Last updated: November 23, 2023
Slot machines raked in $79.5 billion in 2018, and experts expect the number to continue to rise. Slots remain a very popular game for casinos. When it comes to slot machines, everyone wants to know which machines pay out the best. You don’t want to play a slot machine that never wins; you want to play a winning machine. With that in mind, here are the most famous slot machines people play for big jackpots.
The most famous slot machines in the world are the Megabucks slot machines. IGT created the Megabucks slot machine in 1986 with a unique formula. The Megabucks machines are progressive slot machines. It was the first progressive slot machine in the country and tied in slot machines from all over the world. If you strike it rich on the Megabucks slot machine, you will get at least $1 million.
People have won many large jackpots on the Megabucks machine. The biggest Megabucks win happened in 2003 when a software engineer won nearly $40 million. He won this huge jackpot at the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas. Other large Megabucks jackpots include a cocktail waitress with a winning pot. She won nearly $35 million at the Megabucks slot at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. One man from Illinois won $21 million on his first spin at a Vegas casino. The most famous Megabucks winner was Elmer Sherwin. He won the Megabucks jackpot twice: once in 1989 and, again, in 2005. His combined jackpots equaled more than $25 million.
The same company that developed Megabucks also created the second most famous slot machine — Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Fortune slots are at casinos across the United States and around the world. Wheel of Fortune’s name comes from the famous game show starring Pat Sajak and Vanna White. Wheel of Fortune has many versions, but the three-reel version is a fan favorite. When you place the maximum three-coin bet, you become eligible for the progressive jackpot. There’s also a multiplayer version, where each player has a separate screen. The largest jackpot on a Wheel of Fortune machine was in 2012. A man put in $1, pushed a button, and won $1.3 million on his first spin.
The third most popular slot machine is Lion’s Share. Lion’s Share was at the MGM Casino in Vegas and other casinos in the U.S. and around the world. Lion’s Share has been around since 1994. Its progressive jackpot machine had not paid out its jackpot in 20 years. A couple from New Hampshire put in some money and hit for $2.4 million. After the jackpot paid out, people traveled from all over to play the only machine left in Vegas. People played the famous machine five times more than the average slot machine. MGM finally retired the machine because it was too expensive to fix and maintain.
The first three slot machines on our list were brick-and-mortar slot machines in casinos. However, number four on the list is an online slots game. NetEnt created Mega Fortune in 2009, with lots of publicity about the progressive jackpots. The online slot allows you to enter the jackpot round when you get three bonus symbols on the reels. You then spin a three-layered wheel. You can find the jackpot symbols in the middle of the wheel. It’s very difficult to strike it rich on Mega Fortune, but if you win, you receive a rich reward. The average jackpot is $4.7 million. The largest jackpot on Mega Fortune was $21 million, won by a man from Finland.
Mega Moolah was Mega Fortune’s biggest rival in the online slots game. Microgaming created Mega Moolah in 2006, and it was an instant hit. People loved the jungle background, complete with safari music and tons of wild animals. Just like Mega Fortune, when you acquire enough bonus points, you can spin for additional prizes. Mega Moolah has prizes in the mini, minor, major, or mega jackpots. You have to hit the mega jackpot to be eligible for the huge progressive jackpot. A British soldier won the largest Mega Moolah jackpot in 2015 — $21 million.
Cleopatra has the distinction of being very popular. The game was popular as a brick-and-mortar classic slots game. It was also a great online slot game. In fact, Cleopatra has remained a favorite with fans for decades. IGT created Cleopatra’s casino slots, and the company has created many other very popular slot machines. The company decorated the machines with artifacts, Cleopatra, the Eye of Horus, pyramids, and scarabs. The second version of the online game was Cleopatra II. The graphics and sounds are fuller and richer, the music’s great, and the player can get 50 free spins online. The brick-and-mortar version has had several jackpots in the low six figures. The online version had a jackpot of more than $300,000, a little more than the brick-and-mortar game.
Whether you are playing at a casino or online, slots games are a great way to pass the time. Just think: You might win a lot of money. And all you have to do is push a button!
Jerome oversees our editing and content team and absolutely loves blackjack. So much so that he was a professional player for more than a decade before joining us at Casino Today. He’s written several books, mostly on the subjects of card counting and the different blackjack systems he employed over the years. He also runs a successful YouTube channel where he showcases different blackjack scenarios with beginner tips on how to beat the dealer.
