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The Biggest and Most Famous Casino Wins in History

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. Though large wins are rare, some lucky individuals have hit jackpots so massive they’ve gone down in history. Here are some of the most famous and largest casino wins in history.

The Megabucks Jackpot: A Software Engineer’s $39.7 Million Win

The largest slot machine jackpot in history was won in March 2003 at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. A young programmer from L.A. put some money into a Megabucks machine to kill time before a game. After feeding about $100 into the machine, he hit the jackpot of a lifetime. The life-altering sum was so huge that it was structured as an annuity, paying him $1.5 million a year for 25 years. His story is the quintessential example of how a small bet can lead to an unimaginable fortune.

Don Johnson: The Man Who “Broke” Atlantic City’s Blackjack Tables

Not all legendary wins come from pure luck. Between 2010 and 2011, a man named Don Johnson went on an unprecedented winning streak, taking three Atlantic City casinos for casino (amicireggiavenariareale.com) a combined total of over $15 million playing blackjack.

How did he do it? It wasn’t by counting cards. His strategy was to leverage his status as a whale to get better rules. These negotiated perks, including a generous loss rebate, effectively tilted the odds in his favor. By combining these advantageous rules with perfect basic strategy, 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 casino 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, casino but he continued to play the Megabucks slots, dreaming of a second win. His persistence paid off in 2005 when he hit another Megabucks jackpot for over $21 million. Sherwin generously donated much of his second win to charity, including relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina victims.