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. Here are some of the most famous and largest casino wins in history.
The Excalibur Jackpot
The stuff of dreams became reality for one man at the Excalibur casino. A young programmer from L.A. put some money into a Megabucks machine to kill time before a game. He wagered just $100 before the machine's reels aligned perfectly, casino (amicireggiavenariareale.com) triggering the progressive jackpot. The total prize was a staggering $39.7 million, a sum so large that the casino agreed to pay it out in 25 annual installments of about $1.5 million. The winner chose to remain anonymous, and his story remains the ultimate testament to the incredible, albeit minuscule, chance of hitting it big on a slot machine.
The Blackjack King
Sometimes, a big win is about more than just a lucky spin. Don Johnson, a corporate executive, famously won over $15 million from a trio of Atlantic City casinos in just six months.
He didn't use card counting to achieve this feat. His strategy was to leverage his status as a whale to get better rules. He secured a 20% discount on his losses, a very high maximum bet, and other rule changes that significantly reduced the house edge. By combining these advantageous rules with perfect basic strategy, casino he was able to shift the mathematical edge slightly in his favor. After his epic winning streak, casinos became much more cautious about the deals they offered high rollers.
Elmer Sherwin: The Man Who Struck Lightning Twice
The odds of winning a major lottery-style jackpot are astronomical, 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.