississippi resident Christopher Goodin.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, plus special, consequential and incidental damages, as well as attorneys fees in the six-count filing.
Class action sought
The lawsuit also seeks establishment of a class action with potentially millions of people and for an order stopping IGT from promoting the game.
IGT, MGM, Station, Boyd, Bally’s and Penn declined comment on the lawsuit, citing policies against discussing pending litigation.
Where they played
According to the lawsuit, Naumann played the Wheel of Fortune game Jan. 18, 2021, at both Palace Station and The Orleans in Las Vegas. Bownes played Nov. 23 and 24, 2021, at MGM Grand Detroit. Lagreca played Aug. 13, 2022, at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort in Rhode Island and Oct. 2, 2022, at MGM Springfield in Massachusetts. Goodin played at Penn’s Ameristar Vicksburg and Bally’s Vicksburg Casino in Mississippi, on several days in March, April and May in 2024.
In all cases, the players said they lost money, but didn’t specify how much.
The lawsuit claims three separate violations of the Racketeer Influences and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, common-law fraud, unjust enrichment and negligent misrepresentation.
“Based on defendant’s design and presentation of the bonus wheel feature which simulates a truly naturally spinning wheel that will rotate and come to a stop in accordance with the laws of physics, such as a roulette wheel, casino players reasonably believe that wheel on the ‘Wheel of Fortune’-themed gaming devices likewise has an equal chance of stopping at each segment on the wheel – and that they therefore have as much of a chance of winning the highest-value prize on the wheel as they do the lowest-value prize on the wheel,” the lawsuit says. “Stated simply, the wheel device is rigged by an internal computer to stop much more frequently on the segments with lower monetary amounts than the segments with higher monetary amounts.”
A jury trial is being sought. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Anne Traum and referred to Magistrate Judge Craig Denney according to court documents.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
