Fun Facts And World Records

WEBPOKIES / ONLINE POKIES / FUN FACTS AND WORLD RECORDS

Pokies and Slot Machines have been around for as

long as most of us can remember, and whether
you look upon them with contempt or you dont
mind throwing an occasional $50 into the Slots
and having a poke theres a few things about
them that make for interesting dinner
conversation, and so in the interest of a avoiding
uncomfortable silences at mealtime lets take a
look at some of the more interesting facts and
world records associated with the pokies and slot
machines across the world.

10 Interesting Slot Machine Facts

1. The first Slot Machine was made in 1895 by one Charles
Fey, a car mechanic from California.
The slot machine named Liberty Bell featured three reels
with playing card symbols on the reels and one Liberty Bell which when matched triggered the
jackpot of 10 nickels or 50cents a small fortune back in 1895.Learn more about the History of slot
machines > Here
2. The odds of winning the top jackpot on a Black Rhino pokie are 1 in 9,765,625. You have a
better chance of dying from a poisonous bite (1 in 1,000,000) or getting struck by lightning (1 in
1,603,250).
3. The first Australian pokie was created in 1953 by Aristocrat. It was named The Clubman, and
Aristocrat remains the leading pokie manufacturer in Australia.
4. NSW legalised pokies in 1956 but it took over 30 years for Victoria to catch up, with the first
pokies being introduced to the Essendon (Footscray) Football Club in 1992. There are now almost
25,000 machines across the state not including those at Crown Casino and the consequences of
the decision to introduce pokies (a decision made after seeing NSW enjoying an additional $400
million a year in Pokie related taxes and gambling revenue) have been enormous almost $38
billion has been lost on poker machines in Victoria in the past two decades. In 2010-11 alone the
losses reached $2.65 billion.

5. There are nearly 200,000 pokie machines in Australia, and 100,308 of these are in NSW. The
national figure is five times that of the US and represents around 20 per cent of all gaming machines
in the world.
6. The Biggest Slot Machine ever made was created in the early 1960s and was one of the first
machines to feature a motor and electronic hopper which allowed for bigger prizes.
Big Bertha, as the name suggests was a two-tonne monster that sat in the lobbies of major Las
Vegas Casinos. It cost $150,000 to build and featured 160 symbols over 8 reels! It was so big that
people could not pull the actual lever and it had to be powered by a five horsepower engine. The
odds of winning on the big machine were incredibly low, estimated at one in 25.6 billion, because
the machine had eight reels and twenty symbols per reel!
*There have since been many novelty Pokies built that are even larger but none can compare to the
original Big Bertha
7. Microgaming launched the first online pokies for real money in the mid-1990s. Based on
classic three-reel pokies from Vegas casinos, the game meant that players could enjoy pokies from
the comfort of their own front room. The game only had a Spin button and a slider to choose your
stake, but it wouldnt be long before major players like Play tech and Cryptologic were developing
their own Internet pokies
8. Pokies use a RNG (random number generator). This ensures every spin is random and
fair. The pokie will randomly choose its reels the very second you press the button or pull the
handle. Before this point it does not know what it will show next. Pressing 1 second later would
change the outcome to one second before. In fact, the pokie machine continually calculates random
number codes regardless of if it is being used.
This means that if you walk away from the machine and someone else goes on and spins once and
gets the jackpot, that jackpot would probably have not been won by you.
If you had stayed at the machine, theres no guarantee whatsoever that you would have stopped the
RNG at the exact nanosecond to display that same combination of numbers. In the time it takes for
you to sip your drink, the RNG has cycled through thousands of combinations.
9. The slang term one armed bandit was actually originally used to describe the shady
characters who had learned to manipulate the early versions of the slot machine to steal some
money. Over time the expression came to be used for the slot machines themselves.
10. The iconic bar symbol found on modern slot machines comes from the Bell Fruit Gum
company and represents a stick of gum In the early 1900s, and just a few years after they had
been invented, gambling was prohibitied and innovative slot machine owners replaced the coins
with gum and changed the card symbols to fruit. The common fruit symbols are still found on
modern slot machines and were symbols for the gum flavours available from the Bell Fruit Gum
company.

The 10 Biggest Casino Slots Jackpots Ever Won

They say that in Vegas the house always wins, but sometimes even the house cant compete with good
fortune.
From a Marine who won nearly $3 million to a software engineer who hit for $39.7 million, the lure of
riches keeps machines blinking, buzzing and spinning along the Las Vegas Strip. Some winners wish to
remain anonymous, making sure what happens in Vegas stays here. Others dont mind sharing their
good fortunes.
Heres a look at some of the most notable jackpots in Vegas:
Lets take a look at the who the how and the WHOA well start with the 8th biggest casino progressive
slots win and work our way to the biggest ever progressive slots win ever recorded in a real world
casino.

1. 26-year-old Marine wins $2.9 million

Feb. 19, 2012: Alexander Degenhardt, a 26-year-old U.S. Marine, won nearly $2.9 million on the
Money Vault Millionaires Seven slot at the Bellagio. Degnhardt had been in training at Nellis Air
Force base and went to the casino with some buddies on their last night in the city. He slipped in
$100 and said hed never won more than $200 before hitting the biggest Las Vegas jackpot from a
Bally Technologies game in recent memory. Total: $2,882,808.32.

2. Megabucks at the Aria

April 22, 2011: One lucky gambler took home $10.6 million from a Megabucks machine, a product
launched by International Game Technology (IGT) in 1986. It took more than eight years and 38
jackpots to hit $10 million for the first time in 1995 at the Gold Coast in Australia

3. Megabucks on a Mega Roll

Jan. 21, 2011: A woman on her way to her room at the Aria, decided to plunk $6 into a Megabucks
machine and hit a $12.7 million jackpot. She thought the machine had malfunctioned until her
niece pointed out that, no, it was really a winner. Only a few months later Megabucks would pay
out $10.6million

4. Do-Gooder Hits Pay Dirt

Nov. 30, 2014: Late last year a Las Vegas man put $20 in a Megabucks slot machine at the
Summerlin-area Rampart Casino. Within five minutes hed hit a jackpot worth $14.2 million. The
man, dubbed the Rampart Lucky Local, said he would make a donation to his church. The
church, which had been holding services in a high school gym, can now have its own location built.

5. One Player, Two Mega Jackpots

Sept 15, 2005: In an improbable display of beating the odds, Elmer Sherwin, 92, of Las Vegas won
his second Megabucks jackpot by hitting $21.1 million at the Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas.
Sherwin had previously won a $4.6 million in 1989 at the Mirage. He said it had been his lifelong
dream to win it twice. Total: $21,147,947

6. He Came, He Saw, He Won Big

June 1, 1999: An Illinois man won more than $21.3 million on a Megabucks machine at Caesars
Palace. The 49-year-old business consultant deposited $10 and won on the first spin. Total:
$21,346,952.22.

7. A Quick Play Before Brekkie

March 27, 2002: Johanna Huendl, 74, of Covina, Calif., was on her way to breakfast at Ballys Casino
when she decided to play the Megabucks machine. She put in about $170 and won $22.6 million.
She said she had initially misread the meter and thought shed won $2 million. She would have
been happy with that. Total: $22,618,156.67

8. $300 in, $27.5 million out

Nov. 15, 1998: A 67-year-old retired flight attendant from Las Vegas had only intended to put
$100 at the slot machine in Palace Station. She ended up putting in $300, but the Megabucks
machine rewarded her with $27.5 million. Shed won big money before: hitting a $680,000 jackpot
on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine, also at the Palace Station. It marked the first time
Megabucks had surpassed $20 million. Total: $27,580,879.60

9. A Record and an Urban Legend is Born

Jan. 26, 2000: Las Vegas cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay-Brennan, 37, won $34.9 million on a
Megabucks machine at the Desert Inn. Six weeks later, a habitually drunk driver rear-ended her
car, killing her sister and leaving her paralyzed. Her tragedy fueled a myth that bad things happen
to those who win the big jackpots, becoming one of Las Vegas most notorious urban legends.
Total: $34,955,489.56

10. The Biggest Jackpot Ever Won (so far)

March 21, 2003: A 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles won $39.7 million after
putting in $100 in the Megabucks slot machine at the Excalibur to win the largest jackpot in Las
Vegas history. He beat odds at the time of one in 16.7 million. Total: $39,710,826.36

Biggest Online Jackpot Ever Won

The largest jackpot payout in an online slot machine game is 17,879,645 EUROS ($20,062,600USD,
13,209,300 Sterling), won by Jon Heywood, a British citizen, playing Microgamings Mega Moolah on
Betways website, on 6 October 2015.

26 years old corporal Jon Heywood from Cheshire become an instant multimillionaire playing in
Betways Online casino late evening on October 6th, 2015. The young veteran who recently
returned from Afghanistan said that he deposited 30 into his account and proceeded to begin a
game of Mega Moolah. Betting a total of 25p per spin brought him 13,213,838.68 win in just 7
minutes (more than 17 million).

Mega Moolah is a five reel, twenty-five payline online progressive slots pokie game

Official Guiness World Record Entry

Biggest Mobile Casino Jackpot Ever Won

Once again it is Mega Moolah the worlds most popular and (clearly) highest paying progressive
online slots game that has created the record! I dont know about you but I think I might just go
and throw a cheeky 50 through Mega Moolah you know, just in case

Want to Join Me?

Microgaming confirms its Mega Moolah progressive slot has been hit at a mountainous
5,375,695.08!
The life-changing jackpot was won on 9th April 2015 by Royal Vegas player, Mark A, spinning on
his mobile phone. The player will take home a total of 5,375,695.08, receiving a single cash
payout in full rather than an annuity, so Mark A has become an instant millionaire.

Weve been watching the progressive ticker grow substantially over the last few weeks;
anticipation was building as to when it was going to strike! Once again the jackpot was hit via a
mobile device; it really is a sign of todays industry and how prevalent mobile is! Congratulations to
Mark A on becoming one of the biggest jackpot winners in Microgamings history John Quinn,
Head of Casino at Microgaming

of the Biggest Thefts in Casino History

Move over Daniel Ocean because today were going to take a look at 7 of the most daring (and
more often than not stupid) attempts at robbing casinos and ripping off gambling establishments
around the world with the majority being focused on Las Vegas.

7. The Ultimate Severance Package

The Stardust casino isnt around any more (imploded and razed in 2007) but the famous story of a
sportsbook cashier who got a little greedy is still talked about today. Bill Brennan, who worked as a
sportsbook cashier decided he didnt like the work anymore and promptly walked out of the casino
after his shift with a bag containing over $500,000 in chips and cash. Brennan was never seen or
heard from again and while hes still on the FBIs most wanted list, hes slipped off the radar
completely. Some say he had an accomplice who killed him for the goods. The truth, well never
know.

6. A Waitress, a Casino Boss and a Gambler Walk Into a Bar

The state alleges that between May 2014 and April 2015, Robert Pellegrini, a former Casino Vice
President at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, employee and cocktail waitress Rochelle Poszeluznyj
and regular patron and gambler Mark Heltzel worked together in a slot machine scheme that
netted them each a share of $418,793. According to the Associated Press, they each face more than
170 counts including theft, identity theft and criminal conspiracy.
Pellegrini, 50, is accused of using card numbers handed off to him by Poszeluznyj, who had
obtained them when customers paid for drinks. Pellegrini allegedly made duplicate casino player
cards, which were then given to Heltzel for slot machine play.
According to the state police Bureau of Gaming, they were able to use $478,100 in free slot play to
generate $418,793 in ill-gotten winnings.
5. Biker Bandit Bellagio Robbery in 2010
The world came to know him as the biker bandit, the man who stole $1.5 million worth of casino
chips from the Bellagio during a brazen heist Dec. 14, 2010. Seemingly ripped from the pages of a
Hollywood script, then 29-year-old Anthony Carleo rode up to the casino entrance on a motorcycle,
walked to a craps table, pulled a gun and demanded chips.
His downfall? He stole a wide range of chip denominations, including ones worth $25,000. He tried
flogging them online, using the email address cranberrykid25@yahoo.com (a reference to the color
of the $25,000 chips) and signing the emails, biker bandit. Metro Police caught up with him seven
weeks after the robbery at the Bellagio, where he was gambling and attempting to sell chips to
undercover officers.
Carleo, the son of a former Las Vegas Municipal Court judge, confessed to the crime. In August
2011, a Clark County judge sentenced Carleo to serve from nine to 27 years in prison for the
Bellagio robbery and an earlier heist he committed at the Suncoast Casino on Dec. 9, 2010.

4. Circus Circus Theft in 1993

A 1993 Circus Circus Casino heist ended with a bizarre twist: One of the alleged thieves turned
herself in 12 years after vanishing with nearly $2.95 million in an armoured truck.
Heather Tallchief, a former Loomis Armor Inc. driver, confessed to her involvement in the October
1993 theft, in which she drove away from the casino in an armored truck containing the millions.
After more than a decade on the run, Tallchief surrendered to Las Vegas authorities in September
2005. She accepted full responsibility for her role, citing mounting guilt as her reason for coming
clean. Her former boyfriend and alleged accomplice, Roberto Solis, remains at large.
Tallchief fled to the Netherlands after the heist. She said Solis has the money, which has never
been found.
A federal judge in March 2006 gave Tallchief the maximum sentence: five years and three months.
3. Bellagio Cashier Cage Robbery in 2000
In the early 2000s, a string of casino robberies plagued the Strip, including a brazen robbery at the
Bellagios cashier cage.
Two men wearing body armor allegedly jumped over the cashier cage counter and stole about
$160,000 in cash and casino chips. Meanwhile, a third accomplice stood as lookout. As they fled,
the suspects allegedly fired one shot at casino security guards who were chasing them. No one was
injured.
Authorities arrested Oscar Sanchez Cisneros, then 23; Jose Manuel Vigoa, then 40; and Luis Suarez,
then 35, in connection with the robbery.Four months after the robbery, Cisneros committed suicide
in his Clark County Detention Center cell by hanging himself with a bed sheet.
Vigoa, responsible for multiple casino robberies and the killings of two armored truck drivers in
Henderson, pleaded guilty to the charges. Before the plea agreement, Vigoa allegedly staged a jail
escape attempt. In August 2002, he was sentenced to four no-parole life sentences and an
additional 306 to 760 years in prison for the crimes. A year later, in October 2003, Suarez was
sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $150,000 in restitution.
The robbery prompted MGM Resorts to install bars around each of its Strip cashier cages.

2. Treasure Island Robberies in 2000

A botched robbery at Treasure Island in December 2000 left one security guard wounded and led
to the arrest of a man wanted in connection with two previous robberies at the casino the same
year.
During the December attempt, Reginald Johnson, then 27, entered Treasure Island, approached the
security guard and fired one shot at him while he walked toward the casino cashier, where he fired
another shot before leaving empty-handed. The security guard suffered injuries that werent lifethreatening.
Police caught Johnson walking on Lake Mead Boulevard hours after the robbery attempt.
Authorities already had been looking for Johnson and his brother, Donnell Johnson, who were
considered suspects in a July 2000 robbery at Treasure Island.
In October 2000, a robber struck Treasure Island again, firing two shots and stealing about $30,000.
Reginald Johnson pleaded guilty in January 2001 to all three Treasure Island robberies. In March
2011, a judge sentenced him to 130 years in prison for the robberies during a colorful sentencing
hearing, where Johnson made several outbursts and laughed while watching surveillance video of
him shooting the security guard.
1. Take the 2 Million or Ritz it all?
In the movies at least, most casino heists end with the criminals going down guns-a-blazing or
being busted in a hotel room with mountains of cash on the bed. Rarely (if ever) in the movies do
we see the caught criminals being let off scot-free and allowed to keep their takings. However,
thats exactly what happened for a trio of Eastern Europeans that took Londons famed Ritz Casino
for $1.9 million.
The trio utilized lasers on their cell phones at the casinos roulette tables to determine the speed of
the ball, wheel, and the numbers most likely to come up next. The information was relayed back to
a computer which allowed the group to analyze the best possible bets given those metrics. While
they were initially arrested and their accounts frozen, a judge later ruled that they had done
nothing illegal and were able to keep their winnings.
You Thinking what Im thinking? .. I hear theres a special on lasers over at eBay at the
moment