For most people, a trip to the casino is a form of entertainment where the dream of a life-changing win is part of the thrill. These stories of incredible luck serve as a testament to the unpredictable nature of gambling. These are the stories of ordinary people and high rollers who experienced a once-in-a-lifetime win.
The Excalibur Jackpot
The record for the biggest-ever slot win was set in Las Vegas in 2003 at the Excalibur. A 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles decided to play the famous Megabucks slot machine while waiting for a basketball game to start. After feeding about $100 into the machine, he hit the jackpot of a lifetime. The win amounted to an incredible $39.7 million, paid out over 25 years. His story is the quintessential example of how a small bet can lead to an unimaginable fortune.
The Blackjack King
Sometimes, a big win is about more than just a lucky spin. Between 2010 and 2011, a man named Don Johnson went on an unprecedented winning streak, taking three Atlantic City casinos for a combined total of over $15 million playing blackjack.
He didn't use card counting to achieve this feat. Johnson, a savvy businessman, negotiated special rules with the casinos before he even started playing. These included a 20% "loss rebate" (where the casino would refund him 20% of his losses if they reached a certain amount), the ability to bet up to $100,000 per hand, and favorable rules like splitting and casino doubling down on any four cards. With these conditions, he played with a positive expectation, a rare feat in casino gaming. His incredible run caused some casinos to change their high-roller policies, and he was eventually banned from many establishments.
Winning the Jackpot... Again
The odds of winning a major lottery-style jackpot are astronomical, casino but winning it twice seems impossible. Yet, that is precisely the story of Elmer Sherwin, a veteran of the Second World War. In 1989, at the age of 76, he won a $4.6 million Megabucks jackpot at The Mirage in Las Vegas, just 10 hours after the casino opened. He used the money to travel the world, but he continued to play the Megabucks slots, dreaming of a second win. Incredibly, 16 years later, in 2005, at the age of 92, he did it again. He won a staggering $21.1 million jackpot on another Megabucks machine at the Cannery Casino. Sherwin generously donated much of his second win to charity, including relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina victims.