The 10 Biggest Slot Machine Wins of All Time
By
Mike J. Davies
Editor in Chief at Casinos.US Updated: 07/21/2023
Mike is our Senior Editor and experienced gambling strategist. A former hockey player, he transitioned to the casino industry after finishing his B.A. in English. Blackjack systems, online casino guides, gambling terms, and more – Mike is familiar with all fine points of gambling.
Biggest Slot Machine Wins Ever
- Biggest Slot Wins: An Overview
- Largest Slot Jackpot: 39.7 Million!
- $34.9 Million – Desert Inn Casino, LV
- $27.5 Million – Palace Station Resort, LV
- $24 Million – Online Casino
- $22.6 Million – Bally’s Casino, LV
- $21.3 Million – Caesars Palace, LV
- $21.1 Million – Cannery Casino, LV
- $17.3 Million – M Resort, Henderson
- $17.25 Million – Betway, Online Casino
- $14.3 Million – Rampart Casino, LV
Slot machines, the focal point of most casinos, have seen their share of monster wins. Whether it’s a traditional one-armed bandit, or an online video slot, these games have been the source of pleasure and entertainment for millions of players around the world – some of whom have managed to win extraordinary amounts of money.
Today’s blog post will show you the ten biggest slot machine wins in history, and we’ll look at where the largest slot machine win ever took place, and how it was won.
Biggest Slot Wins: An Overview
The biggest slot wins – the ones we’ll be looking at today – are all worth more than $10 million, with some reaching almost $40 million! As we look at the details of each win, remember that while it’s possible for anyone to hit jackpots like this, the odds of doing so are very slim. Here’s a summary of the biggest slot machine win ever and the nine runners up we’ll be talking about today:
| Win Amount | Casino Name & Location |
|---|---|
| $39.7 Million | Excalibur Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas |
| $34.9 Million | Desert Inn Casino, Las Vegas |
| $27.5 Million | Palace Station Resort, Las Vegas |
| $24 Million | Unknown, Online Casino |
| $22.6 Million | Bally’s Casino, Las Vegas |
| $21.3 Million | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas |
| $21.1 Million | Cannery Casino & Hotel, Las Vegas |
| $17.3 Million | M Resort, Henderson |
| $17.25 Million | Betway, Online Casino |
| $14.3 Million | Rampart Casino, Las Vegas |
Largest Slot Machine Jackpot: 39.7 Million!
The largest slot machine win ever recorded happened at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. On March 21, 2003, a 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles decided to try his luck on a slot machine called Megabucks. The young man started with just $100, and it’s rumored that he didn’t even know it was a progressive jackpot machine!
On his very first spin, he ended up hitting the machine’s jackpot, winning a monumental $39.7 million! This record-breaking win made headline news all around the world, and it even entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest slot machine jackpot ever won; a record that he still holds today.
For obvious reasons, the lucky winner chose to remain anonymous; it’s unclear whether the casino offered him a larger amount of money to go public, which is something many do, as it brings a lot of publicity.
The impressive win made him a multi-millionaire in seconds, and the fact that he won the progressive jackpot on his very first spin makes it all the more impressive.
$34.9 Million – Desert Inn Casino, Las Vegas
The second-largest slot machine win also occurred in Las Vegas, a place that, today, is the most iconic gambling destination in the world. On January 26th, 2000, a cocktail waitress called Cynthia Jay-Brennan went to the Desert Inn Casino with her fiancé. She decided to try her luck on the Megabucks machine – the same slot machine that was played by the anonymous winner of $34.9 million.
As it turned out, choosing Megabucks would be a decision that changed her life, and on just her ninth spin of the machine she hit the winning combo required to scoop the jackpot, taking home a staggering $34.9 million in the process. Unfortunately, she believes the win “cursed” her; just a few weeks after the win, her sister was involved in a tragic accident and passed away; Brennan herself was paralyzed from the chest down and remains in this state today.
While the aftermath of the win has a very tragic ending, there’s no taking away from the fact that it’s still the second largest slot machine win in history, and we hope she’s doing as best as she can today.
$27.5 Million – Palace Station Resort, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, the world’s gambling capital, is going to become a pretty familiar name as we continue listing the top ten biggest slot wins of all time. The third-place entry was also won in Sin City, this time at the Palace Station Resort. On November 15, 1998, a local resident, a retired flight attendant who chose to remain anonymous, went in and also chose to give the Megabucks slot machine a try.
In a twist of fate, she actually loaded $300 onto the machine, when she’d only meant to add $100. She ended up losing the first $100, and, while playing with the accidentally added money, she hit the jackpot – winning her a colossal $27.5 million!
This win highlighted the unpredictable and exciting nature of slot machines, and it garnered even more media attention, particularly for the Megabucks slot machine, a game that went on to become the most commonly played progressive jackpot slot machine in the world as a result of all the progressive jackpots it paid out.
$24 Million – Unknown, Online Casino
While Las Vegas has been home to the three jackpot wins we’ve looked at so far, now it’s time to turn our attention to the online gambling world. Online gambling has exploded in popularity in recent years, and it’s incredibly popular with players for several reasons.
In 2013, an anonymous player from Finland – who, the media report, was in his 40s at the time – played at an unknown online casino, choosing to load up Netent’s Mega Fortune, a well-known online video slot that always has a minimum jackpot value of $1 million.
Luckily for the Finnish player, when he was playing, the jackpot was worth far more than this, and to his disbelief, he hit the jackpot, winning an astonishing €17.8 million (roughly $24 million)! He chose to stay anonymous, but his win instantly took the World Record for the largest slot machine jackpot online, a record which he continues to hold today, a decade later.
Mega Fortune is available at many online casinos today, and if you play slots online you should have no problems finding it. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next lucky winner!
$22.6 Million – Bally’s Casino, Las Vegas
Las Vegas is home to yet another of the biggest slot machine wins, and this one was scooped at Bally’s Casino on September 15th, 2005. Apparently, an unassuming 67-year-old retired flight attendant had a layover and decided to head to Bally’s to pass the time. She chose to play the Megabucks slot machine (are you noticing a trend yet?) and figured she’d try her luck.
It should also be noted that she’d previously won $680,000 on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine in the very same casino – so at face value, the odds seemed to be massively stacked against her. However, as it sometimes does, history repeated itself, and she won an astonishing $22.6 million this time around. Her win went viral and proves that lightning can strike twice. She’s considered to be one of the luckiest slot machine players in history, and for good reason.
$21.3 Million – Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
In yet another Vegas casino, a 49-year-old businessman from Illinois headed to Caesars Palace way back in June 1999. He also chose to play the Megabucks slot machine, and it proved to be a life-changing decision, as he was lucky enough to scoop the world’s sixth-biggest slot machine jackpot ever.
By landing the required progressive jackpot symbols, he won a staggering $21.3 million, and, like most of the people on this list, he also chose to remain anonymous. It’s yet another example of why Megabucks was such a popular slot machine, and so far in this post, it’s single-handedly created five multi-millionaires.
$21.1 Million – Cannery Casino & Hotel, Las Vegas
The Cannery Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas isn’t one of the best-known casinos in Sin City, but it was host to the seventh-biggest slot machine jackpot in history – and yes, in case you’re wondering, it was also won on Megabucks!
Back in 2002, a local resident – a 74-year-old woman named Johanna Huendl – was on her way to breakfast when she decided to try her luck on the slots. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of her life, as she ended up winning the jackpot, which was worth an unbelievable $21.1 million!
$17.3 Million – M Resort, Henderson
A retired school principal called Rodolphe went down in history for winning the eighth biggest slot machine jackpot in the world when he played at the M Resort in Henderson, Nevada.
In 2012, he decided to try his luck on the Megabucks machine. The slot machine produced another multi-million-dollar progressive jackpot, and Rodolphe had wagered just $20 before he hit the jackpot, earning him a cool $17.3 million! Unlike most of the people we’ve talked about, he did decide to go public, although it’s unclear whether this had any negative long-term effects on him.
$17.25 Million – Betway, Online Casino
Another showcase of the power of online gaming is the ninth biggest slot win in history. A British soldier named Jon Heywood played the Mega Moolah online slot at Betway Casino in 2015. Mega Moolah is a progressive jackpot slot machine from Microgaming. It’s arguably the most famous reel-spinning title available at online slot sites in New Jersey, WV, PE, Michigan, other states, and worldwide.
It is responsible for producing more than 20 7-figure winners. Astonishingly, Heywood had made just a 25 pence bet when he won the game’s jackpot, worth an incredible £13.2 million (around $17.25 million.) It was the biggest online slot machine win for a Brit in history and received widespread media coverage throughout the UK.
$14.3 Million – Rampart Casino, Las Vegas
Rounding off this list is our tenth-place contender who scooped a $14.3 million jackpot while playing at the Rampart Casino in Las Vegas.
In November 2014, an anonymous woman tried her luck on the Megabucks slot. Naturally, she had no idea she was about to join the ranks of the biggest winners in the history of slots, and on one lucky spin, she scooped the game’s jackpot, worth a gigantic $14.3 million! It may be less than half of the top Megabucks win ever paid out, but somehow, we don’t think she’ll be complaining!
