Biggest Slot Wins of All Time
Slots appeal to gamblers because of the opportunity for life-changing prizes. Jackpots are usually hard to land, but they can be truly staggering when that happens.
My list of the biggest slot machine wins of all time proves it. As you’re about to see, lucky players from all over the world have won tens of millions in the blink of an eye in both land-based and online casinos.
An LA Software Engineer Wins the Biggest Jackpot Ever
- Winnings: $39.7 million
- Game: Megabucks
- Type: Land-based
The biggest recorded progressive jackpot win in history took place at the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas in early 2003. Software engineer Ethan Miller was in town from LA and certainly didn’t expect to be the recipient of the biggest Vegas jackpot ever won.
Miller was playing Megabucks, perhaps the best-known jackpot slot in Vegas. He played with $100 and walked away with a cool $39.7 million. Was it written in the code of his life, or did Miller just luck out? Nobody can say, but I’m sure he’s still living the high life wherever he is today.
Treasure in the Desert for a Lucky Cocktail Waitress
- Winnings: $35 million
- Game: Megabucks
- Type: Land-based
37-year-old Cynthia Jay Brennan was a cocktail waitress in Sin City when she decided to try her luck on Megabucks slot back at the turn of the millennium. At the time, she was living a modest life in a studio apartment while saving for her wedding.
That all changed when she walked into the Desert Inn casino with a few hundred dollars and walked out with $35 million. In a tragic turn of events, she was paralyzed in an accident just a few short months later.
Despite her tragic accident, Brennan remains one of the biggest jackpot winners of all time. Was it the Megabucks curse that led her to her accident? We’ll never know, but she can at least say she won one of the biggest slot payouts of all time.
A Happy Retiree Levels up at the Palace Station
- Winnings: $27.6 million
- Game: Megabucks
- Type: Land-based
Most of us work hard and save what we can in the hopes of enjoying our golden years in style. One lucky retiree need not have worried because there was a $27.6 million Megabucks jackpot written in her stars.
The anonymous woman played with a few hundred dollars at the Palace Station. Like so many others on our list of the biggest slots wins, she tried her luck on Megabucks and hit the big time.
This win was way back in 1998, yet it remains one of the largest Vegas jackpot wins of all time. I’m willing to bet she enjoyed her retirement a whole lot more after the win!
Lucky Finnish Player Wins $23.6 Million from a $0.25 Spin
- Winnings: $23.6 million
- Game: Mega Fortune
- Type: Online
One of the best things about the top progressive jackpot slots online is how big some of the jackpots get quickly. Mega Fortune is an example of this; the game is based on glitz and glamor, teasing players with the sort of lifestyle they could enjoy if they hit the jackpot.
To this day, this stands as one of the biggest online slot wins and still stands as the biggest jackpot Mega Fortune has ever paid out.
Belgian Player Scoops a Mega Moolah Record Jackpot
- Winnings: $23 million
- Game: Mega Moolah Absolootly Mad
- Type: Online
In 2021, during the height of the global lockdowns, one lucky Belgian player scooped a record jackpot on Mega Moolah Absolootley Mad. This is one of the spinoff games Microgaming introduced due to the popularity of the original.
The player collected €19.4 million, which converts to over $23 million, playing at a casino site. The player has chosen to remain anonymous. I probably would, too, if I won one of the largest online slot machine wins.
An Old-timer Wins the Megabucks Jackpot at 74
- Winnings: $22.6 million
- Game: Megabucks
- Type: Land-based
They say you never know when luck is going to shine on you, and this story certainly illustrates that. A lucky pensioner won one of the largest slot machine wins ever before breakfast when playing at Bally’s in Las Vegas.
Johanna Heundl, who was the ripe old age of 74 back in 2002, won $22.6 million on the Megabucks machine. She told the press she’d only spent $170 before hitting the jackpot.
I don’t know what I’d do with that sort of money at 74, but taking care of my family and booking a few extra cruises would certainly be on the list. This remains one of the biggest Las Vegas slot machines jackpots of all time.
British Soldier Scoops the Biggest Mega Moolah Jackpot Ever
- Winnings: $20 million
- Game: Mega Moolah
- Type: Online
Mega Moolah is a famous Microgaming jackpot slot known as the ‘millionaire maker’ for its payout potential. Millions of players from across the globe play it every day in the hope of winning the bonus wheel round and walking away with no more worries.
British soldier John Haywood, a veteran with tours of duty in Afghanistan, deposited $46 and won the jackpot on a single spin of Mega Moolah. Thanks to the favorable exchange rate at the time (October 2015), the £13.2 million jackpot came in at just over $20 million.
Haywood told the press he didn’t know what to do with the money, but the first order of business was to change his Fiat Punto for a yellow Bentley Continental. That’s one way to spend some of one of the biggest ever slot wins!
Tips for Winning Jackpot Slots
I’m going to be 100% straight with you; jackpots are paid out when Random Number Generators decide so, and there’s very little you can do to improve your chances. However, there are some general tips for winning jackpot slots, and you should read about them before you play.
If you want to try your luck playing some of the best progressive jackpot slots online, I recommend Wild Casino. With a $5,000 welcome bonus, fast payouts, and some of the top jackpot slots online, this US-friendly casino site is well worth checking out.