Despite the fact that the odds of hitting a multimillion-dollar progressive jackpot on a Las Vegas slot machine are almost impossible, the truth is that it happens. Not to everyone, and not frequently, but it happens enough times for you to take a try yourself.

It seems that it happens even more frequently at online casinos. The biggest so far have been registered at Microgaming and NetEnt casinos, both unavailable to American players, where the biggest amounts paid out have been more than $20 million all of them won in the last couple of years.

You can try to find casino reviews of online casinos that accept American players, but you won’t find such big jackpots there and these are usually of low reputation. Maybe you can try using bitcoins, because more and more reputable online casinos accept bitcoins. It’s anonymous and no bank can block your transaction as explained at PureNetEnt.com.

Anyway, let’s see the biggest progressive jackpots in Las Vegas.

August 23, 2014 – $2.4 Million
The Lion’s Share slot at the MGM Grand is one tough slot machine known for not paying out a jackpot for more than 20 years until it was lit up by Walter and Linda Misco from New Hampshire in 2014. Just five minutes after they started breaking their $100 bill on this slot machine they won the $2.4 million jackpot. When asked what they will do with the money they said that they will pay for their grandchildren’s education.

The Lion’s Share 2.4 million dollar jackpot at the MGM Grand

February 19, 2012 – $2.9 Million
In 2012 a 26-year old U.S. Marine, Alexander Degenhardt was playing the Money Vault Millionaires Seven slot at the Bellagio on his day off from the Nellis Air Force base when suddenly he won nearly $2.9 million. He said he never won more than $200 on a slot machine, and this time he won a total of $2,882,808.32.

December 5, 2013 – $10,337,640
This jackpot was won on the Megabucks slot machine at the MGM Grand from the slot manufacturer IGT. Actually, the man that was identified as the winner of this jackpot was actually the executive producer of the movie “All American Christmas Carol” from 2013 with Meat Loaf in the leading role. The producer’s name was Mark Hodos.

April 22, 2011 – $10.6 Million
Two years earlier a jackpot lightning struck the same Megabucks slot machine made by IGT and an unidentified gambler took home $10.6 million. This slot machine was introduced in 1986 and had never paid out more than $10 million until it did for the first time in 1995 at the Gold Coast. This was the second time it did that at the Aria.

January 21, 2011 – $12.7 Million
Three months earlier the Aria celebrated another jackpot winner, this time a lady that was on her way to her room, but still decided to try her luck with a $6 bill before going to bed on the Megabucks slot. If she didn’t do it she would walk away to her room retire for the night without $12.7 million in her pocket. First she thought the slot machine broke down, but her niece assured her that she is a millionaire.

September 15, 2005 – $21,147,947
This is maybe the oldest jackpot winner ever, Elmer Sherwin, 92, who won $21.1 million on the Megabucks slot at the Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas. What’s even more fascinating is that this was his second jackpot on the same slot machine after he won another one at the Mirage in 1989 of $4.6 million. What he said after winning the second one was that his lifelong dream was to win the jackpot twice.

June 1, 1999 – $21,346,952.22

Imagine winning more than $21.3 million on the first spin! This is what happened to a 49-year-old business consultant on the Megabucks slot at Caesars Palace in 1999. He deposit $10 and after just one spin cashed in $21.3 million.

March 27, 2002 – $22,618,156.67
Covina, California, probably saw its first millionaire citizen after Johanna Huendl, 74, won $22.6 million on Bally’s Megabucks slot. She was on her way to a breakfast at her hotel and decided to spend $170 on this amazing slot machine that has made many millionaires. She first thought that she won only $2 million after misreading the flash sign.

Johanna Huendl, 74, won $22.6 million on Bally’s Megabucks slot machine.

November 15, 1998 – $27,580,879.60
This 67-year-old retired flight attendant from Las Vegas is only one in the long line of retired elderly slot machine players that became rich from playing Megabucks. This unnamed woman won the Megabucks jackpot in Palace Station after putting $300. She first intended to play with only $100, but changed her mind after which the slot rewarded her with millions. This was her second big jackpot. She won the Wheel of Fortune slot machine jackpot of $680,000 at Palace Station some years earlier. This was also the first time that the Megabucks machine paid out $20 million.

January 26, 2000 – $34,955,489.56
Being a Las Vegas cocktail waitress has really paid off for Cynthia Jay in 2000. She decided to play the Megabucks slot at the Desert Inn and won $34.9 million. However, after six weeks people fueled up the myth that bad things happen to jackpot winners because she was rear-ended by a drunk driver, which left her paralyzed and killed her sister. It’s one of the most notorious urban legends in Las Vegas.

Cynthia Cynthia Jay hit Megabucks at the Desert Inn and won $34.9 million.

March 21, 2003 – $39,710,826.36
And here is the biggest recorded so far, a $39.7 million jackpot won by a 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles. Do we even need to mention the game on which the jackpot was won? Anyway, the odds to hit this jackpot were 16.7 million.

Dazzling Las Vegas welcomes millions of visitors every year

There’s no city on earth quite like Las Vegas. With its 24/7 excitement from the world’s most famous casinos to some of the biggest shows and sporting events on the planet – it’s a unique city with a charm of all of its own – that few would deny.

On the other hand, most of us simply can’t get to Las Vegas as much as we’d like to, but we still crave the excitement that the desert city brings. Of course, it’s no secret that the world of online gaming has witnessed a veritable explosion in recent years with millions of players from all around the world in countries where online gambling is legal playing online blackjack, poker, slot machines, baccarat and a whole host of other traditional land-based casino games. Slots were an instant hit when Charles Fey first manufactured the Liberty Bell slot in 1887, and they’ve been popular ever since then. Today, online gaming sites like 32 Red, Skyvegas, Paddy Power not only provide players with a plethora of slot gaming choice with titles like Tomb Raider – the Secret of the Sword. They also go to great lengths to provide the kind of excitement the real Las Vegas brings with table games such as roulette, poker and blackjack as well. Anyone with an internet connection can enjoy the thrill of casino gaming whenever they want.

But which of the two styles of gaming provide the biggest pay-outs and the best chances of winning?

Well first let’s deal with the question of why one would prefer online to being in Vegas itself. The sheer ease of access and availability of online gaming is a big plus – as is the speed at which gamers are able to play. Some of the best sites like the afore-mentioned and award-winning 32Red and others really do a great job of re-creating the atmosphere of a genuine Las Vegas casino given superb graphics, sound effects and an overall sense of realism that has to be seen to be believed. You simply can’t compare the convenience of playing online with the physical and financial effort involved in travelling to Vegas to sit and play the same games.

But perhaps nothing can quite compare with Las Vegas itself and its exhilarating culture. Online casinos may do all they can to create the right atmosphere but sadly, they can only virtually let you wander down the world famous Las Vegas strip. A walk along Las Vegas Boulevard is a truly unique walk along what is probably the world’s most famous strip. Many tourists begin their sightseeing at the renowned “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” neon sign before strolling on along the whole length of the Vegas Strip.

Inside Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

Here, you’ll find some of biggest names and most-recognised casinos in Las Vegas if not the world, including the Caesar’s Palace. the MGM Grand, Circus Circus, the Luxor, Bellagio, Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino, New York – New York, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and many more.

And it’s true – there is nothing quite like the real thing … unless you simply want the ease and availability of gaming quickly wherever you happen to be and that’s where the online gaming beats the live casinos hands-down of course.

The biggest wins

But what about when it comes to biggest wins? Well theoretically, there should be no greater chance on one than another, with the exception of two factors; the double zero additional slot in Las Vegas casino’s roulette wheels which means the house has the additional edge that you won’t find in online gaming houses – and the myriad special offers and bonuses the online providers use to tempt you in and encourage you to stay loyal. And these can be quite sizeable so it’s always worth checking for the best offers and latest updates etc.

As for the biggest ever winners, factory worker, John Orchard, from Long Sutton in England enjoyed an enormous online slots win in 2012, when he bagged a whopping £5.8 million for a 30p stake.

John’s win was almost matched for cash and more than matched for the odds in 2013 when a Scottish fisherman won £5.4m playing online slots for a 20p stake.

As for land-based real-life casinos; how about the incredible story of grand-mother Patricia Demauro at America’s second city of gambling, Atlantic City craps table. Patricia rolled the dice at a craps table a world-record-breaking 154 times without throwing a seven – though neither nor the casino were forthcoming about how much she’d won.

The final victory, though, goes to the online world. In January 2013, an online gamer from Finland broke a world record winning 17,861,813 Euros playing a Mega Fortune Slot!

Overall though, deciding which is best between live and land casino play is a little like comparing chalk with cheese in that you can’t truly say one is better than the other – they’re just different, but they’re both great fun.

 photos by: prayitnophotography & Daniel Ramirez

Bitcoin in Poker Industry

Around the world, the big gaming companies and Poker players are increasingly allured by Bitcoin currency and using more and more bitcoin currency for all their monetary transactions. What is Bit coin? The simplest way to explain Bitcoin is that it is a type of currency which is virtual in nature and it is finding recognisation in the global finance world. Recently, various federal agencies suggested and agreed on the point that Bitcoin is a practical form of currency and there is need to find ways to accept it instead of refusing it. Rather, dramatically, value of Bitcoin rush forward, the reason behind is that China is amongst the countries which has joined the group of countries supporting Bitcoin deals and these countries are showing their financial interest in this new on the rise model of financial exchange. The velocity of changes in Bitcoin is so quick that no news is current for the reader. The basic motive of this article is to endow with poker players the basic understanding.

Pros of Bitcoin in Poker :

For Poker Players using Bitcoin is very advantageous. There are various aspects of bitcoin due to which it is very gainful to the poker players.

1. Speculative feature of the Bitcoin. In Bitcoin, there is opportunity for the players for increase in their value of Bitcoin. Players can get return on investment as they can buy bitcoins at lower price and expect the value of currency to go up or may go down based on the market conditions.
2. The poker sites which accept Bitcoin helps the poker players in having money on and off.while in other sites which uses traditional forms for payments, they do require a processor for payment and large time period for cashouts and we recommended you to try leading BTC gambling site for it.The transactions through this format that is Bitcoin are speedy and players can easily transfer money on and off from one site to another.
3. Bitcoin driven sites allows players to play from all over the world, Poker players throughout the world can play with one another. For example in some states of USA, players can play poker online in their respective states only, but on bitcoin driven sites anyone can play.

Similarly,Poker players tries to assess the situation how to defeat an opponent by playing and observing the strategies and patterns used by players over time and how to make maximum utilization of the available information like betting patterns,tells,hands etc.Poker Plyers and companies tries to assess the implications and potentials of bitcoin in poker

Cons of Bitcoin in Online Poker :

1. Bitcoin Sites are Unregulated Offshore Sites. According to some people using Bitcoin is not a problem but the problem is ethics to be followed by the online sites. The good Bitcoin sites are still striving to prove that their deals are fair. the risk is also involved with sites offering Bitcoin as government might take an action against them in some countries.
2. Bitcoin Volatility as more and more people are lured towards Bitcoin and transact in Bitcoins ,its becomes more volatile. It is speculative and its value depends on various global factors which gives no guarantee to make a profit and value may go down.
3. Bitcoin Use is Not unidentified. You can play poker at Bitcoin sites without giving any personal details ,but this is proven false. The reason is the use of bitcoins can be tracked within the block chain. A person’s personal bank account details can be tracked.
4. The Tax Situation, according to some, the day may come when you may have to give the details of profit made through transactions in Bitcoins if they have increased in value and declare loss when the value of bitcoin go down and you sell it for less the value you bought.
5. Bitcoin Is Not a Bank-Backed Currency form. Bitcoin is not a bank backed currency and that is why users favor it.But there is no safety net for users if the bitcoin industry stops functioning means there is no consumer protection.The principle of Bitcoin currency depends on trust.