10 Biggest Slot Wins in History

Slot machines offer a thrilling experience and are the most popular of the games found at any casino. It is not hard to see why these reel-driven machines give off so much appeal as in the UK alone, slots rake in around £3.2 billion in casino wins each year. In addition, this amount continues to grow year after year as more casino goers are finding the convenience of playing their favourite land-based slots in their digital online form.

Slots are available in various options such as the Megaways™ and multi-reel variants that offer small but frequent wins, as well as slots that offer bonus-free spins rounds and cash multipliers that give an overall boost to your winnings. What all slots hold in common with each other, are their jackpots, with progressive jackpot slots offering life-changing win amounts. Here we have listed the 10 biggest slot wins in history by their respective players including their winning slot titles. Our list is arranged in no particular order and contains winners on both land-based and online casino slots.

1. World Record Online Slot Machine Win

A Belgian player landed a world record in April of 2021 and has recorded the biggest win ever on an online slot machine. The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, won a whopping €19, 4 million ($23 million) on the Absolootly Mad Mega Moolah slot by Microgaming. The online slot was featured at the online casino operator, Napoleon Sports and Casino, and was won off a single €15 stake and on a concluding spin.

A week before the Belgian player took the record, another Napoleon player had raked in a multi-million slot jackpot. The player won over €2 million at the same venue on a machine called WowPot, also by Microgaming. The Belgian player said he felt lucky to be living in the moment. The player exclaimed that he had read of the other winner there and then dreamed of winning it himself.

With gratuitous elation and delight, the player was commended by the CEO of Napoleon Sports and Casino, Tim De Borle as well as John Coleman, the CEO of Microgaming. A unique milestone in betting history has been achieved and to think it all happened on the last spin the Belgian player took.

2. War Veteran Luck in Vegas

If you thought those who fought in World War 2 and lived to tell the tale are lucky, you might be on to something. In 1989, Elmer Sherwin who is a Las Vegas gambling and World War 2 veteran, won $4,6 million on the Megabucks slot Machine while making a random stop at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Even though he was almost 80 years old when he took the jackpot, he lived his lifelong dream and used the money to travel the world.

A few years later, and at the tender age of 92, he decided to visit the Cannery Casino and Hotel, took a spin at the very same slot and won a massive $21, 147, 947, 00 jackpot prize. Apart from this fact, the lucky veteran also had a heart of gold. A considerable portion of his winnings was donated to a charitable cause aiding victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

3. Palace Station Mega Millions

Multi-million dollar jackpot wins are not only a thing of recent times. World-record jackpot amounts won by tabloid winners that still hold up today date back to the 90s. Another resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, won $27, 6 million at Palace Station in 1998 on the popular Megabucks slot machine. The 67-year-old woman, who has been a 23-year resident of Las Vegas, said she was a regular at the Palace Station Casino and had been gambling there for years.

“I did it, ” her words exclaimed when she finally won the jackpot. The woman, who chose not to be identified, was playing with around $300 at the casino when she made the pull that changed her life. The jackpot was won off a $3 maximum wager on a single-line, 3-reel slot machine developed by casino software provider, International Gaming Technologies (IGT).

4. Megabucks Reel Tragedy

Two years after the Palace Station jackpot win, a cocktail waitress, Cynthia Jay Brennan, decided to quickly pop in at the Desert Inn Casino after ending her shift for the day. More than an hour later, Brennan decided to walk out of the Desert Inn Casino $34, 9 million richer. Once again, the jackpot was won on the classic Megabucks slot machine. Although the 37-year-old jackpot winner experienced a once-in-a-lifetime win, an unforeseen tragedy would equally change her life forever.

Two weeks after winning the jackpot, Cynthia was involved in a traffic accident, when a drunken driver hit her stationary vehicle head-on and left her paralyzed from the chest down. Cynthia says she would give anything, including her millions, to regain her old life. The former cocktail waitress, now wheelchair-bound, donates generously towards the Free Wheelchair Mission and various campaigns against drunken driving.

5. Betway Minute Millionaire

A hugely popular online site with a name that most non-gamblers are even familiar with. The online casino operator, Betway, recorded their biggest win in 2015 amounted to just a little over €17,87 million ($21,1 million). The win was snatched in the nick of time by Jon Heywood, a 26-year-old British soldier at the time. It also came as a complete surprise to Heywood as he had just opened his online account at Betway Casino a few minutes before triggering the big jackpot win.

The Mega Moolah slot, which awarded the win, required an amount of 35 cents to activate the winning spin. This jackpot was one of the biggest wins ever recorded online and one of the most significant returns on investments in history. Heywood used his instant winnings to purchase a luxury Bentley and take his family on a Mediterranean cruise. Heywood also used a big chunk of his winnings to settle his father’s medical expenses.

6. A $22 Million Dollar Breakfast

The Megabucks slot retakes the spot as the world-record-breaking jackpot slot title. This time in 2002, won by a lucky gambler on her way to breakfast. You will find very few agendas that could stand between someone and their pursuit towards their breakfast; however, this may be the exception. The 74-year-old gambler, Johanna Huendl, scooped up the impressive jackpot at the crack of dawn at a casino in Las Vegas when she decided to take the quick detour.

When she landed the winning spin, the Megabucks slot started flashing, and Johanna thought she had just won $2 million. While bad eyesight can be excused at her age, she felt delighted at her error when notified she had just won $22, 618, 156, 00 instead. Johanna’s win was also the fourth-largest jackpot win total recorded at Sin City.

7. 25 Cents Much the Richer

If you thought that our list only includes slot players, you might just be surprised at our next entry. Another milestone was reached for online slot wins and reeled in by a Finnish player who usually plays online poker. He decided to play the Mega Fortune slot at the Scandinavian online casino site, PAF Casino and won $24 million of a 25-cent stake. How could this be you may ask? Contrary to belief, progressive slot titles do not require much input, as the progressive jackpot totals are accumulated via an international jackpot pool.

As the bonus symbols fell into place, the 40-year-old player watched on as his casino credit increased a millionfold. The 2013 online winner, whose identity remains a secret to this day, said he laughed and cried simultaneously as he experienced the most impressive winning feeling.

8. The Legendary $39 Million Megabucks Win

Our top spot for the most significant slot win currently goes to a 25-year-old software engineer and basketball enthusiast. Initially, he decided to visit the city of Las Vegas to watch his favourite basketball team play. The software engineer from Los Angeles had $100 to spare and decided to play the Megabucks slot at the Excalibur Hotel Casino in Las Vegas Strip. He swiftly transformed that $100 into $39,7 million, making him the current world-record jackpot holder.

The unidentified 25-year-old said he briefly looked away at the crucial moment the action happened. He turned back to see the winning symbols neatly lined up on the reels and could not believe his eyes. The jackpot win amount was so large that the casino decided to pay him in instalments yearly, over 25 years. Even today, the player still has a few unpaid instalments since winning the jackpot in 2003.

9. To Be or Not To Be a Jackpot Winner?

In 2015, a woman by the name of Katrina Bookman could have easily claimed the world record for the highest amount paid out for a casino jackpot slot title that would still be unsurpassed till today. Her name is hugely popular in the gambling community and is typically linked with slot win malfunction lawsuits. Her story? Katrina decided to give the Sphynx slot (IGT) a shot while visiting the Resort World Casino in New York. To her amazement, the figure the slot machine displayed at the time of her winning was $43 million.

Katrina had already started planning on what the fortune would be spent on, just moments before being briefly interrupted and told by casino officials that the amount had been dismissed. They found that the figures displayed on the screen had shown up due to a technical malfunction. Notwithstanding, they offered Katrina the actual maximum payout as per the slot machine’s paytable of $6,500, and a complimentary steak dinner. She was outraged and the lawsuit she filed for the claim of her actual jackpot amount of $43, 848, 350, 00 continues to drag on in courts today.

10. Touched by an Angel

This may be one of the smaller jackpot entries on our list; however, it definitely deserves more than just an honourable mention. Coming in as the 10th biggest slot machine win of all time at $14,3 million. This jackpot amount was collected by a player at the Rampart Casino in Las Vegas, in December of 2013. The winner, who willfully wished to remain anonymous, hit this incredible jackpot amount on the Megabucks slot.

The mystery winner turned out to be a philanthropist who is positively involved in his church which was regularly held in a high school gymnasium. He donated a huge portion of his winnings to charity as well as funding the erection of the church structure needed for his congregation. The man’s humble actions have been recognized worldwide and he can only be seen posing for the hand-over of the prize cheque. The man said he only loaded the machine with a $20 and was playing the slot for only 5 minutes when the jackpot hit. Was it a stroke of luck or divine intervention? You decide.