Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Megabucks winner used ‘free play’ credits to score jackpot

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Dan Healy and his wife Margaret Healy try their hand at winning Megabucks at Sunset Station. Megabucks is a progressive dollar slot machine, which means that the more money people put in, the bigger the jackpot gets. Jackpots hit have ranged from $7 million to $39 million.

The newest Megabucks winner is a woman from the Las Vegas Valley who used her "free play" credits to hit the $17.3 million jackpot.

The woman told officials at IGT, which manufacturers the Megabucks slot, that she'd stopped into the M Resort on Friday night in Henderson to use her free play credits and dining vouchers. When jackpot symbols lined up, someone playing the next machine had to tell her she'd claimed the prize of $17,329,817.80. The winner asked to remain anonymous. She told IGT that she plans to use the money to pay off her house and take care of her family.

Friday marked the first Megabucks progressive to hit in Nevada since June 15, 2011, when a gambler won $10.3 million at the Grand Sierra Casino in Reno. Megabucks progressives have hit three times in Las Vegas since 2011, including twice within three months at the Aria.

Since 1986, IGT has awarded Megabucks jackpots of more than $1 billion nationwide and $728 million in Nevada.

After a win, the jackpot resets to $10 million.

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