Michigan Gambler Turns 20 Cents into Record-Breaking $9.28 Million Jackpot

A Michigan player has won the largest online casino jackpot in U.S. history, turning a 20-cent bet into a $9.28 million payout. The win occurred on February 26 while playing the Irish Pot Luck slot game on DraftKings Casino. 

The anonymous player’s jackpot is the largest ever recorded in the regulated U.S. iGaming market, surpassing the previous online slot wins record of $6.4 million. The win highlights the increasing popularity of online casinos and the potential for life-changing payouts even from minimal bets on online slots (source: https://www.pokerscout.com/casino/real-money-slots/).

The progressive jackpot had been accumulating since early 2024, with each qualifying spin adding to the prize pool. Just about a year later, the player from Michigan struck luck in the fittingly named slot game Irish Pot Luck from the industry-leading game provider NetEnt. With a $9.28 million win from a 20-cent spin, the player scored a win of 46,400,000x the original stake.

In a press release, Jason March, vice president of iGaming marketing and operations for DraftKings, commented on the milestone. “It’s been exciting to watch this historic jackpot climb to a record-breaking $9.28 million, giving a DraftKings Casino customer in Michigan an incredible, life-changing experience”. 

DraftKings Casino also announced the record-breaking win on their official X account, seeing it as a marketing opportunity for new and active players.

While this win sets a new benchmark in the United States, even larger sums have been won from online gambling in several European countries–where the online gambling market has been regulated for longer. Notably, Microgaming’s Mega Moolah slot has been synonymous with massive payouts, even making it to the Guinness World Records in 2015 for the largest jackpot payout in an online slot machine game at a whopping €17,879,645 (approximately $20 million).

Since then, the slot and other games in the expanding Mega Moolah series have paid out massive sums. For example, in April 2021, a Belgian player clinched €19,430,723 (approximately $21 million) on the Absolootly Mad slot, a part of the Mega Moolah series, at Napoleon Sports.

Similarly, in September 2018, a Grand Mondial Casino player secured €18,915,872 (around $22 million) on a €0.75 bet. Another notable win came back in January 2013, when a Finnish player won $19,335,250 (€17.8 million) on NetEnt’s Mega Fortune slot–another million maker progressive.

Progressive jackpot slots work by pooling a small percentage of each bet into a cumulative prize, which continues to increase until it is triggered by a player. The system has led to some of the largest gambling payouts worldwide.

The Michigan win reflects the ongoing expansion of legal online gambling in the United States, where more states have begun regulating online casinos. While this jackpot of almost $9.3 million sets a new benchmark, the growth of iGaming in the U.S. suggests that even larger wins could occur in the future.