One woman was amazed when the lights and bells went off on a slot machine she was playing at the Fortune Valley Casino in Central city Colorado.  Everything indicated that she had just won the $42 million jackpot!  Then, Louise Chavez was informed by the casino that the machine had malfunctioned.  All she got from the bells and lights going off was a few dollars, some free meals and a room for the night.

Colorado gaming officials are investigating the incident, but said it could be nothing more than an unfortunate computer glitch. Chavez may not see a dime.

“I put my money in there,” Chavez told “Good Morning America.” “Whatever I won, I should get… There are dreams and there are things I’d like to do — helping my family, helping my kids. That’s why I’m disappointed. I just don’t know.”

The Denver woman can remember all too clearly when she thought her life had changed.

“All of a sudden I saw the light come on on top of the machine,” Chavez told “Good Morning America.” “I’m like, ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God!’ I’d never had this feeling before in my life, never.”

The payout she was expecting, $42,949,673. She said she usually makes about $12,000 per year as an in-home personal care provider.

But champagne and caviar dreams quickly evaporated. Casino employees told Chavez the slot machine had malfunctioned.

“We’ve been open for 15 years at Fortune Valley and this is the first time we’ve had something of this magnitude,” Fortune Valley communications director Joe Behm said.

Phone calls requesting comment from the slot machine manufacturer, WMS Industries of Waukegan Ill., were not returned to ABC News.

Chavez said the casino offered only to comp her room and meals and give her back about $20 she’d put into the machine.

“My emotions changed from excited, thrilled to very upset,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate when it happens,” said Colorado Division of Gaming spokesman Don Burmania. “We don’t like it to happen, the casinos don’t like it to happen and in this case, the patron didn’t like it, either.”

The disappointed punter said she will continue to push for the jackpot payout: “I played the game, I put my money into the machine, whether it’s $42 million, $42 000 or $4 000, I should get what the machine said,” she asserted.

The Colorado Division of Gaming will now look for forensic information in the machine’s software, and there is a possibility that Chavez could still win some money.  Colorado gaming authorities also stated the casino has no legal obligation to pay the $42.9 million. Don Burmania, a spokesman for the division, said the top prize of $251,000 was clearly posted in the casino and that a software malfunction is to blame for the glitch.

It’s not the first time a Colorado casino has had to fess up to a phony jackpot. In 2008, Burmania said, a penny slot machine at another Colorado casino told a player she’d won $164 million. Her correct prize should have been $6.60.  The lawsuit was settled out of court by the casino with the gambler.

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My Take: I think I would be upset as well.  I wonder what would happen if casinos online had the same or similar problem.  I know you can play free online casino games, but I doubt they get paid for those.  Of course, online casinos probably use software consulting services to make sure that their software is operating correctly.

There are many testing products available today for online casinos to utilize.  I wonder if the regular casinos use any of these products.  It might be wise for them to start anyway.  I know one thing that many casinos have started using and that is metal detectors.  I have noticed that many regular casinos now have security guards at the doors with metal detector equipment.

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