This week’s casino news highlights the successes of a couple of different players who enjoyed huge paydays after starting with $5 or less. Before we get to that, though, we’ll start this week’s casino news with the headlines out of Virginia where it looks like the state will be expanding its casino offering.
Virginia Legislature Passes Casino Legislation Bill
Virginia is making a firm bet on casinos as a bill focused on casino expansion has successfully passed through state legislature. This legislation represents the first step in a larger approval process for casinos in select areas within the state. Now embattled governor of Virginia, Democrat Ralph Northam, who has said on previous occasions that he was open to the idea of supporting casino expansion, will have the opportunity to push it through or deny it.
The Virginia localities where casino development was authorized was Bristol, Danville, and Portsmouth. However, these cities would also need city-wide referendum to be approved before moving forward. State approval is merely a first portion of a multi-stage pathway. City approval would be the next step.
$5 Bet Turns Into $686,000 Prize At Maryland Casino
Our first big win of the week comes from the state of Maryland, where a small bet turned into a life-changing event. A man from Bowie, Maryland walked into the Live! Casino and Hotel planning to play some $5 hands and the result was more than he ever could have imagined.
Wendell Holmes put down five dollars in a blackjack game at the casino last week and turned that small investment into $686,142 at Live! Casino in Hanover, Maryland. Holmes struck his big jackpot in the STAX Super 4 Blackjack Progressive game. The game allows players to invest $5 into a side bet that contributes to a progressive jackpot, which starts at $50,000.
While many jackpot winners prefer to remain anonymous, Holmes had no problem getting a big public picture with his face next to the life-sized check.
The jackpot win came not long after the casino announced a new initiative in February, which was to give players more ways to hit the jackpot. They introduced two new games to do so and Holmes proved to be one of the lucky winners.
Player Strikes It Rich on Video Gaming Technologies Slot Machine
The American Dream is alive and well. One very fortunate slot player made history at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, Oklahoma this past week, winning the largest recorded jackpot on a slot operated by a Video Gaming Technologies (VGT). Never before had a VGT slot produced a jackpot as large as the $1,117,047.93 which was paid out at Riverwind Casino.
The win occurred on the VGT Smooth As Silk game, one of the Super Hits Jackpots series of machines powered by VGT. It’s a three-reel progressive slot, which has now reset to it’s initial $250,000 jackpot. VGT is mostly known in the state of Oklahoma where their games can be found at casinos across the state.