BENSALEM — Stephen Wilkinson was feeding 50 cents a pull into a slot machine at a new Pennsylvania casino when a message board attached to the machine lit up.

The message told Wilkinson — by name — that he had won $102,000 in a power play jackpot. The woman next to him screamed with excitement.

But Wilkinson's six-figure payday was short-lived. Casino officials soon informed the retired carpenter that the message was sent in error.

"They offered me two comps for the buffet," said a deflated Wilkinson, who lives in Feasterville.

Wilkinson suffered his reversal of fortune on Monday, less than a month after 2,100 slot machines went into operation at Philadelphia Park, a racetrack just outside Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Park spokesman Andrew Becker confirmed that Wilkinson had received the message on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Wilkinson's name appeared in the message because he was using a casino-issued players card to track his bets.

"It was just an error in the communication system — an unfortunate one, I might add," Becker said.

He noted that all machines carry a disclaimer telling players that machine malfunctions void all pays and plays. But he acknowledged that the mistake appears to have been in the casino's computerized in-house communications system, not in the machine.

Wilkinson has filed a complaint with Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

"If this is a violation of internal controls, they (the casino) will be heavily fined and sanctioned," board spokesman Doug Harbach said.