BIG WINNERS
by H. Scot Krause
New Megabucks Jackpot Winner at M Resort
A Las Vegas woman is the latest Megabucks winner. The big winner, who wished to remain anonymous, stopped by the M Resort Friday, Dec. 14, to redeem some dining coupons and use her free play credits. Needless to say, she used them well by hitting the gigantic Megabucks jackpot for over $17.3 million! According to International Game Technology (IGT), the lucky slot player didn’t even realize she had won the top prize until another player pointed it out. The total jackpot was $17,329,817. After the big payout, the Megabucks system was reset to its starting jackpot total of $10 million.
To claim the top prize, customers must play the maximum number of coins and line up the three Megabucks symbols. Prior to mid-December, the last time the Megabucks progressive hit in Nevada was at the Grand Sierra Casino in Reno, where a player hit for $10.3 million June 15, 2011. Earlier that year it hit twice within three months at Aria in Las Vegas. The recent prize was well below the record $39.7 million Megabucks jackpot won by a California software engineer in March, 2003 at the Excalibur.
According to the rules laid out by IGT, the slot machine manufacturer and owner of the Megabucks brand, the winner has two months to decide whether to opt for a reduced one-time payment or to take the jackpot in 25 annual installments. IGT operates the Megabucks system, which is located on a series of linked progressive slot machines throughout Nevada’s casinos. The recent winner had yet to announce her decision as of press time. Whatever she decides, the Las Vegas resident told IGT that she plans to use the money to pay off her house and take care of her family.
Rolling on the River – New Millionaires in St. Louis
It was a happy holiday season in St. Louis for two River City Casino guests. The first, who wished to remain anonymous, won $2,734,893.37 playing a Wheel of Fortune penny slot machine Christmas night. Another guest was set to become a millionaire on Dec. 30 during the casino’s “Mychoice Mymillion” drawing finale. The winner had yet to be announced as this issue went to press.
Massive Christmas Eve Jackpot At Four Queens
If you happened to be in downtown Las Vegas on Christmas Eve and saw a strange object streaking across the night time sky, rest assured it wasn’t a UFO. More likely it was a hefty visitor from the Great White North, carrying the perfect Christmas gift for one lucky gambler.
Indeed the man received his special present while playing a Millionaire Sevens slot machine at the Four Queens Hotel and Casino in downtown Vegas. He placed a $3 wager on the $1 machine and hit the jackpot for $1,352,715. The man chose to remain anonymous but was said to be enjoying the best Christmas of his life.
Michigan Man Hits For $744,966 Jackpot To Kick Off 2013
It was a New Year’s Eve to remember for one lucky patron at Michigan’s Four Winds New Buffalo casino.
Timothy T. from Buchanan, MI, came to the Four Winds for the New Year’s Eve celebration and walked out into the new year with three quarters of a million dollars. He had been playing the The Great and Powerful Oz penny slot machine when the jackpot struck. He said he plans to invest his winnings.
Four Winds New Buffalo features a 130,000 square foot gaming floor and is home to 3,000 slot machines, a smoke-free slot room, and 66 table games. The casino also has wide-area progressives, which link to other Native American casinos around the country and produces some of the highest jackpots in the region.
