12 Slot Machine Jackpots for the History Books

If you’ve ever wondered whether anyone ever hits those big slot jackpots, take a look at these 12 stories of people who did just that. So, yes! It could happen to you.

Slots can be a fairly low-stakes game if you manage your bankroll right. And while low stakes often translate into lower payouts, some jackpot wins have been truly staggering thanks to progressive slots and their ever-growing prizes.

Let’s take a look at some thrilling and history-making slot wins.

Alexander Degenhardt: $2.9 Million

Deganhardt was a U.S. Marine who had traveled to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas for training. He and a friend had decided to pass the time at the Bellagio while waiting for their plane to leave for President’s Day weekend. He set himself up in front of the penny slot Money Vault Millionaires Seven with $100 and came away a winner. The progressive jackpot had been building from casinos across Las Vegas for six months, hence such a large payout from a penny slot.

Degenhardt shared his plans to help his mother and sister catch up on their bills. More thrillingly, he had recently found out that he was a match to be someone’s bone marrow donor, so he looked at his win as some nice karma for that connection.

Anonymous German Resident: $4.1 Million

While most of these stories feature physical slots, online slots have given out some incredible pay days, too. In 2018, a German journalist was unwinding at home after work and decided to play the Mega Fortune slot at the PokerStars online casino — with just a $2 bankroll.

That tiny bankroll turned into 3.5 million euros, which was the biggest payout in the history of the PokerStars casino. And it all happened while he was cooking a pizza in the oven.

He and his family shared their plans to renovate their home, buy an SUV, and fund their children’s university educations.

Elmer Sherwin: $4.6 Million and $21.1 Million

Las Vegas local Elmer Sherwin had first won $4.6 million from a Megabucks slot in 1989 at the Mirage, and it became his “life’s dream” to win it a second time — which had never yet been done.

But sure enough, he got his wish in 2005 by winning another Megabucks jackpot at the Cannery Casino, this time over $21 million.

The 92-year-old retiree donated a large chunk of his winnings to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Amy Nishimura: $8.9 Million

In 2003, this grandmother from Molokai, Hawaii, was successfully stretching out her $100 bankroll over the course of three hours. She was sitting at her favorite slot machine at the Fremont Hotel when she hit it big.

She called her grandsons back in Hawaii right away, but they weren’t too surprised. She said that she had always been lucky and that her secret was that she would talk to the machine to help bring some extra luck.

John Tippin: $11 Million

This postal worker from Honolulu was on vacation in Las Vegas with his wife in 1996. He had inserted only $9, or three pulls of the handle, in the Megabucks slot at Hilton and came away a winner. He admitted that he wasn’t a frequent Megabucks player but that his friends had convinced him to play it before he left.

His wife was playing on another progressive slot nearby and turned over her winnings to the players next to her, saying that she didn’t really need that money.

Tippin later published a book called I Did It! My Life After Megabucks, which details his win and also how the millions of dollars, media attention, and long-lost relatives begging him to share his wealth had changed his life.

Anonymous Woman: $12.7 Million

A woman was in town to celebrate her niece’s birthday and decided to play a random machine on her way up to her room. She popped $6 into the machine, and it turned into a giant payout.

The woman admits that she thought the slot was malfunctioning until her niece pointed out that, yes, she had really won the jackpot.

Jon Heywood: $20 Million

This British soldier had only just signed up for an account on the Betway online casino, and he admitted that he was more interested in the WWII documentary about tanks that he had on his television.

But his paltry 25-pence stake translated to winning over 13.2 million pounds on the Mega Moolah online slot, which has a reputation of having massive progressive jackpots.

Heywood shared his plans of using his winnings to get medical treatment for his father, who had been awaiting a lung and heart transplant.

Anonymous Illinois Resident: $21.3 Million

In 1999, an Illinois man deposited just $10 into the Megabucks slot at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. On his first spin, he won the $21.3 million progressive jackpot.

Johanna Huendl: $22.6 Million

Huendl was actually on her way to breakfast at Bally’s when she opted to play a little on the Megabucks machine there. She had seen another player win on that machine the night before, so she was hoping to simply win on the smaller progressive. She put about $170 into the slot, and she ended up winning a whopper of a payout.

Amusingly, she misread the meter and believed she’d won “only” $2 million, which she said she would have been happy with.

She was a native of Vienna, Austria, and had immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s. With her winnings, she said she planned on visiting her family back in her home country.

Anonymous Las Vegas Resident: $27.5 Million

The 67-year-old retired flight attendant had planned to only use $100 on the slots at Palace Station, but she ended up putting in $300. And it paid off handsomely. This was the first time that a Megabucks payout had surpassed $20 million.

This wasn’t her first big win, though — she’d previously won $680,000 on a Wheel of Fortune slot at the Palace Station, as well.

The winner and her husband felt like they’d already had a great life together, and they didn’t have any big plans to change their lives. They simply talked about maybe doing some more traveling.

Cynthia Jay-Brennan: $34.9 million

Jay-Brennan was a cocktail waitress at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas. She would often play the Megabucks slot at the Desert Inn, depositing just $21 when she did play (she was saving up enough money for her wedding). One day she popped six more dollars into the slot, and her life changed.

She was thrilled at the huge payout, but she had always lived modestly — when asked what she wanted to do with the money, she said that she had always wanted to take her whole family on a cruise. She and her boyfriend got married two weeks later, and life was looking great.

Sadly, just several weeks later her car was rear-ended by a chronic drunk driver, killing her sister and leaving her paralyzed. She’s grateful for the financial windfall for a different reason now, as the money can pay for her medical bills and care-worker.

She has also been very charitable with her winnings, having donated over 1,000 wheelchairs to disabled patients who couldn’t otherwise afford them. She also regularly donates to Mothers Against Drunk Driving and to local schools where she shares her story and warns students against the dangers of driving drunk.

The Biggest Jackpot Ever (So Far): $39.7 million

In 2003, a 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles was visiting family members in Las Vegas. While at the Excalibur, he played about $100 on the Megabucks machine and ended up winning the largest jackpot in world history: $39.7 million. This was almost $5 million more than the previous world’s record won by Cynthia Jay-Brennan.

The winner, who wanted to remain anonymous, did say that he was setting some of the money aside for his parents’ retirement.

…And the One That Went Horribly Wrong

In 2016, New Yorker Katrina Bookman was playing slots at the Resorts World Casino in Queens when the machine told her she’d won $42.9 million — the biggest jackpot in U.S. history. She even snapped a selfie with the payout screen that she thought would change her life.

According to casino staff, however, the machine had malfunctioned. That slot’s max payout was supposed to be only $6,500, but all of the slots in the casino have a disclaimer stating that “malfunctions void all pays and plays.” The casino offered her a complimentary steak dinner instead, which she refused.

As of 2017, Bookman was suing Resorts. Originally, her lawyer was seeking the slot’s max payout of $6,500, despite the fact that the machine printed out a ticket saying her winnings were just $2.25. But after no agreement from the casino, her lawyer filed a lawsuit seeking $43 million in damages. He questioned the casino’s inspection and maintenance quality if such a malfunction could even occur.

Will You Be Next?

If you want to win big on the slots, your best shot is by playing on a progressive slot. These games take small amounts from each bet made and set them aside for a giant, ever-increasing prize. After someone wins the massive payout, the prize resets to its lowest amount and starts over. Megabucks, the slot responsible for so many of these history-making wins, has a minimum prize of $10 million, so it’s always an attractive gamble.

If you’re playing slots online, scout out the progressive slots and see how they’re paying out. Make sure you’re making the proper bet amount to qualify for the giant prize, of course.

You might end up becoming part of this list yourself!