1. Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot Ever Won
2. Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot Ever
3. Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot In Vegas

Every gambler’s favorite word is jackpot.

Although the online slots offer multimillion-dollar jackpots, the biggest slots wins ever recorded have come from the Megabucks machines in Las Vegas. These slots are state-operated, and there are over 700 in operation around Nevada, all linking to form a progressive jackpot that stands at a $10 million minimum at present. In the video below you will see Slot Lover bagging a nice big jackpot pay-out when playing the Temple of Fire slot, and by watching that video it will give you some idea of just how those mega sized winning pay-outs can and will be achieved if you decide to play that slot.

The seemingly elusive prize given for all your time, money and sweat, spinning reel after reel on a slot machine.

Over the years there have been some truly monumental jackpot wins, changing people’s lives forever.

Read the facts on the biggest and most famous slot machine jackpots available, for any gambler with a little spare cash.

The Lions Share.

The Daily Mail recently reported on a Vegas slot machine, which stunningly hasn’t hit the jackpot for 20 years.

They call it the “Lions Share”, US ruling cannot get rid of the outdated slot until one lucky punter hits the now $2.3 million jackpot!

Definitely worth stopping by then?!

Gambling online.

Online gambling is now beginning to take over traditional gambling. Online gambling in America achieved a staggering $74 billion turnover in 2013.

What makes this stat even more mind-boggling is that it was just $24 billion in 2004.

For this reason I believe it’s very important to keep up to date with the best sites offering the best jackpots.

When visiting such websites, a whole range of information becomes available, such as jackpots, generous offers, loyalty schemes and all the latest on great new games!

Sites to check out.

The gambling site “Mr Green” offers some of the biggest jackpots around.

Games such as Mega Riches and Tiki Wanders are both offering jackpots of over $1million.

“Mr Green” also offers a brilliant opening bonus.

My undisputed two favorite games are “Beach life” and “Mega Moolah” however.

Both games operate using a progressive jackpot system, which builds a player’s maximum jackpot as they continue to play the game. – The more you play the bigger you’ll win!

Starting in the spring of 2011, the Beach Life jackpot went on a long run before being hit.

Fans of the game watched as the jackpot meter most past first $5 million, then $6 million and eventually even $8 million – far beyond what the game had ever awarded before.

Finally, on February 12, 2012, a lucky player managed to hit the right combination of symbols in order to win the Beach Life Jackpot.

That player ultimately took home a prize of more than $8.2 million, one of the biggest prizes ever seen in online gambling.

My other favorite, Mega Moolah also uses a progressive slot system, and boy can you win big!

It’s no surprise that the game is known as “The Millionaire Maker” among online casino players!

Not only does it provide one of the biggest online jackpots but it also comes with a great and enjoyable theme.

For those not wanting to gamble online high streets offer great slot machines too, with the only downside being relatively small jackpots can be won on any one spin.

Online gambling sites and land-based casinos love these sort of jackpot winners because they generate huge publicity when the fact of the matter is that in the long-run, the house always wins.

Did you know that online gambling in America achieved a staggering $74 billion turnover in 2013?

The motto for most gamblers who come to Las Vegas on a lark is rather simple – go big or go home.

If you’re going to wager real American dollars on games of chance and skill, there’s no reason to take the conservative route. Bankroll management notwithstanding, the goal for any gambler in Sin City is to hit it big, win the jackpot, and walk away with more money than you know what to do with.

Of course, the vast majority of us who take these shots don’t mint themselves instant millionaires. Instead, the house’s inexorable edge and every gambling game’s inherent odds against the player combine to pour our money straight into the casino’s coffers.

For this reason, what happened at the Excalibur casino on March 21^st of 2003 when a random tourist from Los Angeles decided to hit the slots has become the stuff of Las Vegas legend.

On that day, an anonymous 25-year old gambler arrived in town to visit his family. With the annual “March Madness” college basketball tournament in full swing, the player figured they might as well get some action down on Duke, Arizona, and the rest of the sport’s heavyweights.

The young man’s uncle heard about the trip to Excalibur Hotel & Casino and offered his nephew a little sage advice from a Las Vegas local – play the Megabucks slot machine and see what happens.

And with a $10 million starting seed* – not to mention millions of tourists plunking down the requisite $3 per spin to give themselves a chance – the Megabucks jackpot had swelled to an astounding $39.7 million.

*Megabucks initially offered a $1 million starting seed, before increasing to $7 million in 1997, and $10 million in 2005

Thus, the visitor from L.A. found a Megabucks machine and took a seat with $100 in hand.

What happened next made history…

How Does the Megabucks Slot Machine Work?

First things first though… in case you’re unfamiliar with the Megabucks slot, here’s a quick crash course on the greatest progressive jackpot game of them all.

Casino game manufacturer International Game Technology (IGT) introduced its Megabucks slot way back in 1986. At the time, slot machine jackpots were static in nature, meaning each individual machine offered its own kitty based on how many coins had been previously deposited in between major payouts.

IGT had a revolutionary idea, however, so the company linked its various Megabucks machines all over the Silver State together. In other words, whenever a player in Reno, Mesquite, or anywhere in Nevada for that matter played one Megabucks machine, their coins contributed to the same jackpot total.

This wide area progressive jackpot concept proved to be an immediate hit with players, who loved to watch the meter continuously climb into the seven-figures.

And those meters did climb on a daily basis too, thanks to the Megabucks game’s enormous odds against on the topline jackpot.

Megabucks is a deceptively simple game, one which eschews the multiple paylines and expanded reels that make up the bulk of a casino’s slot inventory nowadays. For a maximum bet of $3, players send three reels spinning, each featuring traditional symbols like 7s, cherries, and BARs. To form winning combinations, players hope to hit three matching symbols along a single payline.

The game’s jackpot symbol is a golden “Megabucks Eagle” which depicts the slot’s distinctive logo. The only thing is, landing even one of these crucial symbols along the payline requires the player to beat odds of 1 in 368. Knowing this, the odds against spiking all three at once come to an astronomical 1 in 49,836,032 – or (1/368)³.

For this reason, the Megabucks progressive jackpot often goes unclaimed for extended stretches, many of which lasting more than a year. With so much time in between big winners, and so many players statewide tossing $3 per spin into the kitty, Megabucks jackpots soon became notorious for reaching epic proportions.

Before that fateful day in 2003, Megabucks players enjoyed an incredible run which saw the jackpot rise to a then record $27.5 million in 1998. That life-changing sum was won by a lucky slot spinner at Palace Station in November of 1998, but the record was eventually broken with a $34.9 million payout awarded to a cocktail waitress playing at the Desert Inn in January of 2000.

A little more than three years later, a new record was waiting to be set at the Excalibur.

$100 Flier Turns Into Life-Changing Record Jackpot Win

Starting out with only $100, the player from L.A. had just 33 spins to work with given the $3* price of play.

*Megabucks can be played for $1 or $2 spins, but the progressive jackpot is only awarded to players who opt for the max-bet of $3

Even so, as a press release issued by IGT later revealed, the player with a birthdate featuring three 7s seemed to have Lady Luck on his arm from the very start. Within the span of those 33 spins, the man watched as not one, not two, but three of the “Megabucks Eagle” symbols slowly spun and came to a rest alongside one another.

Just like that, the player had beaten odds of nearly 1 in 50 million to put nearly $40 million in his pocket.

Well, not all at once anyway. The winner elected to take $1.5 million installments over the course of 26 years – which means he’s still receiving seven-figure payouts annually to this day. In fact, the winner has another 10 years and $15 million remaining on his record-setting payment plan.

Although he chose to remain anonymous, the winner provided the following statement to IGT:

“I’m still stunned; it doesn’t seem real yet. But both of my parents are still working, so some of this money will be used to fund their retirement.”

Largest Megabucks Jackpot Ever – And By a Long Shot

John Sears – who served as vice president of IGT’s MegaJackpots program at the time – confirmed that the $39,713,982.25 payout smashed the previous record for largest slot machine jackpot ever awarded:

“This MegaJackpot is nearly $5 million more than the previous world record slot jackpot amount of $34.9 million – this one goes into The Guinness Book of Records.”

Check out the table below – featuring 10 real megabucks jackpot wins – to get a better sense of just how ridiculous the record-setting jackpot really is:

Megabucks Jackpot History (Wins of $10 Million or More)

Competing Jackpot Hunters Lament Loss of Record-Setting Total

Within the slot machine gaming enthusiast community, learning that Megabucks’ massive jackpot had been won proved to be bittersweet indeed.

In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun conducted shortly after the news broke, Kim Wong from Kailua, Hawaii told the newspaper how she felt watching the meter reset back to $10 million:

“I was here at lunchtime around 12:30 and it was still around $39.7 million. Then I came back around quarter after one and it was resetting. It was such a drag. It was a little more enticing with the $39 million up there, but I’m still playing.”

Judy Selasky from Lavonia, Michigan provided a similar story, telling the paper that even though a record payout was off the table, she and her husband would still play in hopes of a “lightning strikes twice” type of moment:

“I said, ‘Hurry up and get up to the room, so I can get downstairs. I figure if he won, there might be some magic here. I’m not a hog.”

Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot Ever Won

Conclusion

Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot Ever

In a city like Las Vegas which was founded on excess, setting the world record for slot machine jackpot winnings really is something special. And while we don’t know much about the software engineer from L.A. who did the deed, learning that a 25-year old tourist took the honors should give hope to every gambler who makes the sojourn to Sin City.

Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot In Vegas

More than 16 years have passed since the record-setting spin, and nobody has even come close to claiming such an incredible Megabucks jackpot over that span – which shows just how astonishing that memorable moment in March of 2003 really was.