Emma Oosthuizen
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Some people are simply more fortunate than others, even though it is undeniably true that not everyone leaves the casino with something in their pockets. These stories are about those specific people. People from everyday life who went to casinos in person or signed up for online gambling accounts played their favorite games for real money and walked away with millions of dollars in their pockets. 

Is it beginner’s luck? 

Craps is one of the most difficult casino games to learn, and inexperienced players may struggle to get the hang of it. But I am confident that hearing this story will inspire more than a few people to begin training! 

Grandmother Patricia Dameuro had no prior experience with dice games when she got involved in one at the Borgata in Atlantic City. She then went on to win 154 consecutive throws, establishing her name in the record books. 

Her first bet was ten dollars (US), and even if she had used the most conservative Craps betting strategy, she would have walked away with at least fifty times that amount. Her winnings were never revealed, but it is known that her first wager was ten dollars (US). 

The Undisputed Revenge Ruler 

The Don Johnson portrayed in this story is not the famous actor we all know and love; however, it is highly likely that the actor would have relished the opportunity to play this character. He didn’t do the card counting. Instead, he lobbied the casinos he frequented for preferential treatment to gain the competitive advantage that every gambler seeks. 

He began his strategy by looking for casinos with the best house rules. When you lose, you are entitled to a portion of the money you wagered back, according to the payback principle. Certain casinos, for example, offer a ten percent bonus to high-stakes gamblers. Johnson’s next logical step was to make arrangements to receive an astounding 20% instead. 

To put this into context, if Johnson wagered $500,000 in real-world currency, he would win the entire amount. Even if he were to lose, he would still be awarded $100,000 US. In addition, he negotiated a deal with the casinos where he played that allowed him to bet up to USD 25,000 per hand. Johnson was able to walk away with US$15 million from three casinos in just six months thanks to his astute negotiating skills. 

The Game’s Biggest Megabucks Jackpot in History 

Cynthia Jay was employed as a cocktail server at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, which later became the Park MGM. In the year 2000, while attending a party in honor of her mother-in-birthday, law Jay decided to play the Megabucks slot machine. 

This game’s prize is a pool of money from all of the state’s lottery games, and it has been growing for a long time. On her ninth spin of the record, Jay broke records all over the world. Her total of $34,959,458 became the highest prize ever awarded by the game. 

Indeed, lightning strikes twice 

Despite how difficult it is to achieve this feat, one man was able to win a million dollars from a slot machine in Las Vegas not once, but twice. 

Elmer Sherwin was 76 years old and a World War II veteran when he won the Megabucks lottery jackpot. In the United States, the award was worth 4.6 million dollars. When he struck it rich, he was playing at The Mirage in Las Vegas, which had only been open for ten hours. Because of the money he saved, Sherwin was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing the world. 

Sherwin continued to play simply because he enjoyed the games, and he would spin the reels a few times per week. Then, 16 years after his first win, the unthinkable happened: he won another US$21 million from the same jackpot. This time, he donated a large portion of his profits to charity, with the vast majority of his contribution going to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. 

The World’s Most Fortunate Person? 

Archie Karas gave people all over the world a reason to hold on to the dream of going to Las Vegas with nothing more than a few cents in their bank accounts and walking away rich. Karas had what is widely regarded as the most successful streak in gambling history. 

When Karas first arrived in Vegas in 1992, he only had fifty dollars. He had recently suffered a devastating setback that had left him about $2.0 million in debt after a high-stakes poker game in Los Angeles that had gone poorly for him. Then, while at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, he ran into an old friend who was able to provide him with the $10,000 in US currency that he needed to participate in a high-stakes game of Razz. Because the player with the lowest hand wins in this variation of poker, Kara reasoned that given his recent string of unlucky events, the odds would be in his favor. And boy, did he make a valid point. 

Kara was able to pay off his initial loan, which included 50% interest, in three hours and still had enough money left over to continue playing. His streak lasted another three years, during which he amassed forty million dollars in US currency. 

Prepared for Life 

An unidentified man, 25, from Los Angeles, California, was waiting for a basketball game to begin at Las Vegas’ opulent Excalibur Casino. He was looking for something to do to occupy his time while he was there. He left the hotel with more than US$39 million, one of the largest payouts ever recorded in Las Vegas at the time. The young man decided to have his winnings of US$1.5 million distributed to him every year for the next 25 years. 

When a soldier does his job well, he is rewarded 

A soldier from the United Kingdom named Jon Heywood, who was 26 years old at the time of his win, was able to win $20 062 600 in Microgaming’s Mega Moolah Progressive Jackpot online slot game. In 2015, he received the award, which was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records at the time as the most money ever won in an online casino. 

Don’t leave your comfort zone

Amy Nishimura, a native Hawaiian, was on vacation in Las Vegas when she won the $8.9 million jackpot. Nishimura would always play the same slot machine at the Fremont Hotel, which she referred to as “her machine.” Rumor has it that whenever she played on the machine, she would speak to it and ask for good luck. It was a success! 

Nishimura had to play for three hours with less than a hundred dollars in her bankroll before she could claim her massive prize. It just goes to show that being pleasant to people, even when dealing with a machine, never hurts anyone, and that persistence eventually pays off.

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