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Over the years, there have been some truly unbelievable and memorable casino wins that have made history. From life-changing slots jackpots at Casino Classic to record-breaking poker tournament prize pools, ordinary people have become millionaires overnight at the roll of a dice or turn of a card. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest and most memorable casino wins of all time.
The Biggest Slots Jackpot in History
In March 2003, a software engineer named Jon Heywood made history when he hit the largest online slots jackpot ever recorded. He was playing the popular Mega Moolah progressive slot game and spun his way to the staggering sum of £13,209,300 (over $20 million). With a single lucky spin, Heywood set the Guinness World Record for the highest-ever slots payout and became an instant multimillionaire. Not bad for a 25-cent spin!
Other notable seven-figure slots jackpots include:
- €17.8 million won by an anonymous Finnish player on the Mega Fortune slot in 2013.
- $17.3 million won by Elmer Sherwin in Las Vegas on the Megabucks slot over two separate wins in 1989 and 2005.
Poker’s Biggest Winners
While slots jackpots may pay out larger single wins, some truly unbelievable sums of money have been raked in by professional poker players over successful careers. Some of the biggest poker winners of all time include:
Bryn Kenney
With total career live tournament earnings of over $56 million, American player Bryn Kenney is history’s biggest poker winner. His largest single payout was $20.5 million when he won the 2019 Triton Million charity tournament in London.
Justin Bonomo
The second biggest poker winner in history is Justin Bonomo, with total live career earnings of $45 million. His largest-ever cash prize came in 2018 when he won $10 million in the WSOP Big One for One Drop event.
Daniel Negreanu
With $42 million in tournament winnings, Canadian Daniel Negreanu is poker’s all-time leading money winner. His biggest single cash out was $8 million from his first-place finish in the $1 million buy-in 2014 Big One for One Drop tournament.
While these players have amassed their fortunes over long and successful careers, some relative unknowns have also walked away with unbelievable poker tournament scores that changed their lives with a single victory.
Other Notable Casino Wins
- In 1999, truck driver Brad Myers hit a $15.8 million jackpot on Reno, Nevada’s International Game Technology slot machine after wagering just $3. He took home over $11 million.
- Elmer Sherwin, mentioned above for his Megabucks jackpot wins, also has another entry in the history books. In 1989 he won a staggering $4.6 million from a $5 slot spin in Las Vegas at the Cannery Casino, one of the largest slots wins on such a small bet.
- In May 2000, a 25-year-old software engineer named Ashley Revell sold all his possessions, betting it all on one spin of the roulette wheel in Las Vegas. With $135,300 on red, the ball landed safely and Revell doubled his money instantly.
- In August 2012, a grandmother playing slots in Iowa hit the second-largest payout in state history – a $12.8 million jackpot from a $3 spin. She took home over $8 million after taxes.
While these once-in-a-lifetime casino wins may seem like something out of a movie, they show that anyone can get incredibly lucky on any given visit to a casino. And with progressive jackpots and tournament prize pools soaring higher each year, there are surely more record-breaking scores just waiting to happen!
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
