Igt Megabucks Jackpot

Megabucks is a Nevada state-wide slot jackpot network that is owned and run by the slot machine company, International Game Technology (IGT). Considered Nevada’s state lottery, Megabucks is extremely popular and has created quite a few millionaires in its 19-year history.

The world record slot jackpot was won on IGT Megabucks and paid out $39 million in March 2003 at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. For more information on IGT, visit IGT on Facebook at facebook.com/IGT, follow us on Twitter, twitter.com/IGTnews and join the conversation at #IGTBlue. The classic version of the Megabucks slot from IGT is a 3-reel slot machine with the only one payline. In order to qualify for a progressive jackpot, the player must definitely bet three dollars. Postal Worker Walks away with an $11 million Win at Megabucks. Slot big wins have been around, and this is a classic example of how slot machines can turn a player’s fortune. While vacationing in Las Vegas in 1991, John Tippin, a postal worker, landed a humongous $11-million-dollar Megabucks jackpot. Tippin went on to publish a book ( I.

Thanks to a wonderful marketing strategy, Megabucks continues to ignite a firestorm every time the jackpot reaches ‘megabuck’ status. It is also a slot machine that generates a ridiculous amount of gossip and urban legend circulating on the game and its winners.

However, if you look at the real truth behind IGT’s Megabucks, even with all the myths and legends dispelled, it will become apparent that this progressive slot is a poor place to spend your money.

How Does Megabucks Work?

IGT’s Megabucks is a dollar coin slot machine that requires 3 coins or $3.00 to hit the jackpot. The jackpot is reset to a predetermined amount after every mega win. While the present reset amount is $10-million, there is chatter that this will be increasing to $11-million.

Megabucks is part of the company’s MegaJackpot slot system that connects about 750 machines in 136 Nevada casinos to one primary jackpot that builds from the base jackpot amount. International Game Technology owns the Megabucks machines and the casino gets a cut of the money that each machine wins from the players. It is common knowledge that IGT created Megabucks to compete with state lotteries.

Where Can You Play Megabucks?

Nevada is the true home of Megabucks and is found in nearly all of the casinos on the strip. Unlike multi-state lotteries, this game does not cross state lines. IGT runs Megabucks jackpots in the states of California, New Jersey and Mississippi, as well as some Indian reservations.

I’ve had the opportunity to throw a few dollars in the Megabucks ring on a trip to Mississippi. I noticed the jackpot was much lower than I have seen in Las Vegas and while I did feel like, by some magic formula, my odds were better because the stakes were lower I did not win.

However, these don’t include as many venues as the Nevada edition and their jackpots are usually only a fraction of the original. Each state that offers Megabucks has a separate jackpot system with individual meters and winners. If a jackpot is won in one state, it does not affect the progressive jackpot in another.

Each Megabucks machine has its own random number and hence chooses its own outcomes. These outcomes are then reported to a central location. When the jackpot is hit on one machine, the central station sends out a message to the other machines, resetting their respective meters.

How About the Odds of Winning Megabucks?

Statistics about the true odds of winning the Megabucks jackpot remain sketchy at best.

It is certainly understandable why the betting for the Megabucks sometimes reaches chaotic proportions and has people crossing over the state line just to have a shot at winning so many millions.

But do winners really receive what the games advertise? Let’s take the example of a $35-million win. Initially, for that amount of money, winners get a check of $1.4 million. They then have between sixty and ninety days to decide whether they want to take their money in annual installments over twenty-five years or a lump sum of 60% of the money.

For a $35-million win, that would result in $21-million before taxes. Obviously, most winners choose the former and take the lump sum payment.

Whichever option the winner chooses, he or she still needs to take into account the taxes payable to the IRS. They are subject to the maximum tax rate of nearly 40%, with state taxes also needing to be taken into account. When all is said and done, the prize money dwindles somewhat miserably after Uncle Sam takes a bite.

Of course, nobody has ever refused the money all together & taken $0. So, I suppose most people wouldn’t scoff at $14 million or so.

Megabucks Curse

No slot machine in the history of the world has had close to as many urban legends, myths and stories surrounding the game of Megabucks.

Recent Megabucks Winner Nevada

Typically, these legends center around the unfortunate fate of Megabucks winners, which leads the masses to believe that winning the multi-million dollar jackpot will result in an ultimately unlucky death. While pretty much all of these stories have proven to be fabricated, Megabucks still has the obstinate reputation of being cursed.

Many believe that the genesis of the rumors hanging over Megabucks is based on the truly tragic story of a 37 year-old cocktail waitress named Cynthia Jay-Brennan. In 2000, Jay-Brennan, was the lucky winner of a $34.9-million Megabucks jackpot, played in the Desert Inn Casino in Vegas.

Less than 2 months after her win, Jay-Brennan was surprisingly involved in a car crash. Her sister was killed instantly and poor Cynthia, herself, was left a quadriplegic. The driver of the car that hit the pair was under the influence of alcohol and was eventually tried and sentenced to 28 years; however, this did not stop rumors flying that Megabucks was a cursed game to win.

Megabucks Nv

The fact is that Jay-Brennan’s accident was not the first of these rumors, as they circulated well before the year 2000. However, since this event, stories continuously surface regarding the tragic fate of every winner of the latest Megajackpot win.

When another young man hit the jackpot in 2003, rumors spread like a virus of his untimely ‘death’ through various ends, including a fatal drug overdose in a casino hotel and in a gang fight as far away as Los Angeles. All these stories have, thus far, proven to be false and while the winner chose to remain anonymous, IGT has assured the public time and time again that the lucky young man is alive and well, and enjoying his new found wealth.

Igt Megabucks Current Jackpot

To date, none of these stories have come up as anything other than tall tales.

A rumor, which has not yet been dispelled, is one regarding the change in the Megabucks programming system. Some claim that IGT changed the programming of the system to make the jackpot hit less frequently but for more money. While IGT claims that they did not do anything of the sort, there are many experts in the gambling field who feel that some sort of change was made in the past.

Finally, a minor rumor that can be dispelled is one that says that the central station to which each jackpot machine reports chooses the winner. IGT assures its gambling public that each machine has its own RNG and thus every machine chooses its own outcome.

Conclusion

So, while you now understand that most stories flying around the industry regarding the curse of Megabucks are false, I cannot ignore the fact that this is simply a bad slot game to play for 2 reasons.

First is the house “hold”. Megabucks holds between 10% – 15% of every dollar played. Many slot machines in Nevada hold as little as 2% or 3%. The second reason that makes Megabucks a terrible play for the serious gambler is that you only receive 60% of your jackpot. There are many other progressive slots in your casino that pay big jackpots, but give you the whole thing.

When we strip Megabucks from all the pomp and glam that surrounds it, we find a middle of the road progressive slot game that doesn’t give you much for your money. And even if you do get incredibly lucky and win, you don’t exactly get the flashy numbers promised to you. Instead you will have to settle for a sum that is much more modest in nature, paid off to you over a period of 25 years. Final conclusion? Megabucks is not a mega hit. In fact, there are lots more fish in the proverbial gambling sea.

Megabucks is the most famous slot machines in the world today. Created by International Game Technology (IGT), this progressive slot can be found in casinos throughout Las Vegas and Nevada. Several smaller versions of Megabucks are offered in other jurisdiction too. It can be easily found in casinos in Macau also. Megabucks is certainly the largest casino jackpot in the world and are also the first slot to link machines from different casinos to generate the largest possible reward. At one time, Megabucks slots held 8 of the top 10 biggest slot machine jackpots in the history of Las Vegas. Although the top 10 jackpots change every year, most of the huge payouts come from Megabucks slots in Nevada and Las Vegas.
How to play
Megabucks is a 3-reel, $1-per-coin slots game which has simple set-up. You need to bet 3 coins to activate the top payout, i.e. you need to make a $3 bet to qualify for the progressive. When the progressive hits, the slot automatically resets to $10 million. It can produce life-changing amounts anytime you step up to these machines. The game also comes in 5 reel format, though these are increasingly harder to find in Las Vegas. The first Megabucks slot machines were placed in Las Vegas casinos in the mid-1990s. The first progressive jackpot was hit on October 18, 1995, at the Gold Coast Casino. Over the years, Megabucks slot has had 46 progressive wins.
Where to play
There are a total of 99 different casinos in Nevada which have a Megabucks slot machine, i.e., –
• 67 in Las Vegas
• 10 each in Henderson and Laughlin
• 03 each in Primm and Mesquite
• 05 in North Las Vegas
• 01 in Jean
All these 99 casinos are linked to each other
Online version
IGT now has an online version of Megabucks slots.This is a 5-reel, 60-pay line gaming machine which can be found at most online and mobile casinos which use IGT software. Like the land-based version, it has a progressive jackpot. To scoop the online version Megabucks jackpot, you will have to place a 5-coin bet. The max bet on the game is 300 credits, which translates to $3 per spin for the penny players.
Now as the land-based version is a 3-reel game and online-version is a 5-reel game, both the versions have much different game mechanics. The online version jackpots are not as large. Still, online Megabucks slots are some of the best internet jackpots.