Late this month, a Ho Chi Minh City court will try the lawsuit in which a Vietnamese-American claims that a city-based casino is required to pay him the US$55.5 million he won in 2009. Meanwhile, the casino recently confirmed that the maximum prize is only $46,000.

>> $55 mil casino winning trial postponed>> Court to try $55 mil casino winning lawsuit today>> $55 mil winnings must be paid to gambler: lawyer >> Vietnam casino refuses to pay $55 million prizeThe trial should have opened on June 26, but the People’s Court of HCMC’s District 1 delayed it to give more time for the local prosecutor’s office to investigate the complicated case. Yesterday, the court decided to try the lawsuit on December 28, between the defendant Dai Duong Joint Venture Company, which owns the Palazzo Club at the five-star Sheraton Saigon Hotel, and the plaintiff Ly Sam, who claimed he won the money while playing a game called the Landlord on October 25, 2009, at the club. As previously reported, when Sam found the exact winning amount of US$55,542,291.70 shown on the screen of game machine No. 13, which he had been playing, he asked the club for a written confirmation of his winnings. The club manager refused, but said Dai Duong would pay Sam within three days. Sam made his own report and asked other players at the club to sign as witnesses. He also took some photos of the machine that reported the winning result.

But the money was not forthcoming, and despite two requests from Sam, Dai Duong did not pay.

Eventually, Ewarton Consultancy, an affiliate of Dai Duong, told him that due to “some fault” with the game machine, the result was “invalid.”

Dai Duong also replied in writing to Sam that it was impossible for a prize to be as high as the amount shown. The company also said that due to technical faults, the winning amount was displayed in the wrong place on the screen of the game machine. Recently, Dai Duong sent the printed circuit board (PCB) of machine No. 13 abroad for technical verification to identify the maximum prize that was fixed for the machine. According to Dai Duong, the result of the verification was that the maximum prize was US$46,000 only, so the fact that Sam is demanding that Dai Duong pay him over $55 million is unacceptable. Meanwhile, Sam said he does not agree to the result of the verification of the machine, since Dai Duong has removed the PCB from the machine and sent it abroad without his witness and consent and without any supervision of any concerned agencies. Dai Duong should have sealed up the machine pending the decision from concerned agencies, Sam said. Sam therefore complained that Dai Duong has violated procedures and he said that he has complained about the violation to the court.