pauline mckee thought she hit it big when she put a penny in an iowa slot machine and the game announced she won a $ 41.8 m bonus award .
but the state supreme court ruled the game 's rules state it only allows a maximum award of $ 10,000 - and does not allow for bonus awards .
during an investigation it was discovered the machine had a software glitch , causing the game 's erroneous bonus messages .
court ruled that mckee only won $ 1.85 based on how game 's symbols aligned .