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A GAMBLER convinced he had hit a £37million fruit machine jackpot was livid when casino bosses tried to fob him off with £60 and a free meal instead.

Behar Merlaku, 26, could not believe his luck when a winning bell went off and his machine’s screen started flashing. He had only matched four out of five symbols but was sure he had won the huge sum.

But when he went to collect his prize the casino refused to pay, claiming there had been a “software error” in the machine, and offered him the £60 and food.

He said: “The jackpot came up loud and clear.

“There was music and the sum I had won, nearly 43 million euros, was displayed on screen. I was so overjoyed and in my head I began calculating what I could do with all this money.”

Now angry Mr Merlaku, who has mobile phone footage of the winning moment, has launched a lawsuit against the casino in Bregenz, Austria, which also operates a casino in Glasgow.

When Mr Merlaku, a Kosovar-Albanian, made his claim the operators of the casino immediately blamed a glitch in the machine.

But he snubbed their offer, prompting an immediate ban from the casino.

Lawyers say the company has passed the buck to the fruit machine manufacturer and refuse to take any responsibility for the error.

A press conference is due to be held tomorrow in Innsbruck, Austria. The first hearing in the case is scheduled for January 10 next year.