Megabucks Jackpot History

1. Current Megabucks Jackpot
2. Largest Oregon Megabucks Jackpot History
3. Megabucks Jackpot Winners
4. Current Wisconsin Megabucks Jackpot
5. Nevada Megabucks Jackpot History

Megabucks are slots with progressive jackpots, combined into a single network that covers casinos in several American states. The owner and operator of this network is International Game Technology, better known by its abbreviated name IGT.

Megabucks is a Nevada state-wide slot jackpot network that is owned and run by the slot machine company, International Game Technology (IGT). Considered Nevada’s state lottery, Megabucks is extremely popular and has created quite a few millionaires in its 19-year history. Megabucks is a combination of the prefix 'mega-' (meaning 'million' or another large amount) and 'bucks' (meaning dollars), used to denote a large amount of money. Megabucks may also refer to: These US lottery games. It’s Our Game Oregon’s Game Megabucks has some of the most favorable big prize Jackpot game odds in the world. The jackpot always resets to $1 Million after someone wins and grows steadily each week. A staple for more than 30 years, Megabucks really is Oregon’s Game. The biggest Megabucks jackpot prize ever, in Oregon’s biggest state lottery, a $30 million jackpot, was claimed by Arthur Brenner, a 65-year-old semi-retired accountant. Brenner, who lives in the Portland area, chose to take a $9.8 million lump-sum cash payment of the prize, after withholding for state and federal taxes.

Megabucks slot is considered as an alternative to state lotteries and enjoys incredible popularity among Americans. Actually, there is an opinion that IGT specifically released it to create a lottery competition. Since the beginning of the eighties in the twentieth century, when the slot was launched for the first time, this slot made dozens of players millionaires.

Thanks to the skillfully organized advertising company, every Megabucks jackpot, when it reaches a considerable size, causes a real excitement among the gambling public. And every hit of the progressive jackpot is widely covered in the media, attracting even more casino visitors to the slot. No other slot in the world is overgrown with so many incredible myths, rumors, and legends. But with all this, there are a lot of gambling experts and just experienced players who consider Megabucks a hideous slot that absolutely does not deserve so much attention. So, who is right: fans or opponents of this slot?

Where to Play the Megabucks Slot

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How to Play Megabucks

The classic version of the Megabucks slot from IGT is a 3-reel slot machine with the only one payline. In order to qualify for a progressive jackpot, the player must definitely bet three dollars. There are a lot of stories (both true and fictitious) about casino customers, who had the jackpot combination, but they did not receive any jackpot because of a bet less than three dollars.

The progressive jackpot is not completely nullified when a lucky winner gets it but starts to grow from a certain amount. In recent years, this fixed amount is $10,000,000. There are persistent rumors that soon this initial sum of the jackpot should increase by one million.

Megabucks Slot Odds

Strange as it may seem, there is no official information about the probability of winning the Megabucks jackpot. Some casinos say that the player has one chance out of 50 million, while others claim that this is one chance of 17 million. Whatever it was, when the sum of the jackpot is large enough, fans of this slot are ready to fly thousands of kilometers to try their luck.

What do Lady Luck’s favorites have from this slot? Do they get all that huge amount of money that is advertised? When you win a jackpot, events can unfold as follows. First of all, the lucky guy will receive a check for $1,400,000. Then the winner is given two or three months to decide how he wants to get his winnings. There are two options: the amount is divided into annual payments, which will be transferred to the player within twenty-five years, or he can get the winnings immediately at a time, but at a rate of 60% of the jackpot.

That is, having won ten million, the winner can receive in the second variant only six million, but at once and with one payment. After receiving the win, he still has to pay taxes. Unsurprisingly, almost all holders of Megabucks jackpots prefer to receive their winnings in the form of annual payments.

However, in this case, they also have to pay taxes, the Internal Revenue Service of the United States (IRS) very strictly follows this. Subtract from the total amount of the jackpot another 40%, because such winnings are taxed at the maximum rate. So, the next time you hear that someone has won ten million in Megabucks and immediately took all the money, you know that the lucky guy got a little over three and a half million at his disposal.

The Curse of the Megabucks Jackpot

As already mentioned above, there are a lot of urban legends about the Megabucks slot and its jackpot, mostly of a gloomy nature. For the most part, they describe the tragic fate of players who managed to win a huge jackpot. It is believed that almost all the lucky people either perish or suffer numerous woes. The cause of their numerous misfortunes is the so-called Curse of the Megabucks slot.

Of course, in these stories, there is much more fiction than the truth. However, there is no smoke without fire — some winners, really, seriously suffered after they won the jackpot. In particular, the further life of the waitress Cynthia J. Brennan, who won $34.9 million in 2000, was sad. A month and a half after the win, Cynthia and her sister were hit by a drunk driver. The sister died on the spot, and Cynthia was forever paralyzed. The guy who drove the car in a state of intoxication was imprisoned for twenty-eight years.

But the rumors about the curse of Megabucks spread even before the year 2000. Simply, this accident was widely covered in the press and made people remember about other similar events, which at that time did not become so resonant. In 2003, many media published a story about a 25-year-old player who became the owner of the Megabucks jackpot and either died from a drug overdose in a casino hotel or was killed in a street shootout. IGT companies had to work hard to convince the public of the falsity of these statements.

There are also a lot of rumors about underage players and employees of different casinos who won the Megabucks jackpot but could not get it due to existing rules. But none of these rumors received documentary evidence.

Many experts in the field of gambling suggest that ITG recently made relevant changes to the Megabucks system, which makes the jackpot play less often, but with larger amounts. Although officially the company claims that nothing of the sort has happened, this opinion remains very popular.

Where Could You Play Megabucks?

Most fans of slot machines and large jackpots are not afraid of the curse of Megabucks and are willing to play in this slot. You can find this slot in almost all real casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as in other establishments in Nevada, California, New Jersey, Mississippi, and some Indian reservations. Each state has its own separate network of Megabucks slots, but the biggest progressive jackpots are expected in Nevada. In other states, jackpots are much smaller.

Why do Experts Consider Megabucks a Bad Slot?

Experts do not believe in the curse of the Megabucks slot, but this does not stop them from considering this gambling machine not worthy of attention. The fact is that this slot is very unprofitable for the player. Firstly, it has an extremely high percentage of the casino advantage, which reaches 10-15% (for comparison, many slots in the Las Vegas casino are limited to 2-3%). Secondly, the procedure for paying a jackpot is extremely inconvenient. The winner either loses 40% of the amount or gets it in parts for 25 years. But the progressive jackpots of most other slots are paid immediately and in full.

All this suggests that Megabucks is a mediocre slot, which gained its popularity only thanks to record payments and a masterly organized PR campaign.

See Also

Current Megabucks Jackpot

Since 1986, Megabucks has been disbursing multimillion dollar payouts to Nevada citizens. Megabucks is a progressive slot machine game that is designed, manufactured, and distributed by International Game Technology, or IGT.

In addition to the Megabucks slot machine, IGT also produces popular machines like Cleopatra, Kitty Glitter, and Sex and the City. Megabucks has earned the reputation as a huge Nevada moneymaker with a long history of multimillion dollar payouts. The most recent payout occurred on April 10, 2013. Some of its other gigantic jackpots are described below.

Excellent Winnings at the Excalibur

Gamblers come to Las Vegas in hopes of winning hundreds, even thousands of dollars. It is also possible to win millions of dollars, and that's exactly what happened on March 21, 2003 when a man won $39 million on a Megabucks machine at the Excalibur. After depositing only three $1 coins into the progressive slot machine, stars aligned just right for the 25-year-old Los Angeles citizen who won himself a life-changing fortune.

About Excalibur Resort

Located on the Las Vegas Strip, the Excalibur is shaped like a castle with colorful red, white, and blue turrets. The hotel and casino facility is owned by MGM. Gamblers at the Excalibur can wager money on races, sports tournaments, slot machines, and table games.

Dynamite Dollars at The Desert Inn

On January 26, 2000, Cynthia Jay-Brennan won almost $35 million on a Megabucks machine at the Desert Inn in Paradise, Nev. Six weeks after her slot victory, Jay-Brennan, a former cocktail waitress, was sadly paralyzed by a drunk driver in a tragic car accident. In that same accident, her sister was killed. Because of Jay-Brennan's bad luck, rumors about other ill-fated Megabucks winners have circulated ever since.

Largest Oregon Megabucks Jackpot History

About the Desert Inn

Megabucks Jackpot Winners

The Desert Inn operated for 50 years before finally closing its doors just seven months after Jay-Brennan won her jackpot. Entrenched in Las Vegas history, the Inn was the fifth casino on the Strip to open its doors. Back in the 1960, it served as the set for the original version of the movie 'Ocean's Eleven', one of the best gambling related movies of that time. Today, Wynn Las Vegas stands where part of the now-demolished Desert Inn used to be.

Tremendous Take at Terrible's

On April 12, 2009, a woman won a $33 million jackpot at Terrible's Rail City Casino after playing for only about 10 minutes. It took a while for the 38-year-old mother of four, stunned by her extreme good fortune, to register the events that had just befallen her. Only after a Terrible's staff member explained it to her did she truly comprehend the magnitude of her mind-blowing acquisition.

About Terrible's

Located in Sparks, Nev., Terrible's Rail City Casino is part of a chain of the same name. Standard entertainment options are offered, including slots, gaming tables, and several restaurant menus. Terrible's is a free-standing game center with no attached hotel. The town of Sparks, Nevada is just a 5-mile drive from Reno. Sparks has several other gambling facilities as well.

Pretty Profit at Palace Station

On November 15, 1998, a retired flight attendant won $27 million from a Megabucks machine at Palace Station in Las Vegas. Interestingly, the woman had encountered good luck a Palace Station before, winning almost $700,000 on a Wheel of Fortune Machine. The flight attendant's win marked the first time since the machine's advent in 1986 that the jackpot ascended above the $20 million mark. It was, however, not the last such occurrence.

About Palace Station

Formerly known as Bingo Palace, is located near Chinatown and features a huge draw for Asian populations: 12 baccarat tables. Owned by Station Casinos, the downtown hotel and casino combo is just minutes from the Las Vegas Strip.

Bountiful Bucks at Bally's

On May 27, 2002, a 74-year old woman who had almost given up on her Megabucks machine suddenly found herself the winner of a $23 million jackpot. Johannah Heundl had vowed to quit after losing her first $100, but for some reason decided to stay on and invest another hundred in the machine when she won. Heundl, who had family in Austria, told the press she planned to use some of the money to visit her siblings who lived there.

About Bally's

Surrounded by a neon-lit, moving sidewalk, Caesar's-owned Bally's is a longstanding fixture on the Las Vegas Strip. Once known as the MGM Grand, Bally's suffered a devastating fire in 1980 in which 84 people died. Today, the refurbished hotel and casino facility is home to thousands of guest rooms, slot machines, and table games.

Bonanza at the Bonanza

Las Vegas isn't the only city in Nevada with profitable casinos. Reno, located near the western border of the state and just north of Lake Tahoe, offers numerous gambling houses to patrons and can be just as lucrative, if not more so, than Las Vegas.

On April 10, 2013, a woman at Reno's Bonanza Casino watched in disbelief as the symbols on her slot machine lined up to the tune of a $11,798,517 jackpot. Helena Stencil, 81, had wagered just a little over $100 on her Megabucks slot machine when she won the money. Stencil's jackpot is reportedly the biggest payout in Bonanza's history. While some people prefer the glitzy excitement and entertainment of Las Vegas gambling, others, like Stencil, enjoy playing their games in the less-crowded Reno setting.

About Bonanza Casino

Bonanza looks like a standard casino on the inside, with several hundred slot machines, a smoke-free room, and four different restaurants available to diners. In contrast to some facilities, it offers only six table games. Reno casinos are different than those found in Las Vegas in that they often tend to be less crowded inside.

For over 20 years, ITG's Megabucks has tantalized gamblers with the prospect of winning millions of dollars. Nevada gamblers looking to get their piece of the pie often try their luck at Megabucks progressive slot machines. The odds of winning millions aren't high, but when someone does hit the jackpot, it's always a life-changing experience.

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