Macau's gaming bureau last night ruled that a woman who won HK$1 million at a Macau resort was not entitled to the prize because she was related to an employee.
But the 24-year-old Macau woman, surnamed Tang, said the ruling was unfair and vowed to take her case to the courts to claim her prize from the Venetian Macao casino.
Ms Tang had won HK$1,056,500 while playing on a slot machine with a promotional membership card on Monday. However, she was unable to collect the prize as staff and their immediate family were not eligible to join the promotional programme.
The Venetian Macao defended the rule, saying it protected 'the integrity of a betting programme'.
The Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau said Ms Tang did not qualify as a participant in the betting programme as her brother was a customer services manager at the resort.
The bureau ruled that her complaint did not stand.