7 Mega Million Slot Machine

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.Megabucks initially offered a $1 million starting seed, before increasing to $7 million in 1997, and $10 million in 2005. Thus, the visitor from L.A. Found a Megabucks machine and took a seat with $100 in hand. What happened next made history How Does the Megabucks Slot Machine Work? All highlighted slots. Discover SlotsMillion! Discover SlotsMillion! We are dedicated to providing the best possible gaming experience for our players, so when you play at our award-winning casino, you can rest assured that you’re getting the very best.

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7 Mega Million Slot Machine Bank

discflicker

At the end of the day, I think the lottery is a tax on the mathematically challenged. All I can do is try to teach some math and hopefully save at least some people from wasting their money on the sucker bet that the lottery is.


And you are good at it. Have the casinos offered to pay you to just shut-up?
The difference between zero and the smallest possible number? It doesn't matter; once you cross that edge, it might as well be the difference between zero and 1. The difference between infinity and reality? They are mutually exclusive.
gamerfreak
Thanks for this post from:

If somebody will get equal entertainment value between betting $20 on the lottery as $200 on slots, then, yes, you'll lose less money on average on the lottery. However, I'm a math guy. I view the house edge as the cost for playing. I will strive for the most action at the least possible cost wherever I can.


Sorry if this sounds like I’m arguing semantics.
But the cost of playing a negative expectation game is the amount wagered minus the EV of that wager.
It probably takes less than 20 minutes to run more coin through a slot machine than what even a heavy lottery player wagers in a week.
I think it’s somewhat misleading to the mathematically challenged general public and Nathan to say that slots are a better deal.
That’s just my opinion, I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers.
Wizard
Administrator

It probably takes less than 20 minutes to run more coin through a slot machine than what even a heavy lottery player wagers in a week.


I've never been big on factoring time into the equation. I'll mention it casually, but it doesn't figure into my math. Anyway, I think any disagreement we have is semantic in nature. I suggest we drop it.
It's not whether you win or lose; it's whether or not you had a good bet.
Nathan

If your point is that slots are a better value than the lottery, then you're absolutely right.


I was actually implying that The Lottery is a better game than Slots. I won $18 on multiple lines on a slot game at .50. I won $100 on .50 on a Lottery game.
In both The Hunger Games and in gambling, may the odds be ever in your favor. :D 'Man Babes' #AxelFabulous 'Olive oil is processed but it only has one ingredient, olive oil.'-Even Bob, March 27/28th. :D The 2 year war is over! Woo-hoo! :D I sometimes speak in metaphors. ;) Remember this. ;) Crack the code. :D 8.9.13.25.14.1.13.5.9.19.14.1.20.8.1.14! :D 'For about the 4096th time, let me offer a radical idea to those of you who don't like Nathan -- block her and don't visit Nathan's Corner. What is so complicated about it?' Wizard, August 21st. :D
Wizard
Administrator

I was actually implying that The Lottery is a better game than Slots. I won $18 on multiple lines on a slot game at .50. I won $100 on .50 on a Lottery game.


Let's just agree to disagree, shall we?
It's not whether you win or lose; it's whether or not you had a good bet.
100xOdds
no one won.
new jackpot estimated at $868M
Craps is paradise (Pair of dice). Lets hear it for the SpeedCount Mathletes :)
michael99000

no one won.
new jackpot estimated at $868M


Come on they can’t find an extra 132 mil to toss in ?
1 billion jackpot headlines would be huge
michael99000
Quote: michael99000

If you are trying to quantify the overall entertainment/enjoyment of a losing $2 ticket, you also have to subtract the disappointment afterwards.
And if you say there is no disappointment because you never really believed you had a chance to win , then the net entertainment value is zero.


can you elaborate cause I cant wrap my head around the net being zero?
You buy a ticket, but you feel you have zero chance of winning. The drawing occurs, you don’t win.
Where’s the high and low here? Where’s the enjoyment? There’s no rush, no joy. Only a loss of $2. A lottery ticket is never “close to winning”. You either won or lost in a blink.
Take blackjack on the other hand. I can get dealt 20 and I’m happy. Dealer makes 21, I’m upset. It’s a rollercoaster. Highs and lows. Card by card adrenaline rush.
Nathan

Come on they can’t find an extra 132 mil to toss in ?
1 billion jackpot headlines would be huge


868 millions is still phenomenal. Let's put this into perspective. Vince McMahon has had a successful Wrestling Company for roughly 36 years. Vince is worth roughly 3 and a half billions. So, just for $2, you win almost a quarter of what a CEO of a successful CEO in business for roughly 36 years is worth. A quarter of 3.5 billion is a really huge chunk(To be fair, you actually win more like 500 million after taxes, so more like 15 percent of Vince's net worth, which is still a really huge chunk even after taxes, ;)
In both The Hunger Games and in gambling, may the odds be ever in your favor. :D 'Man Babes' #AxelFabulous 'Olive oil is processed but it only has one ingredient, olive oil.'-Even Bob, March 27/28th. :D The 2 year war is over! Woo-hoo! :D I sometimes speak in metaphors. ;) Remember this. ;) Crack the code. :D 8.9.13.25.14.1.13.5.9.19.14.1.20.8.1.14! :D 'For about the 4096th time, let me offer a radical idea to those of you who don't like Nathan -- block her and don't visit Nathan's Corner. What is so complicated about it?' Wizard, August 21st. :D
AZDuffman

no one won.
new jackpot estimated at $868M


Saw that. Unbelievable. I remember when a few million made people run to buy tickets.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others


The motto for most gamblers who come to Las Vegas on a lark is rather simple – go big or go home.

If you’re going to wager real American dollars on games of chance and skill, there’s no reason to take the conservative route. Bankroll management notwithstanding, the goal for any gambler in Sin City is to hit it big, win the jackpot, and walk away with more money than you know what to do with.

Machine

Of course, the vast majority of us who take these shots don’t mint themselves instant millionaires. Instead, the house’s inexorable edge and every gambling game’s inherent odds against the player combine to pour our money straight into the casino’s coffers.

For this reason, what happened at the Excalibur casino on March 21st of 2003 when a random tourist from Los Angeles decided to hit the slots has become the stuff of Las Vegas legend.

On that day, an anonymous 25-year old gambler arrived in town to visit his family. With the annual “March Madness” college basketball tournament in full swing, the player figured they might as well get some action down on Duke, Arizona, and the rest of the sport’s heavyweights.

The young man’s uncle heard about the trip to Excalibur Hotel & Casino and offered his nephew a little sage advice from a Las Vegas local – play the Megabucks slot machine and see what happens.

At the time, Megabucks – which boasts the largest wide area progressive jackpot network in the world – had gone nearly a year without paying out.

And with a $10 million starting seed* – not to mention millions of tourists plunking down the requisite $3 per spin to give themselves a chance – the Megabucks jackpot had swelled to an astounding $39.7 million.

*Megabucks initially offered a $1 million starting seed, before increasing to $7 million in 1997, and $10 million in 2005

Thus, the visitor from L.A. found a Megabucks machine and took a seat with $100 in hand.

What happened next made history…

How Does the Megabucks Slot Machine Work?

First things first though… in case you’re unfamiliar with the Megabucks slot, here’s a quick crash course on the greatest progressive jackpot game of them all.

Mega Slot Machine Wins

Casino game manufacturer International Game Technology (IGT) introduced its Megabucks slot way back in 1986. At the time, slot machine jackpots were static in nature, meaning each individual machine offered its own kitty based on how many coins had been previously deposited in between major payouts.

IGT had a revolutionary idea, however, so the company linked its various Megabucks machines all over the Silver State together. In other words, whenever a player in Reno, Mesquite, or anywhere in Nevada for that matter played one Megabucks machine, their coins contributed to the same jackpot total.

Mega Winner Slot Machine

This wide area progressive jackpot concept proved to be an immediate hit with players, who loved to watch the meter continuously climb into the seven-figures.

And those meters did climb on a daily basis too, thanks to the Megabucks game’s enormous odds against on the topline jackpot.

Megabucks is a deceptively simple game, one which eschews the multiple paylines and expanded reels that make up the bulk of a casino’s slot inventory nowadays. For a maximum bet of $3, players send three reels spinning, each featuring traditional symbols like 7s, cherries, and BARs. To form winning combinations, players hope to hit three matching symbols along a single payline.

Yep, no bonus games or free spins, no scatter symbols or wilds, and no video clips or sound effects. Just straight up slot spinning gameplay as gamblers have known it for more than a century and counting.

The game’s jackpot symbol is a golden “Megabucks Eagle” which depicts the slot’s distinctive logo. The only thing is, landing even one of these crucial symbols along the payline requires the player to beat odds of 1 in 368. Knowing this, the odds against spiking all three at once come to an astronomical 1 in 49,836,032 – or (1/368)3.

For this reason, the Megabucks progressive jackpot often goes unclaimed for extended stretches, many of which lasting more than a year. With so much time in between big winners, and so many players statewide tossing $3 per spin into the kitty, Megabucks jackpots soon became notorious for reaching epic proportions.

Before that fateful day in 2003, Megabucks players enjoyed an incredible run which saw the jackpot rise to a then record $27.5 million in 1998. That life-changing sum was won by a lucky slot spinner at Palace Station in November of 1998, but the record was eventually broken with a $34.9 million payout awarded to a cocktail waitress playing at the Desert Inn in January of 2000. Mobile casino free bonus.

A little more than three years later, a new record was waiting to be set at the Excalibur.

$100 Flier Turns Into Life-Changing Record Jackpot Win

Starting out with only $100, the player from L.A. had just 33 spins to work with given the $3* price of play.

*Megabucks can be played for $1 or $2 spins, but the progressive jackpot is only awarded to players who opt for the max-bet of $3

Even so, as a press release issued by IGT later revealed, the player with a birthdate featuring three 7s seemed to have Lady Luck on his arm from the very start. Within the span of those 33 spins, the man watched as not one, not two, but three of the “Megabucks Eagle” symbols slowly spun and came to a rest alongside one another.

Just like that, the player had beaten odds of nearly 1 in 50 million to put nearly $40 million in his pocket.

Well, not all at once anyway. The winner elected to take $1.5 million installments over the course of 26 years – which means he’s still receiving seven-figure payouts annually to this day. In fact, the winner has another 10 years and $15 million remaining on his record-setting payment plan.

Although he chose to remain anonymous, the winner provided the following statement to IGT:

“I’m still stunned; it doesn’t seem real yet. But both of my parents are still working, so some of this money will be used to fund their retirement.”

7 Mega Million Slot Machine Jackpot

Largest Megabucks Jackpot Ever – And By a Long Shot

John Sears – who served as vice president of IGT’s MegaJackpots program at the time – confirmed that the $39,713,982.25 payout smashed the previous record for largest slot machine jackpot ever awarded:

“This MegaJackpot is nearly $5 million more than the previous world record slot jackpot amount of $34.9 million – this one goes into The Guinness Book of Records.”

Check out the table below – featuring 10 real megabucks jackpot wins – to get a better sense of just how ridiculous the record-setting jackpot really is:

Megabucks Jackpot History (Wins of $10 Million or More)

DATECASINOCITY/STATEJACKPOT AMOUNT
3/21/2003ExcaliburLas Vegas, NV$39,713,982.25
1/26/2000Desert InnLas Vegas, NV$34,955,490.00
4/12/2009Terrible’s Rail City CasinoSparks, NV$33,000,563.00
11/15/1998Palace StationLas Vegas, NV$27,580,878.00
5/27/2002Bally’s Las VegasLas Vegas, NV$22,621,229.00
6/1/1999Caesars PalaceLas Vegas, NV$21,346,937.00
9/15/2005CanneryLas Vegas, NV$21,147,947.00
11/14/2003StardustLas Vegas, NV$19,600,523.30
12/14/2012M ResortLas Vegas, NV$17,329,817.67
11/30/2014Rampart CasinoLas Vegas, NV$14,282,544.21

Competing Jackpot Hunters Lament Loss of Record-Setting Total

Within the slot machine gaming enthusiast community, learning that Megabucks’ massive jackpot had been won proved to be bittersweet indeed.

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In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun conducted shortly after the news broke, Kim Wong from Kailua, Hawaii told the newspaper how she felt watching the meter reset back to $10 million:

“I was here at lunchtime around 12:30 and it was still around $39.7 million. Then I came back around quarter after one and it was resetting. It was such a drag. It was a little more enticing with the $39 million up there, but I’m still playing.”

Judy Selasky from Lavonia, Michigan provided a similar story, telling the paper that even though a record payout was off the table, she and her husband would still play in hopes of a “lightning strikes twice” type of moment:

“I said, ‘Hurry up and get up to the room, so I can get downstairs. I figure if he won, there might be some magic here. I’m not a hog.”

Conclusion

In a city like Las Vegas which was founded on excess, setting the world record for slot machine jackpot winnings really is something special. And while we don’t know much about the software engineer from L.A. who did the deed, learning that a 25-year old tourist took the honors should give hope to every gambler who makes the sojourn to Sin City.

Slot Mega Wins

More than 16 years have passed since the record-setting spin, and nobody has even come close to claiming such an incredible Megabucks jackpot over that span – which shows just how astonishing that memorable moment in March of 2003 really was.