Players Who Beat the House and Then Some

The thrill of gambling can be a truly irresistible pull as well as an inconceivably rewarding one!

Whether you are a strategic wizard or just feeling lucky particularly lucky, the thought of instantly becoming a multi-millionaire is a real motivator.

These players were all enjoying the favours of whichever god or goddess you believe controls fate and fortune and who knows? You might be next.

The amounts indicated are correct for the time and date of the win.

Gloria McKenzie, US$590.5 Million, 2013

This is the single highest win record in the history of the Powerball Lottery and the USA and it was set by the then 84-year old Gloria McKenzie.

Interestingly, the old woman said that the card was purchased after another customer was kind enough to let her cut in line to get a Quick-Pick ticket.

Archie Karas, US$40 Million, 1992 – 1995

Archie Karas was one of the best high rollers in the world and his unusual story really packs a punch.

Karas was US$2 million down thanks to an unlucky Los Angeles Poker game in 1992 and he arrived in Las Vegas with just US$50 in his hands. But then he had the good fortune of running into a friend of his at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino and this pal lent him US$10 000 and he was thus able to take a seat at the high-stakes Razz table that would change his life.

By the end of that day, he had raked in US$17 million, allowing him to not just pay back his US$10 000 debt but add 50% interest to the total as well. This winning streak rather remarkably lasted for the next three years and he went on to accrue US$40 million.

This story is good enough to lure those who may usually limit their online gambling to Cricket betting sites and such to the Poker table!

Anonymous, US$39.7 Million, 2003

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

While waiting for a Basketball game to begin, a 25-year old man who has chosen to remain nameless decided to kill some time at the renowned Las Vegas Excalibur Casino. He stepped up to the Megabucks slot developed by IGT, deposited US$100, and received a payout of almost US$40 million virtually instantly.

Cynthia Jay-Brennan, US$34.95 million, 2000

During her mother-in-law’s birthday party, Cynthia Jay-Brennan also decided to give the Megabucks slot machine a go. On her ninth try, she received almost US$35 million and happily quitted her job, married her dream man, and decided to travel the world.

Anonymous Retired Flight Attendant, US$27.6 Million, 1998

A 67-year old ex-air-hostess mistakenly bet US$300 on, once again, the Megabucks slot machine at Las Vegas’ esteemed Palace Station Hotel in 1998. She bore no ill effects for her mistake, however, since she wound up taking home an eye-watering total of US$27 580 879.60!

This woman must have been born under a lucky star, however, as she had previously acquired US$680 000 on the Wheel of Fortune slot a few months earlier.