A popular belief goes that people cannot win in the casino. The casino games are designed in such a way that the house always has a better advantage than any number of seasoned players on the floor, and hence it is impossible to make a win. However, there are instances where people walked out off the door as millionaires. While the majority of the times, people walk out with lighter pockets, some people are just lucky to win jackpots and bonuses. Here is a list of few of such events that have taken place in casinos over time. Check them out!
MGM Grand, Las Vegas
One of the Australian billionaire Kerry Packer, who was marked as one of the wealthiest people in the country as of 2005, decided to try his luck on a game of Baccarat and Blackjack at the famous MGM Grand casino. Lady luck was by his side that evening which lead him to win a whopping $20-$40 million dollars (the exact number is absurd as there were so many wins). After the win, he splashed his money with a tip for one of the head waiters’s being $1,000,000. However, history says that in 1999, he lost himself $28 million while gambling.
Mirage, Las Vegas
Some people are not just lucky once, but twice. Elmer Sherwin was a WWII veteran, who won his first jackpot at the Mirage casino at Las Vegas, where he went home with lumpsum money of $4.6 million. The casino had just recently opened 10 hours before his win. He spent all his money travelling across the world and to his luck, 16 years; hence, he was again a millionaire where he won $21 million. But this time, he donated most of the money to the victims and survivors of hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, he expired before he hit his third jackpot.
Borgata Casinos, Atlantic City
Don Johnson, was popularly called ‘the killer of Atlantic City’ when he won over $15 million at the Atlantic City casinos between 2010 and 2011. His extreme skills in blackjack and mathematical knowledge led to the winning path. Johnson spoke to the casino manager about reducing the house’s advantage that would compensate for 20% of every player’s losses. It was clear that the manager did not think the strategy through and ended up losing his job, whereas Johnson ended up as a millionaire.
Resort World Casino
This one’s almost a winner when Katrina Bookman was on the path to becoming one of the biggest jackpot hits of slot machines while she was gambling at the Resort World Casino. She won a winning ticket of $42.9 million, but her excitement was short-lived as the casino declared the slot machine was malfunctioning was supposed to win $6500. Instead of going home a millionaire, she was compensated for a steak dinner by the casino.
Palace Station
Stubbornness always pays off while gambling in a casino and the same happened to a 60-year-old woman who won $680,000 from a wheel of the fortune gaming machine. Instead of throwing the money around, she invested in further gambling. She didn’t go wrong as she eventually won $27 million.