Biggest Casino Wins By Amateurs

By: Eniko

Posted: March 7, 2022

Updated: March 7, 2022

The record jackpot won on a slot machine was almost $40 million
A former waitress and a 74-year-old grandmother also won huge amounts
An American pensioner managed to win the jackpot twice in 16 years

All of us are dreaming of a huge win when we fill out our lottery tickets, enter a casino or play poker online. As the following examples will prove it is possible for anyone to be lucky and become a millionaire overnight. The biggest casino wins by amateurs were achieved by ordinary people who got lucky during playing with slots, let’s read their stories below. Lots of people do gambling as a profession and practice it every day. They try out different strategies and read books about how to be successful. Others just do it for fun and don’t mind spending lots of money in the long term. But there are people who just want to try their luck and play in a casino to have some fun. The following players all belonged to the last category, but they got extremely lucky and won huge amounts, changing their lives forever.

Cynthia Jay-Brennan’s Jackpot is One Of The Biggest Casino Wins By Amateurs

Winning the jackpot on a slot is one of the most difficult things. But a former waitress, Cynthia Jay-Brennan just managed to do it in 2000. She played at the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with a Megabucks machine and won almost $35 million dollars. It was the second-largest slot jackpot in the history of gambling, but sadly her huge luck was followed by a dramatic accident not so long after. As Cynthia was driving with her sister one night, a drunk driver hit them badly. Her sister tragically died at the scene while Cynthia was paralyzed from the neck down. The lucky winner still managed to keep her faith and has been working with several charities ever since donating millions for their causes. What extraordinary aftermath of one of the biggest casino wins by amateurs.

Patricia Demauro, The Record Holder Of Craps

Probably you wouldn’t think of craps as the best way to win a big amount. But a grandmother from New Jersey, Patricia Demauro achieved the impossible. As she didn’t roll seven for 154 straight rolls, for four hours and 18 minutes. She set up a world record after breaking the previous one of 118 rolls made by Japanese Stanley Fujitake in 1989.

biggest casino wins by amateurs — Picture Source: Pixabay

Demauro only accompanied her friend to the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City who was playing poker there. She started to play with craps as she got bored of playing with slots. And what a good choice it was! The exact number of her total win hasn’t been disclosed but it could be around $180,000. If you’re inspired by her story, just visit one of the online casino sites in the US where you can also play with craps and other dice games.

Elmer Sherwin, the Only Two-Time Jackpot Winner

Another big winner of Megabuck’s Jackpot was war veteran Elmer Sherwin who actually won the jackpot twice. He got his first win in 1989, at the age of 73 when he and his wife were traveling around the US and visited local casinos during their journey. They also stopped at Las Vegas where they attended the opening of the Mirage Hotel and Casino. Sherwin quickly lost $100 without winning before spending another $20 on the Megabucks slot. He did win the jackpot this time against the 1 in 50 million odds to do so. To make his story even more puzzling, Sherwin won the jackpot for a second time 16 years later. He became the only person to win the jackpot twice and a part of gambling history.

Jon Heywood, the Biggest Online Slot Winner

Winning huge amounts of money are not limited to brick and mortar casinos as our next winner proved it. Jon Heywood, a former British soldier won a circa $17 million worth Jackpot with Microgaming Mega Moolah slot in 2015. It is still the biggest amount to be won with online slots making Heywood a millionaire in a few minutes. He chose the game as he was looking for a slot with a progressive jackpot and Mega Moolah was just like that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf83LxjHpSU&t=97s Heywood only played with around 0,33 per spin when he reached a bonus round. He spun the wheel and hit the jackpot there. His win was also recognized as a Guinness World Record and allowed him to start his own business. If you’d like to follow Heywood’s steps, just visit one of the online gambling sites in the US. And who knows, you might hit the jackpot too!

Johanna Huendl, the Luckiest Grandma

Megabuck brought luck and lots of money for another lucky pensioner, 74-year-old Johanna Huendl. She was on vacation in Nevada, celebrating her birthday in 2002. Staying at the Bally’s Casino Las Vegas where she also chose to play with the Megabucks slot. She spent a few hundred dollars but won eventually a splashing $22,621,230 after hitting the jackpot. The Austrian-born Huendl was inspired to play after seeing a fellow player winning $3000. Well, she hugely overpassed this amount with her third-biggest jackpot win of all time. Actually, she was the first person to win the game’s jackpot since the mentioned victory of Cynthia Jay-Brennan.

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+ Anonym Winner With the Biggest Jackpot Win

We can’t miss from our list the winner of the biggest jackpot so far. A 25-year-old programmer from Los Angeles whose identity has remained unknown ever since. The lucky guy walked into the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas in 2003 to spend some time until his basketball game. He threw some coins into the Megabucks slot machine and won the jackpot, an amazing $39,719,826. Funny thing is that at first, he didn’t even realize his win. He just thought that there was something wrong with the machine for making such noises. Imagine his feelings, when he realized he won this huge fortune. Unlike the other winners, he wanted to stay anonymous, which probably was a reasonable move after winning such a big amount.