Top 10 Biggest Slot Machine Wins

We have all dreamt of a once-in-a-lifetime mega win that will see us riding off into the sunset with our millions in a bag. Although you have only heard of such epic slot machine wins, many have truly been lucky when playing slots for real money. 

People all over the globe have been holding out for that one slot machine payout for years now. Winners have come between a couple of grand to nearly $40 Million in prize money. 

These wins have changed lives and led to players trying their luck just a bit harder in hopes of replicating that success. 

Let’s take a look at the top 10 biggest slot machine wins of all time. 

10. $14.3 Million - Rampart Casino, Las Vegas

Starting things off with an already eye-watering amount, we have an anonymous player who won $14.3 Million on a Megabucks slot machine in Rampart Casino. 

The local man was trying to show his friend what the casino was like and decided to play a $20 bet in the slot machine. Much to his amusement, he made out like a bandit with a life-changing sum of $14,282,544. This win was recorded in December 2013. 

The kind-hearted player donated much of his winnings to his Church and some of the charities he liked to donate to. See, happy endings do exist in a casino. 

9. $17.25 Million - Betway Online Casino

This is a significant win in the casino world. Not only is this one of the biggest slot machine wins ever, but it’s also one of the biggest seen online. A British soldier named Jon Hayward made it happen.  

Jon was enjoying his time with some Mega Moolah on Betway. His story is even more incredible when you get to know that he bet only 25 pence. The result made the entire gambling community blush, a whopping $17.25 Million in prize money. 

8. $17.3 Million – M Resort, Henderson

Another slot jackpot worth noting is one where an anonymous player was visiting the M Resort in Las Vegas with a few free credits to their name. What happened next will shock you to your core. 

Sitting on the Megabucks slot machine, they were so focussed on the game that another player beside them had to tell the winner that he, in fact, won an astonishing $17,329,817. With just free credits, that is as impressive as it is enticing. 
Check around, maybe you have a few free credits lying around as well, we might be seconds away from this jackpot. 

7. $21 Million – Cannery Casino & Hotel, Las Vegas

Elmer Sherwin had a long and illustrious career in the second world war. Back into civilian life, his luck would lead to not one but two huge wins when gambling. This 2005 win would cement his legacy as an incredibly lucky man. 

His first win came early in 1989 when he won $4.6 Million at the Mirage Casino in Vegas. The casino had opened just a few days ago, and the Megabucks slots were tempting to Sherwin. He borrowed $20 from his wife and won this incredible amount after just 90 minutes of playing. 

Setting records was just his style. In 2005, at the ripe age of 92, he would replicate his success with yet another massive win. Over $21 Million on a Megabucks slot once again. What are the odds of winning two jackpots in one lifetime? Once in a billion tries, maybe even a trillion, but Sherwin had it. 

6. $21.3 Million – Caesars Palace, Las Vegas

Caesars palace has seen many historic wins; one is credited to a 49-year-old consultant from Illinois. Being one of the most iconic casinos in the world, it comes as no surprise that such an iconic win happened in the casino. 

By now, you have probably caught the hint: Megabucks, a $10 wager, and a jackpot that would make even the high rollers pop their eyes out. The player won $21.3 Million on those progressive slots, and that too in 1999, imagine the amount today. 

Some have disputed the win, and many reported it to be a little over $20 Million, but most would agree that amount in the 90s meant way more than it does today.  

5. $22.6 Million – Bally’s Casino, Las Vegas

One of the biggest wins in gambling history is also one of the most wholesome wins out there. Joanna Heundl was celebrating her birthday at Bally’s Casino in Vegas, where she got offered two nights stay and $100 in free spins. 

Her free slots didn’t yield much if anything at all but the real win came when she got another $100 to play slots with. With only $30 remaining, she won a massive jackpot worth $22,618,156.67 as she got both the primary and secondary jackpot. 

She had almost left the machine to go get some food, and on her last spin, the stars aligned and the three Megabucks symbols stacked up on the center line, with her getting the primary $20 million jackpot and then also getting the secondary jackpot. 

4. $24 Million – PAF Online Casino

This 2003 win would be heralded as the biggest win in online slot game history just because of the sizeable jackpot. A Finnish poker player tried his hands at the NetEnt Mega Fortune slot game at PAF.com just to test his luck. 

With only a small $0.25 wager, it is safe to assume he didn’t have high hopes going in. However, his first spin would change his life forever as his spin triggered a massive bonus. He won an incredible €17.8 million or around $24 million. 

He still holds the record for the biggest online slot machine win ever. Could you imagine getting that lucky on your first try? Beginner’s luck is a real thing, after all. 

3. $27.6 Million – Palace Station Casino, Las Vegas

What can an investment of $300 get you in a single sitting in a matter of minutes? Well, this lucky player had some secrets of her own as she had already won $680,000 in the Wheel of Fortune game at the Palace Station Casino just a few months back.  

Patience is a virtue, they say. The lady in question took it to the extreme. Although she only planned to spend $100 at games that night, she ended up spending close to $300, but what a risk it was. 

She came home with $27.5 Million in prize money, now that is the luck we can all envy. The game she was playing? Megabucks again; we should all band together and keep playing Megabucks slots at this point. 

2. $35 Million – Desert Inn, Las Vegas

Cynthia Jay-Brennan was an ordinary cocktail waitress back in 2000. After a long day at work, she decided to play some Megabucks slots at the Desert Inn. She was there to celebrate her future mother-in-law’s birthday, and some slots were the first thing they tried. 

With only $21, Cynthia started max betting $3 on each spin. Although she lost her initial amount, she decided to play a little bit more. Only a handful of spins later, it finally happened. The stars aligned, and Cynthia took off with an enormous sum of $34.9 Million. 

This story, however, doesn’t have a good ending. A fatal car accident just a few months after this win would leave her paralyzed from the neck down. She has donated much of her winnings to charities ever since. 

1. $39.7 Million – Excalibur Casino, Las Vegas

Finally, the biggest slot machine in the records happened to a lucky anonymous software engineer in the Excalibur Casino in Vegas. The game was, of course, Megabucks yet again. 

The LA native had spent $100 on the slot machine before his luck finally turned around. After all those spins, he finally got the three megabucks symbols to stack up. The prize was an insane $39.7 Million, a record for the Megabucks game and slots worldwide. 

Not much is known about the player or what he did with the money, but he still holds the title for the biggest slot machine win ever. With a life-changing amount of money, the player rode off into the sunset to presumably retire and spend his life in the most affluent way possible.  

With so much money being discussed, it is easy to get caught up in thinking just in terms of numbers. However, the more you truly think about how big these numbers are, the more you realize these people were incredibly lucky. 

What would you do if you won a jackpot with so much money? Maybe it's time to head back to the casino and try your luck one more time after all. Who knows, maybe the next time, you will be on this list.