March 21, 2003

L.A. Man Hits Record Slot Jackpot

By Steve Friess

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A 25-year-old software engineer from the Los Angeles area hit the largest jackpot in slot machine history on Friday, turning a $3 gamble into $39.7 million in a Megabucks machine at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino.

The winner, who came to Las Vegas this weekend with four friends to visit his family and bet on the NCAA college basketball tournament, has chosen to remain anonymous, said spokesman Rick Sorensen of the Megabucks parent company, International Gaming Technology. He is unmarried and has no children, Sorensen said.

Sorensen said the man played about $100 on a Megabucks machien before hitting the jackpot at about 1:15 p.m. PST. He had been unaware of the record jackpot until he arrived in Las Vegas and was told by his uncle, Sorensen said. His friends were in the sportsbook at the time.

"I'm still stunned," the man said in a statement released by IGT. "It doesn't seem real yet." In Nevada's Megabucks game, 691 slot machines at 160 casinoes across the state contribute to the same progressive jackpot. The machines, owned and maintained by slot-making giant IGT, are networked. To win the jackpot, players must pay the maximum $3 on the $1 slot machine.

The winner will either receive the money in annual installments over 25 years or take a smaller sum all at once. He did not say in the statement which way he would handle his fortune but vowed to fund the retirement of his parents. The casino does not receive a percentage of the winnings.

Michael Starr, vice president and general manager for the Excalibur resort, said the winner remained stoic and calm as hoopla enveloped him on the casino floor after his triumph. Starr said the man, a frequent guest at the hotel, raised one arm, then the other, and uttered an understated "Wow."

"He remained composed, sipped his rum and coke and wanted to make sure everything was verified before he let anybody (in his family) know," Starr said.

The previous record jackpot was $34.9 million hit on Jan. 26, 2000 by Cynthia Jay-Brennan, a then-37-year-old cocktail waitress who lined up the three Megabucks symbols on the payline at the now-defunct Desert Inn Hotel and Casino. Less than two months later, Jay-Brennan's vehicle was struck by a drunken driver and she was left a paraplegic. Her sister died in the crash.

The record jackpot had been building for 10 months, since a $22.6 million payout on May 27 at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It eclipsed the record won by Jay-Brennan on Feb. 27, prompting gamblers from California and Arizona to flock across statelines for a chance at the prize.

"We figured we come up for the weekend, see if we could get lucky," said Susan Rhoads, 28, of Phoenix on Sunday. "That's a lot of money. It's hard to resist trying."

Several casinos offered a host of promotions to bring in players, with Reno's Club Cal Neva hotel promising to give away a 2003 BMW Z4 Roadster worth $42,000 if someone hit the jackpot at the hotel.

"We're ecstatic that somebody can have that kind of luck at the castle," said Starr, referring to the King Arthur-themed hotel's nickname. "We've had other jackpots before, but this is the largest slot jackpot on the planet."

IGT runs Megabucks jackpots as well in within the states of California, New Jersey and Mississippi and among several Indian reservation casinoes. but they don't encompass as many venues as the Nevada edition and the jackpots are significantly smaller.

A Megabucks jackpot last hit at the Excalibur on Jan. 17, 1993, when the jackpot stood at $3.2 million.

The jackpot reverted to its current start-up level of $7 million immediately after Friday's win, Sorensen said.

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