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The Biggest Wins in Online Casino History

Everybody who enters a casino or plays real money casino games online dreams of striking it filthy rich. In fact, they are already thinking about those massive jackpots and the high life long before they walk through the casino doors. The sad fact is that very few casino goers ever realize their dreams. Sure, plenty of people have won impressive cash prizes, but they don’t compare to the biggest wins in online casino history.

If you are a casino game enthusiast looking for motivation, then keep reading. We are going to take a look at a few accounts of lucky gamblers hitting the big time in spectacular fashion. These stories should inspire you to check out our expert online casino reviews and find a site that gives you an opportunity to realize your wildest dreams.

Biggest Casino Wins

Before we get to the biggest wins in online casino history, we must first find a bit of context. For instance, winning $1 million in a single session of blackjack or baccarat will definitely raise eyebrows, while winning the same million dollars on a progressive jackpot slot probably won’t.

Yes, they are both big wins, but being able to make such an impressive profit by playing table games is almost unheard of. Especially for small-time bettors. On the flip side, million-dollar progressive jackpot slot wins happen quite frequently.

So, let’s begin by going over some of the biggest wins by game category. Even though a lot of these wins don’t quite stack up to the biggest online casino slot wins, they are just as remarkable.

Biggest Roulette Wins

In 1963, the late Sean Connery was gaining global attention with his portrayal of James Bond. He also made headlines when he entered an Italian casino to play some roulette. His roulette betting strategy was a simple one. Keep betting on 17. It didn’t work on the first spin, nor did it work on the second. However, he hit the 17 on the third spin.

He then stayed true to his system by again wagering a straight-up bet on 17. Wouldn’t ya know it? 17 showed up once again. Connery then placed his chips on 17 one more time and nailed it yet again. The odds of accomplishing such a feat are 50,653 to 1. Sir Sean reportedly won $27,000 from the venture which is worth north of $250,000 in today’s money.

A man by the name of Charles Wells just might stake claim to the biggest roulette win in history. He went to the Monte Carlo Casino in 1891 to play roulette. He ended up breaking the bank to the tune of over a million French francs. He returned at a later date and repeated the feat.

We should also tell you the story of Ashley Revell. This is a guy who took all of his life savings, sold his house and car, and then went to Las Vegas where he wagered the whole shebang on Red. He came to the casino with $135,000 and turned it into $270,000. Ashley parlayed his big roulette win into becoming a successful businessman.

Other Notable Roulette Wins include:

  • Chris Boyd: Doubled his $220,000 by betting on Red at Binion’s Horseshoe Club
  • Pedro Grendene Bartelle: Won $3.5 million by successfully betting straight-up on 32
  • Joseph Jagger: Took advantage of a biased wheel in a Monte Carlo casino to win over $375,000 in 1873.

Biggest Blackjack Wins

Even if you go into god mode, you can’t possibly hope to win millions of dollars in a session of blackjack if you are betting $10, $100, or even $1,000 at a time. However, Kerry Packer proved that you can do it when you play eight hands at a time for $250,000 per. Using this approach in 1995, Packer socked it to the MGM Grand by taking the house for a whopping $40 million in just 40 minutes.

Our next big blackjack winner is UFC president Dana White who took a Vegas casino for $2 million in 2014. This one’s a little different because he amassed those profits over the course of about three months. At first, Dana was staking $25,000 per hand. However, the casino lowered his maximum bet allowance to just $5,000 and capped him at $2 million.

The next big blackjack winner is a mystery man known as Shoeless Joe. He was allegedly down-and-out and homeless after his wife kicked him out of the house. With his last $300, Shoeless Joe headed to the blackjack table where he used ill-advised strategies to take the house for $1.5 million in a single session. Unfortunately, Shoeless Joe would go on to lose most of that fortune by using the same reckless blackjack strategy.

While we haven’t included them here, we should let you know that a few blackjack teams have been very successful. Of course, the MIT blackjack team is perhaps most famous for winning somewhere between $50 million and $100 million throughout the 1990s. Then there is Ken Uston who led a team in the 70s and 80s. Betting $12,000 per hand, Ken and his team racked up about $4.5 million in profits.

Biggest Baccarat Wins

Phil Ivey is among the most famous and successful poker players in the world. He won over $20 in cash games during the mid to late 2000s along with several poker titles. In 2012, Ivey made headlines along with millions of dollars playing Baccarat at Borgata Atlantic City and Crockford’s in London.

Phil, along with his partner, Kelly Sun, won a combined $21 million. However, the pair’s strategy was to exploit imperfections in the decks of cards. This event is widely known as the Edge Sorting Scandal. In the end, judges let the casinos off the hook and ordered Ivey to return the money he had won.

Perhaps the biggest baccarat win in history went to Japanese billionaire Akio Kashiwagi. Known for betting big and winning big at various casinos around the world, Kashiwagi hit the baccarat table at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and started betting $250,000 per hand.

He went on quite the run and left the casino up over $6 million. Kashiwagi’s fortunes quickly reversed as he returned a while later for another go and ended up losing $10 million. He was brutally killed by yakuza members in Japan about a year later.

The mother of all baccarat wins occurred at Australia’s Crown Casino during the 1990s. An unnamed whale handed the casino the greatest baccarat losing streak of all time taking it for over $12 million. Ironically, the casino had significantly raised the bet limits for some customers as part of a promotion. It backfired spectacularly as it nearly crippled the casino.

Online Casinos Limit Their Exposure

As you may have noticed, all of the massive wins described above happened at land-based casinos. We probably won’t ever hear of such extraordinary coups being pulled off at online casinos. This is because online casinos simply don’t allow the types of stakes needed for a player to achieve that kind of success. They are very diligent about limiting their exposure. On the other hand, land-based outlets that go out of their way to attract whales are quite open to significantly upping the limits in some cases.

Biggest Online Slot Wins in History

The majority of the biggest wins in casino history were paid out by slot machines. In particular, they were dispensed by progressive jackpot slots. Unlike most of the big wins we just covered, these winners didn’t have to risk such obscene amounts to land their incredible payouts.

One of the most attractive aspects of slot games is that it doesn’t take a fortune to win a fortune. The following stories will prove that point. Let’s look at the biggest online casino wins in history.

$10.15 Million

Rawiri Pou of Matamata was struggling to make ends meet when he decided to play Mega Moolah at Casinoland online casino. He would be struggling no more as he hit a sweet $10.15 million jackpot. While this win isn’t as big as the others we will cover below, it was more than enough for the 27-year-old to pamper his family and lead a life of privilege.

$11.6 Million

A 20-year-old Norwegian student found himself unable to sleep in September 2011. This prompted him to pull out his iPad and play a few rounds of Mega Fortune at Betsson Casino. It’s safe to assume that he didn’t get any sleep at all after hitting the progressive jackpot and winning $11.6 million. It was the biggest online casino win in history up to that point. As an aside, the road to winning this life-altering payout started with a no-deposit bonus of 10 free spins.

$16.7 Million

Just a couple of years ago, in 2020, an unknown slot enthusiast was playing the popular Mega Moolah slot when he hit the magic combination on the reels. As it turned out, that single spin ended up being worth a staggering $16.7 million. Coincidentally, this happened soon after Microgaming announced that it has paid out over $1 billion in progressive jackpot payouts. What a way to mark the occasion!

$17.2 Million

Here’s a feel-good gambling story. It all starts in 2015 with a British soldier named Jonathon Heywood who was, by all accounts, just a regular guy. Heywood was playing the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot slot for $0.25 per spin at Betway Casino online. He had only been playing for about 25 minutes when he hit the big one. Mr. Heywood was obviously in a state of shock when he discovered that the payout was worth about $17.2 million.

$23.5 Million

This one is another story involving a Mega Moolah progressive jackpot. In 2018, an anonymous player was enjoying a few rounds of Mega Moolah at Grand Mondial Online Casino. He estimates that he was about 50 spins in when he brought down a gargantuan jackpot worth $23.5 million. By now, you should be able to understand why Mega Moolah is one of the most popular slot games on the planet.

$23.6 Million

Mega Moolah makes yet another headline. Actually, this win came on the Mega Moolah: Absolootly Mad slot which is an Alice in Wonderland-themed game that is one of the many Mega Moolah spinoffs.

In April 2021, a Belgian online casino enthusiast opened the Mega Moolah: Absolootly Mad slot game and started playing. After just a few spins, the player hit a jackpot worth $23.6 million. That win was slightly bigger than the $23.5 million win described above, but it fell a bit short of being the record.

$24 Million

An unnamed 40-year-old Finnish man was playing at a PAF Casino online back in 2013. No, he wasn’t playing Mega Moolah. Instead, he was having a go at Mega Fortune which is one of NetEnt’s most successful games. After betting a mere $0.25, he landed the biggest-ever jackpot in online casino history. It was worth a mind-numbing $24 million which still stands up as the largest online slot win to this day.

What Happens When You Win a Huge Progressive Jackpot?

We hope that you are now inspired to play slot games at one of our recommended casinos. As you can see, a life of luxury awaits those who defy the odds. So, what happens when you win a colossal progressive jackpot like the ones in the stories above?

Well, in most cases, you will receive payment in one lump sum. However, it might not be the casino making the payment. Instead, these wins are often paid out by the game developer. It really depends on the size of the jackpot and which progressive network it happens on.

Even though most online casinos place limits on the amount you can withdraw every day, week, or month, they almost always make exceptions for large progressive jackpot wins. If you want to go after the biggest progressive jackpots, be sure to check the terms and conditions to find out how your online casino pays out large wins.

Summary

It might not happen today and it might not happen tomorrow. In fact, most online gamblers will never come close to winning millions of dollars. With that said, the possibility always exists. It’s safe to say that none of the big winners mentioned here thought they were going to go down in history. Nevertheless, they had the gambling gods on their side and were able to somehow overcome the ridiculously long odds. It can happen to you too.

FAQs

First, you need to make sure that you are legally allowed to play online casino games. If you are, then you should check out our top-rated online casinos to find the site with the biggest progressive jackpots. You can then deposit money, claim a bonus, and then hope that Lady Luck is on your side.

While the size of your bets can sometimes factor in, there are no hacks or real strategies that will help you win progressive jackpots. One of the most attractive things about slots is that they are based entirely on luck.

Stake limits vary from site to site. One site may set the bet limit at $5,000 per hand while another might let you bet up to $20,000. If you like high-stakes online blackjack, make sure the site you are looking at can accommodate your wager sizes.

This depends on your local laws. Winners in some countries like the United States are required to pay tax on casino winnings while winners in other countries like Canada do not. You should check your local laws to find out more.

You will find that most of our recommended online casinos feature top progressive slot games like Mega Moolah, Mega Fortune, and Hall of Gods.

Yes. Many of the best online casinos allow players to play table games like roulette, blackjack, and baccarat for free in demo mode. This is a great way to learn the ropes before trying to land one of the biggest online casino wins in history.

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