Dating back to the early 2000s, slot machines were only legal in 31 states around the U.S. Today there’s around 40+ states that have made them legal as well as other states that are in the process of being added to this number soon. If you think the U.S. has a lot of slot machines, check again. In Japan, slot machines are more popular and accepted than in the U.S. In comparison to the rest of the world, Japan is #1 on the list for having the most slot machines, followed by the U.S. ranking in at #2. Japan alone has around 5 million slot machines, and a smaller population than the U.S.
The progressive Megabucks Jackpot is generally paid out in equal amounts over 25 years, although winners can negotiate other payoffs, Sorensen said. The system links dollar slot machines in 157. Surely, a lot of people have, especially when there’s so many slot machines out there that offer progressive jackpots such as the Megabucks slot machines, which have enormously large jackpots. In fact, Megabuck slot machines are a very big network operating their machines all over Vegas, and run by a company called International Game. The “progressive jackpot” is a type of a prize pool that is accumulated through all Megabucks slot machines positioned in various casinos throughout the state. A small percentage of every bet is gathered into a mutual pool, which makes up the jackpot. An interesting fact is that if the jackpot is won, the amount is reset at $10 million!
With all this talk about how popular slot machines are, have you ever dreamed of walking into a casino and then walking back out a millionaire? Surely, a lot of people have, especially when there’s so many slot machines out there that offer progressive jackpots such as the Megabucks slot machines, which have enormously large jackpots. In fact, Megabuck slot machines are a very big network operating their machines all over Vegas, and run by a company called International Game Technology (IGT). Speaking of Megabucks slots, that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about in this article. We’ll be looking at some of the winners, locations of the machines, what kind of jackpots they offer and what kind of odds they have.
Megabucks Slot Machine Payout Rules
If you’re familiar with the appearance of the classic slot machines, Megabucksslot machines are very similar holding a true and classic style with just three columns and only one payline. In order to spin the reels with the possibility of hitting a jackpot, the typical rules are that you need to bet at least a dollar, going up to three dollars. Keep in mind, in order to have a chance at winning the progressive jackpot, each spin must be three dollars. Of course you can win other smaller payouts from other combinations, however the Megabuck symbol is the symbol with the most value, and if you get three Megabuck symbols, you will be walking home with tons of cash in your pocket. What’s cool about Megabucks, all the slot machines around Vegas are all connected to one another. That means each person gambling on these machines is contributing to the jackpot amount, and whenever someone wins the jackpot, the jackpot amount for that machine, as well as all the other ones are reset to the starting amount which is $10,000,000. As of now, there are approximately 800 of these machines being operated in about 150 casinos in Nevada.
Megabucks Slot Winners
Over the last 20 years or so, Megabucks has had a handful of winners who walked out of the casinos a millionaire. As mentioned before, the progressive jackpot award starts at $10,000,000, meaning it continues to go higher until someone gets lucky and wins. Since Megabucks was first introduced back in 1986, on average 2 people win each year. Only one person won in 2016, whereas three people won in 2013, however in the year 2000, six people won. The biggest jackpot amount ever won was taken place at the Excalibur casino back in 2003, where someone took home a gigantic check with their name on it for a whopping $39M+. Keep in mind that the nearly 40% of the earnings are removed after having to pay state taxes from the winning amount, which can dramatically drop the initial win amount.
Speaking of Megabucks slot winners, below are some people that have won over the years:
- In 2000, a local cocktail waitress aged 37 won almost $35M at the Desert Inn
- In 1998, a woman who was almost 70 years old won nearly $28M at the Palace Station, and only spent around $300 to reach that win. On top of that, she won close to $700K from another machine sometime before
- In 1999, a 44-year-old man won over $21M at Caesars Palace who only supposedly won on his first spin
- In 2002, a lady at the age of 74 gambled around $150 at one of the Megabucks machine at Bally’s casino, and turned it into approximately $23M
- In 2005, a 92-year-old man won close to $21M at the Cannery Casino, and won another Megabuck jackpot at time before that one back in the late 80s for about $4M from the casino at the Mirage.
- In 2011, some lady bet only around $6 and ended up winning approximately $12M from the Megabucks machine at the Aria.
Megabucks Slot Machine Odds
Now let’s talk about the Megabucks slot machine odds. First of all, all the official machines are equipped with a software installed called a Random Number Generator (RNG), which controls the random behavior of each spin. The RNG ensures that each spin that takes place is indeed random, making it impossible to control anyone’s payouts.
Although not guaranteed, but some people believe the odds of winning one of the Megabuck jackpot awards are anywhere from 1 in 17M to 1 in 50M, which means the odds of actually winning are worse than a majority of the state lotteries. Aside from the jackpot odds, the non-jackpot spins have a higher house edge than the slot machines without a progressive jackpot feature. Overall, there’s a possible chance anyone could win a Megabuck, since the odds are so small it will take a lot of losses before someone will actually wins. Nonetheless, you have to play in order to win, so don’t let the odds hold you back. If you think you’re the lucky one, go for it.
Here at Caesars Casino online, we offer a progressive jackpot feature on some of our video slot machines, which is similar to the Megabucks. In fact, if you’ve never played a progressive jackpot feature before, this is a great way to try it out for your first time, for free without any risk involved. Even if you have some experience with them, go ahead and play them anyways for some fun and/or to practice before you gamble at a real casino, with real money.
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Elmer Sherwin Beats Odds to Win the Megabucks Slot Jackpot Twice
Elmer Sherwin was a one-off winner, that’s for certain. Everyone whose playing on the slot machines at the casino is hoping for the massive win that’ll turn their lives upside down. Those big progressive wins like the Megabucks, that will fill your pockets with millions of dollars in the blink of an eye. Megabucks is a game developed by International Game Technologies and was first introduced all the way back in 1986. By comparison with modern games, it has a very simple game-play and offers a paltry three reels and a single pay-line.
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But what a pay-line! It’s the largest payout from a slot machine in the entire world. The progressive jackpot is set to a minimum of $10 million. It was also the world’s first progressive prize. The Megabucks network links all slots in Nevada together to create a gigantic eight-figure jackpot. With thousands of players, from Reno to Las Vegas, all pumping coins into these machines, it doesn’t take long for the jackpot to exceed $20 to $40 million. As far as the odds of winning go, the chance of landing just one reel is 1 in 368. The chances of hitting all three key symbols come in at a mere 1 in 49,836,032.
As you can imagine, with odds like that, years can pass before a winner is found. Over the course of the last 10 years, the Megabucks jackpot has only paid out 14 times. And that’s what makes the story of one lucky winner even crazier. That’s because Elmer Sherwin was to land the Megabucks jackpot twice. In 1989, Sherwin managed to score a $4.6 million win. At that time, he broke a record of being the largest winner from a slot machine in the history of Las Vegas. And then 16 years later, Sherwin was to repeat the same feat, but this time the payout was a whopping $21.1 million. He must have known where the best progressive slots machines are situated.
Elmer Sherwin Wins Seven Figures on the Mirage’s Opening Day
Back on the 22nd of November in 1989, Las Vegas was celebrating the launch of its latest casino at the mirage. And one of those people celebrating was a local player with the name of Elmer Sherwin. He was visiting the new casino with his then ex-wife, Florence. As the casino was brand new, the seeded money in the jackpot slots was put at $1 million in cash. From here it climbed up to a $4.6 million grand prize. In around one and a half hours of playtime, Elmer Sherwin spent $80 of his own money and borrowed $20 more from Florence. Well, the wheels did their wheel thing and whirled and clicked the reels into place. The three Megabucks eagle symbols were perfectly lined up.
Was it A Set-Up For Publicity?
Because it was the opening night, and the win was so big, many were to believe that they were some sort of underhand play going on, so as to secure as much publicity as possible. And if not done deliberately, then there was then something supernatural about that particular slot machine. A myth started to do the rounds. It was suggesting that IGT was programming its machines to pay out at a higher rate on opening nights. They were somehow working hand in hand with the casino to ensure people continued to come into the casino. But the product manager, Boris Hallerbach, said that no such thing was possible. He spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and said that random number generators simply don’t work that way.
Megabucks Slot Machine Winners Megabucks Jackpot
“Unfortunately, no. I hate to be the spoiler. There is no correlation between Megabucks hitting and the opening of a casino.”
No Interest To Go Traveling
If you look back at all the casinos that have opened since the Mirage, none of them had winners on an opening day. As a single retiree, Sherwin now had all the money, as well as all the time in the world to enjoy himself. But his interest in traveling was tempered by the fact that he said he’d already traveled thanks to being a soldier in the Second World War. So he was absolutely content to stay in Las Vegas and try to win the Megabucks a second time. We’re quite sure that the casinos were happy to hear that. A mere sixteen years later, and lightning did strike twice.
Elmer Sherwin Wins A Second Time
In 2005, during a trip to the Cannery Casino and Hotel, the 92-year-old Sherwin was spinning a Megabucks slot machine in the off-strip casino, called Cannery. He always said that he would be the first player to win this jackpot twice. And so it proved. The three eagles symbols settled in their perfect places and the grand sum of $21,147,947 was his for the taking. Talking to the press later, Sherwin said, “I’m glad I finally hit; I’ve been trying to do it again. I’m gonna try for a third win on Megabucks, but I may try the Wheel of Fortune slot, too.” There was no real jackpot winning strategy, just the willingness to play for over 10 years and some luck.
Looking at the odds of this happening are mind-boggling. If you multiply the 1 in 49,836,032 odds for hitting the one Megabucks jackpot by another 49,836,032, then you get a total of 1 in 2,483,630,085,505,024! Or, as it’s written, one in 2.4 quadrillions. These are pretty serious numbers. You should note that Elmer Sherwin used the vast majority of his winnings to help victims of Hurricane Katrina that struck New Orleans. Two years later and he was dead, passing away at the ripe old age of 94.
Conclusion: Elmer Sherwin Beats Odds to Win the Megabucks Slot Jackpot Twice
Millions and millions of players will be spinning those slot machine reels over the course of their entire lives. And in spite of playing on the world’s best slots machines, almost all of them will never hit but a single prize. Let alone one of the top jackpots. And to think, there have been only a paltry 22 jackpot wins in over 15 years. So, to win such a thing twice is really pretty unfathomable. Elmer Sherwin sure broke the mold by winning twice and at such staggering odds. But such are the stories of the city of Las Vegas. Tough this one must rank as a legend!
Megabucks Slot Machine Current Jackpot
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