But some days the winnings exceed the norm and then they become casino news. It is exciting to learn about the biggest casino winners in history because in essence they prove that it could happen to you too!

Online slots that paid out millions

Ever imagine putting a coin into a slot machine then cashing out a fortune? You are not alone. People from all over the world bet on online slots hoping to do just that. They are not trying in vain because every year sees a few lucky winners.

Currently the world record for an online slot win is held by the British player Jon Heywood. He won $20,062,600 on Mega Moolah in October 2015.

He was 26 years old and he won 52 million times the bet he placed on the popular Microgaming slot. The win placed him in the Guinness World Records book. Jon used the money to buy a new car, insure his family and to travel.

Another popular Microgaming slot is Dark Knight. This game also sports a big progressive jackpot. In August 2016 an anonymous Australian player managed to win AU$10,423,223 on it. But what about slots in land based casinos?

One of the biggest casino winners in history was Elmer Sherwin (he’s even got it in the name!). He won $4.6 million on a Megabucks slot machine in 1989.

When he won the big money on the machine he didn’t think that he had used up all of his collected casino luck. He continued to play on the same slot year after year till at the age of 92 he cashed in another $2.1 million.

The odds of winning such big sums twice on the same slot machine are minimal. There are other sweet Megabucks stories. Like the one about the retired flight attendant that dared to put $300 on the slot. She didn’t regret it because she got $27.5 million back!

Poker and craps winnings

Archie Karas was dubbed the King of the casinos when he managed to make a bet of $50 turn into $40 million.

Karas was a waiter when he got into pool hustling. This enabled him to win about $1 million. It has been said that Karas was a daring bettor. He would put in sums that other people would never dream of betting on casino games.

This sometimes brought him big wins but also saw him lose everything at other times. In 1992 Karas had a winning streak that made history. He was playing poker in Los Angeles and managed to lose $2 million.

With $50 left to bet he wanted to start over. A friend helped him to get started on a Razz poker game with $10,000. This was the beginning of a winning streak that would last for two years and would earn him a collected sum of $40 million.

This was done by beating some of the best poker players and by being lucky at the craps table. He lost the $40 million on new bets and never won such huge sums again. This tale should serve as a reminder to cash some of those winnings out and keep them!

Big wins on the roulette wheel

Some of the biggest casino winners in history made their incredible wins on the roulette wheel. One of these was Mike Ashley, who in recent history bought Newcastle United Football Club.

He was already very rich when he managed to win £1.6 million during 3 hours at a roulette table in a casino in London. His method was to focus on his favorite number, 17. The ball landed on 17 and that turned his £480,000 bet into a million win.

Famous actor Sean Connery also had some luck at the roulette table. He also went for number 17. In a casino in the Italian Alps the actor bet on 17 and the third try paid off.

He left his winnings in place and bet on 17 again and it came up! This made him £10,000 which would equal around £150,000 today.

Blackjack historical winnings

Another actor that won big money in the casino is Don Johnson. He was busy at the blackjack table and managed to win $15 million from three different casinos in half a year.

He did this by playing with strategy and placing demands on the rules. He would negotiate the sum he could bet on the game making it bigger so that he would get bigger returns. In essence, he proved that smart blackjack strategy can pay back big time.

There are many more stories that we never hear about. When people win big sums of money on casino games they are not always willing to share this.

Staying anonymous after winning big money on slots or poker can be wise since big money can attract people with less honest motives.