Jackpot
Strikes a Twice for Man
A 92-year-old man has
accomplished the near impossible -- winning
a Megabucks jackpot twice in a row. It's the
first time someone has won the well-known jackpot
more than once.
Local man Elmer Sherwin won the top
Megabucks slot machine jackpot worth $21.1 million
Thursday night at the Cannery Casino in North
Las Vegas.
In 1989, Sherwin won $4.6 million from a Megabucks
machine at the Mirage.
After he won the first jackpot, Sherwin said
it became his "life's dream" to win
it a second time, Cannery spokeswoman Aimee
Worth said.
In a statement issued by IGT, Sherwin said
he wanted to win the award for a second time.
"I'm glad I finally hit; I've been trying
to do it again," he said.
He plans to surprise his family with the news.
"I want to see the looks on their faces
when they hear," Sherwin said, noting that
he soon plans to try for his third jackpot.
The Megabucks machine, made by International
Game Technology, is a dollar slot machine with
a building jackpot that requires a $3 bet to
hit the top prize. The jackpot resets at $7
million after a jackpot is won and begins to
build again until someone lines up the Megabucks
symbols on the machine.
The chance of winning the Megabucks grand prize
is less than one in 10 million.
"It's absurd," said Anthony Curtis,
publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter.
The odds of winning are "on the order of
billions if not trillions to one. It's crazy."
Awards are paid in annual installments or a
lump sum.
A 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles
hit the highest jackpot in Nevada history, $39.7
million, on a Megabucks machine in March 2003.
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