"Jackpot Giants: The Incredible Stories Behind the World's Biggest Casino Wins"
The Cannery Casino's Overnight Millionaire - $21.1 million 92-year-old Elmer Sherwin beat the odds and won his second Megabucks jackpot in 2005 at the Cannery Casino. By then, having already won $4.6 million at Mirage in 1989, Sherwin had lived a dream any slot player would die for.
It's a touching story, though: he's donating a large portion of his profits to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Sherwin's story is poignant in the sense that it remains a reminder of the human spirit and how far charity can go, even when struck by bad luck.
The Palace Station Windfall - $27.6 Million In 1998, when a retired flight attendant planning to spend just $100 on entertainment changed her mind and tried her luck on the Megabucks slot machine at Palace Station with an extra $200. She won $27.6 million from that decision.
Remarkably, this is not the first time she has experienced such a turn of events; before that, she won $680,000 on the Wheel of Fortune slot. Her story is a true testament to all the stunning twists of fate that can be waiting behind the walls of casinos.
The Finnish phenomenon - €17.8 million (US$24 million). Sitting at home in Finland, a 40-year-old man decided to play the online slot game, Mega Fortune, with just a modest bet of 25 cents. The Finnish player won an online jackpot of €17.8 million (US$24 million).
This win broke the world record for the biggest jackpot in an online slot machine game at the time, proving that huge fortunes are not just a part of conventional casinos, but embrace the digital world of gambling.
The Desert Inn Miracle - $34.9 million. The story of Cynthia Jay Brennan, a waitress in Las Vegas, captures the essence of the city's dream. On a holiday night with her future mother-in-law in 2000, Brennan decided to try her luck at the Megabucks slot machine at the Desert Inn. The lady won a whopping $34.9 million.
But just a few weeks later, the story turned tragic as she was involved in a serious car accident. Brennan's story is a reminder of the countless ways life can change - sometimes for the better, but in seconds - for the worse.
The Tale of Excalibur - $39.7 million. Take a 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles, who a willing to try his luck at the slots, and $100. You will get all the prerequisites for the story at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 2003. Then he decided to play the Megabucks slot machine and made history by getting the world's largest slot machine win of $39.7 million. That gain is now unshakeable. The legend of a jackpot in the casino - for many a dream. However, the winner preferred to remain anonymous and reportedly opted to take home annual payments instead of a lump sum – a decision that can only add to the mystique surrounding his incredible win.