A visitor from Atlanta turned a brief stop at a Las Vegas casino into a life-changing payday after winning more than $10 million on a slot machine just minutes after sitting down to play.
The guest won the jackpot on June 16 while playing a slot machine at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, officials said in a news release. The jackpot ranks among the largest slot machine payouts ever awarded at the resort, which sits just off the Las Vegas Strip. The winner’s identity has not been publicly released.
See Powerball and Mega Millions winners who hit the jackpot
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Tennessee Lottery CEO Rebecca Paul, left, walks with an excited Janis Goodwin, middle and Frances Davenport as they prepare to pick up their million-dollar Powerball check at the lottery headquarters in Nashville on Oct. 3, 2005.
(Sanford Myers, The Tennessean via USA TODAY Network)
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$5 bet leads to $10 million prize
Westgate said the guest was playing an IGT Megabucks progressive slot machine when the winning spin hit. The final jackpot totaled $10,292,912.32, turning a single $5 wager into one of the biggest payouts at the property in recent years.
“Las Vegas is built on unforgettable moments, and it doesn’t get much more memorable than turning a $5 bet into more than $10 million,” Cami Christensen, president and general manager of Westgate Las Vegas, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled for our guest from Atlanta and love seeing these legendary stories happen at Westgate.”
Casino officials said the winner celebrated alongside other guests and employees as news of the jackpot spread across the casino floor.
How rare are Megabucks jackpots?
The Atlanta visitor’s $10.29 million jackpot ranks as the second-largest slot jackpot in the history of Westgate Las Vegas, according to PlayUSA. The resort’s largest jackpot came in March 2015, when Trinidad Torres, a 78-year-old woman from Magna, Utah, won $10.7 million while playing a Megabucks slot machine.
The IGT Megabucks progressive slot machine is one of Nevada’s best-known jackpot systems. Unlike traditional slot machines, Megabucks jackpots are linked across casinos throughout the state, allowing the top prize to grow as players place wagers.
The game has long been associated with life-changing wins, though jackpots of this size remain rare. Similar Megabucks jackpots have created multimillionaires across Nevada, including a more than $12.3 million jackpot won in February 2025 and an $11 million Megabucks payout in November 2025.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at [email protected], or on X @athompsonUSAT
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta tourist wins $10.3M Las Vegas jackpot after 3 minutes
