Slots Winners Report: February

Slots Winners Weekly Report, February brings you 5 jackpot winners who tell their ‘life-changing’ stories.

Slots Winners Report for 2-25
1) Keep On Truckin’
Glenn Markell, a trucking company owner from California had come from Sacramento to Reno to do some gambling.
Before hitting the Wheel of Fortune quarters for $1,494,319, there is a story to tell. “We went to several downtown casinos to try and cash our reimbursement checks from the company, but none of them would cash them.
Therefore, we came over to Sierra Sid’s because my trucking company had cashed checks here before. However, because we changed the name of the company, they had no record of us, so they couldn’t cash them either. Then I decided that we came here to gamble, so I called my sister and she wired me some cash.
I was playing a $1 Flip It machine and listening to two Russians who were playing the Wheel next to me. They were having fun so I decided to give the game a shot, and sat down at the machine on the end and put in $5. I built up a few credits and then it hit.
The Russians got very excited and asked how much I had won. I pointed to the amount and they couldn’t believe it. I’m having a hard time believing it myself”
As to the future, Markell states, “I’m going to quite driving now, but I will still help our around the company. We have just a few people working for us. One of them just won $6.8 million on the lottery, and now I win a million. What are the odds that two people in a small company with just 15 employees both win a million dollars?”
 
2) Cleaning Up
A retired hospital worker, Jeanie Ciccone from Glendale, AZ wanted to relax after finishing the task of cleaning her garage. A trip to Gila River Quiva Casino and a sit-down as the Wheel quarter slots produced a big hit of $1,214,006. With a small cash outlay of only $60, the realization of a win brought on this exclamation: “Oh wow! Is this real? How much did I win?” The future for Ciccone includes spending her windfall with her family.
 
3) A Record-Breaker
Julio Cesar Chiquete Pena was a winner of $588,791 when he hit the Wheel nickel MegaJackpot at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson to set a record in Arizona. Pena, a carpet cleaner from Tucson, says he was drawn to the machine because “It was the first, I saw with the high progressive amount. Pena thought he had only won $1,300 and when he realized he won the MegaJackpot, he was “happy and very surprised.” His winnings will buy a new home and be a positive change in his life.
 
4) Mortgage Free for Super Slots Winner
Richard Sargent won $528,642 when he hit the dollar Wheel of Fortune machine at the Bay Mills Resort and Casino, in Brimley, MI. Sargent, VP of a trucking company, is from Pinckney, Michigan.
He was on vacation and had only tossed in $15 when the hit came.
“I called for my wife. I couldn’t believe it!” Sargent said. Plans for his winnings include paying off his house.
 
5) Smooth Sailing Ahead for this Slots Winner
Stephen Abadie, a 3M Rep from Slidell, LA, was in Danbury, WI. visiting friends and The Hole in the Wall Casino. He decided to invest in the Wheel of Fortune dollar machine with an initial investment of only $12 when he hit the progressive for $748,771. “I was hoping to hit the spin,” he said. “I will be buying a new boat and the rest will go toward our children’s college fund.”

---

Slots Winners Report for 2-18
1) There's Only 1 Game for Me
William J. Clark, a retired firefighter from Albany, NY, had been wintering in Florida for the past 10 years and to see the West.
Being a gambler for the past 20 years, mostly on horseracing, sports and table games, Bill and his friend received an invitation from Harrah's, Laughlin. "We always play at the Harrah's properties, so we arrived the day before the party and headed to Harrah's that evening.
As I stated," Bill explained, "I usually play the table games, but my friend enjoys the slots, so I went over to the machines with her and thought I'd try $29 in a $1 Wheel of Fortune machine.
I just started playing when the MegaJackpot hit for $1,102,620.
I'm still in awe."  After all that time betting on horseracing, football, and table games, this winner becomes a millionaire playing a slot machine.
Bill's first reaction was, "You know, I was calm when it happened and it wasn't until a couple days later that I woke up realizing how much I actually won and how much responsibility comes with that kind of money." Bill added that they would like to move out west, maybe to Arizona and travel back Florida for the racetracks.
Posing for his ' big check' pix, Bill said he couldn't wait to distribute copies to his family and friends and, "This happens only once in a lifetime and I'd like people to know what I've accomplished."
 
2) Millionaire Strike in Reno
Dina Marie Thompson from Benicia, CA struck for $1,180,231 at the Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno, NV.
The Megajackpot was at a Wheel of Fortune quarter slot with a small investment of $20. "I did not believe I won, somebody had to tell me", the shocked winner said. Future plans include a vacation and a mini-shopping spree. Major changes according to Thompson: "Money matters will be less stressful, and now I really believe that you can win gambling".
 
3) And She Said
Blue Water Resort and Casino in Parker, AZ was the place for Larry Jackson who won $750,455 on a one-dollar Wheel of Fortune. Jackson, a retiree from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, had taken a day trip to the casino to play his favorite games. Asked about his plans, Jackson stated, "that will be up to the wife."
 
4) Dream a Little-er Big
Michele Marra was 'lost in her dreams' about winning 'the big one' at Mohegan Sun when the $1 Wheel of Fortune game she was playing gave her a chance to find out. The Holbrook, NY, women had enough time to dream up ways to spend her $951,339 jackpot, that include a vacation, a new car, remodeling her home and putting money aside for her children's college funds. "Life will be easier," Marra said thanks to her dreaming.
 
5) Slots Winner: Waiting for a Hot Dog
Christina Vontoussaint of League City, TX was in search of a hot dog at Mermaid's Casino in Las Vegas, but because it was not open, she opted to play $20 at a quarter Wheel of Fortune slot machine.
Not only did she receive a $340,756. payday, free hot dogs, but it meant her husband's birthday celebration was even sweeter. She noted that her winnings will "allow my husband to retire."

---

Slots Winners Report for 2-11
1) What Does He Know?
“When it hit, I was stunned and shocked, but very happy. And just before it hit, my husband told me that I didn’t have a chance in hell of winning.” stated Jacqueline Leroux of Social Circle, GA.
Further, she had been winning on the slots all night at Harrah’s, and had already won once on the same Wheel of Fortune machine that made her an instant millionaire. The lucky winner was too shocked to think of plans for her $1,097,200 win that I am sure will be shared with her doubting mate.
 
2) Gracious Winner and Loser
Add Jim Snavely to the list of Wheel of Fortune Millionaires. With just $20, the Oregon man decided to play the Wheel at Fitzgerald's, Las Vegas so he could be near his wife. Before he reached his wife, a woman beat him to it and sat down. She graciously gave up her seat to him and you all know the outcome.
Jim said after the jackpot win, "She came by again after I won and I asked her name and address because I wanted to send her something for being so nice and giving up the machine. I just hit for $1 million, but she just said congratulations and walked away. I sort of felt bad for her."
"When the jackpot hit, I looked up at the progressive numbers that were flashing and I tried to figure out where the decimal points were.
I thought that I won $1,017, but then people began congratulating me and I realized what I actually won was $1,107,267 and couldn't believe it. I still can't. I expect that any minute now I'm going to wake up and find this is all a dream."
Jim owns his own RV repair company and stated that he would use his winnings to help his children attend college. Then he said, "I will spend the rest of the money very wisely."
 
3) It's My Turn
Do you ever walk through a casino, like I do, and find couples taking turns attacking the spin button on slots? Well, this togetherness resulted in a $611,400 win for James & Leah Harman of Truckee, CA.
All it took was $5, a visit to Boomtown Casino in Reno and the right Wheel of Fortune progressive before the shock set in. Leah got the winning spin, but it didn't register in her mind immediately.
She was ready for another spin when James bellowed out a “Don't touch that machine!” command, like any member of the US Air Force can do so well.
Leah observed the command and stated, “I was confused when it hit. I thought it was broken because it didn't pay me anything.
No credits registered so I wanted to keep playing.” Getting over the initial good fortune caused Leah to almost pass out at which time an ice pack was applied by a concerned casino employee. She did muster up the strength to call her father with the spectacular news.  
 
4) Number 9, Number 9
James Stowe won over $991,000 hitting the dollar Wheel of Fortune.
His stated strategy was “the person before me had played a lot of money and I knew it was going to hit."
"Everyone is friendly and it feels like home" is the way he feels about the Grand Casino Coushatta in Kinder, LA where this retiree from Alvin, TX hit the MegaJackpot. This double winner was feeling lucky after winning $1000 on another machine and only investing $9 before the huge Wheel of Fortune hit.
Stowe plans to invest his winnings and says, "his win may not change his life, but will make retirement better than it already is."

5) A Truckload of Yen
Hideki Isimoto, a trading company rep did not understand how much he had won until it was translated into yen. Hideki, a Japanese visitor at Luxor Hotel & Casino, said he played the quarter Wheel of Fortune machine on impulse and was fortunate enough to hit a MegaJackpot progressive for $876,842.
After the translation, he said, "I had no idea that it was so much money. I'm still in shock!"

---

Slots Winners Report for 2-4
1) Try This One!
Robbie Jo Spray and her husband, who live in Graham, Washington, attended a wedding in North Dakota and decided to stop at Spirit Lake Casino. She was playing the Wheel when her husband encouraged her to try the Regis’ Cash Club game. “I knew I had won something,” Spray said, “but I didn’t fully realize this was a progressive game.” Plans were made quickly for the winnings of $1,317,998. “First we’ll pay bills and then help our son decorate a new house and give some to our daughter.”
 
2) More than a Wooden Nickel 
Channaine Martin, 32 lined up a jackpot for $1,292,397. on a nickel machine at Atlantic City’s Caesars Casino. A resident of Forked River, NJ, she had played only $40 at a Jeopardy! slot before the five symbols appeared. IGT’s Jeopardy! is part of a system that links slot machines in AC casinos. These jackpots start at $500,000 and grow from there. This winner is paid-on-the-spot.
“I just started screaming Oh My God! Oh my God! said Martin, a magazine editor by trade. I screamed so much I lost my voice.”  She admits that en route to Atlantic City, she was overcome by a lucky feeling. “We had to pull over on the parkway when we got stuck in a thunder storm and I got this weird feeling, but I knew that it was a good omen”.
I said to my sister, “I don’t know why, but this is a good omen and we’re going to win” Martin’s idea of a ‘big win’, however, was in the $200 to $400 range.
As for how this new millionaire plans to spend her fortune, Martin says, she will pay off her mortgage and credit cards, and purchase a new car. She will also include a donation to Gilda’s Club, a nationwide network of facilities that assist cancer patients and their families plus a heartfelt ‘thank you’ for her sister.
 
3) Dreaming Big
Even, though they had recently married in Las Vegas, it was the Station Casino in St. Charles, MO that Janet Kell thought about in her dream of a $ 2.9 million win.
“It was so real, I just knew what I was going to do with the money, I planned to pay bills for both me and my children, save some for my granddaughter’s education and invest the remaining funds.” was her stated goal.
So, there was no complaining when a Double Diamond Wheel of Gold produced a lesser amount of  $783,225 only 10 minutes into the playing session.
A nearby player commented, “What did you get?” Upon Janet’s reply of “I’m not sure!”, to which this same player said, “I think you got the big jackpot because you had three coins in.” Once the initial amazement fell away, Kell insisted that she will keep her job even though her co-workers are wondering, “Why are you here?”
 
4) Seven is the Charm 
Sunday was slots day for Betty Johnson of Lithonia, GA as she made her way to one of her favorite casinos. After she discovered that another player was giving up a Quarters Deluxe machine to her, Betty’s good fortune arrived within an hour to render a $743,358 win.
As Betty tells it, “My first reaction was, those are little sevens, and maybe that’s why no money came out.” “No, wait, those are red, white and blue, I won something big!” This ‘big win’ will enable Johnson to share with her seven (yes, there’s that number again) grandchildren.
 
5) Slot Winners: Beginner's Luck
Althea Jones had never played slots before she decided to head for Potawatomi Casino in WI while visiting relatives in nearby Milwaukee.
Gambling just $30. at a Wheel of Gold, she said. “The seat was vacant, so I decided to play. It was my first time here, and I have never played before.”
When asked how she felt after realizing she won $812,103, Jones responded: “Nervous. I really didn't know what I won. My niece told me.” As for her plans, she said she was “going to have fun, pay off her bills, and get out of debt.”

Archived Slots Winners Reports are listed below

March 2009 Slots Winners Report
Feb. 2009 Monthly Report
November/08 Monthly Report
October/08 Monthly Report
Sept/08 Monthly Report
March/08 Monthly Report
January/08 Monthly Report
December/07 Monthly Report
November/07 Monthly Report

Return to Slots 2 main page
OR
Return to Learn Slots, Play Slots 1 

GT is attentive about getting the word out about our free programs, lessons and add-ons offered, however, we ask your assistance and consideration in promoting us.
Click link below that reads, "Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how..." to add a link to your site, blog or personal page.