Prepare for a detailed list reviewing the largest wins in the history of gambling. You’ll get to read about professional players with exceptional skills and players with tremendous luck whose stories prove that everything’s possible. Use the quick navi below to quickly jump through the different sections.
Top Gambling Wins in History
As you can well imagine, most of the biggest gambling wins in history have happened in land-based gambling establishments. However, the biggest online gambling wins are just as impressive, so in this blog, we’ll look at both. Moreover, you’ll learn about the top biggest gambling wins ever in lotto, poker, blackjack, slots, roulette and even sports, so stay tuned.
Take a close look at our listing below so you can have an idea of some of the categories we’ll cover in this blog and the structure it follows. Don’t be afraid also to use our list so you can quickly scroll throw the page to get to your favourite parts.
The Biggest Land-Based Gambling Wins
In the following paragraphs, you’ll learn about some of the biggest gambling wins ever, and you’ll get to read impressive stories of how both legendary skilled players and the total opposite – gamblers who just had luck and nothing but luck on their side become multimillionaires overnight.
In each category, we’ll introduce you to the top 3 largest victories, so stay tuned.
The Biggest Land-Based Lotto Wins
The $1.337 billion, Mega Millions jackpot was just recently won in July 2022. Not much is known about the anonymous winner from Chicago, Illinois, except that it must feel great to be among the highest gambling wins in the history of the lotto and have that much wealth.
The $1.537 billion, Mega Millions jackpot holds the second place for the biggest gambling wins on the lotto and is the largest jackpot for a single ticket. The lucky winner has chosen to stay anonymous, but it is well-known that the ticket was sold in South Carolina.
The 2016 record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot is the largest lottery jackpot ever won, and one of the biggest gambling wins in history. The 3 lucky winners from the states of California, Florida and Tennessee split the sum, getting about $533 million each.
Finally, all the curious readers, don’t forget to check out our blog on the biggest lotto wins ever for more big gambling victories and lots of interesting info on the subject.
The Biggest Land-Based Poker Wins
After 3 days of intense play, Aaron Zang won $16,775,820 at the famous 2019 Triton Super High Roller Series and claimed the first spot, with Bryn Kenney finishing second and Dan Smith claiming the third spot. In the beginning, Kenney started with over a five-to-one chip lead, but Zang stayed calm and patient and ultimately won first place.
At the 2012 WSOP Event, 55 – The Big One for One Drop, Antonio Esfandiari beat out 48 other professional and amateur players in a 3-day marathon and won the massive sum of $18,346,673. During those 3 days, Esfandiari seemed entirely relaxed and at peace. It looks like he knew what the future had for him.
Bryn Kenney, one of the best poker players in history, finished second at the Triton Super High Roller Series in 2019 but won the biggest share of the money, walking away with $20,563,324. Even though Bryn Kenney did not win this time and finished second, he surpassed Justin Bonomo on the all-time money list and obtained the first spot.
The Biggest Land-Based Slot Wins
In 1998, an anonymous retired flight attendant won $27,582,539 playing the Megabucks slot at the Palace Station Resort, Las Vegas. Not only that, but a few months before the record win, she had won a significant amount of $680,000 in the same casino, on the Wheel of Fortune slot game. Now, if that’s not luck, we don’t know what else to call it!
Cynthia Jay-Brennan, a cocktail waitress, won $34.9 million at the Desert Inn Casino, Las Vegas. The woman had just finished work and decided to stop by the casino to celebrate her future mother-in-law’s birthday with a few spins. After not even an hour, she hit the almost $35 million jackpot on a Megabucks slot machine. Sadly, a few weeks after her win, Cynthia and her sister had a car accident. Unfortunately, she lost her sister then and became paralysed. That made her donate a big part of her winnings to charity organisations that help people with disabilities.
The largest among the biggest gambling wins ever on slot machines is another Megabucks slot win. The anonymous software engineer who hit the stunning $39.7 million jackpot in 2003 at the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas is still, to this day, the biggest slot win in history.
The Biggest Online Gambling Wins
It is no secret that online casinos are becoming more and more popular among players. Not only that, but considering the wider variety of games, their great accessibility and the many other advantages, they are slowly becoming the preferable option when it comes to gambling. That is why it’s now time to look at the legendary biggest online gambling wins that we promise you are just as impressive and rewarding.
The Biggest Lotto Wins Online
This next anonymous player won over $23.5 million from the Mega Moolah slot game at the Grand Mondial online casino. The massive win reportedly took less than 50 spins and caught the attention worldwide, including the attention of the Guinness Book. However, despite the big fame, nothing is known about the lucky gamer, now a millionaire. Lastly, here is an expert review on the hit jackpot slot Mega Moolah, in case you want to know more about the gamers’ favourite title.
The second spot in our big gambling wins on the lotto online list belongs to a Belgium player who, in late April 2021, won $23.6 million at Napoleon Sports and Casino. The player, who is among the Guinness record holders in the category of biggest online gambling wins was playing his favourite game: Absolootly Mad: Mega Moolah, when after just a few games, he hit the huge jackpot.
A memorable addition to the list of biggest gambling wins in history is the Lottoland’s Guinness world record for the largest online gambling payout ever of $105,121,000. The Lottoland Group (including Lottoland Limited and EU Lotto Limited) operates a betting platform where players place bets on the outcome of lotteries. The record winner of the groundbreaking EuroJackpot is known as Christina, a 36-year-old cleaner from Berlin.
The Biggest Poker Wins Online
Back in 2009, Viktor Blom and Phil Ivey played Omaha Hold ‘Em Poker, which is similar to Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, and stakes were $500 / $1000. Victor ended up beating his opponent and winning $1,127,955 – most of what he had lost just a few days ago against Patrik Antonius – a legendary match we’ll discuss next in this paragraph.
The match between Patrik Antonius & Viktor Blom in 2009 is another legendary battle that took place just a few days prior to the match between Victor and Phil. The players played Omaha again, and the stakes were $500 / $1000. In the end, Antonius won, getting the biggest pot in online poker history – $1,356,946.
Just recently, at the beginning of 2022, the professional poker player and politician – Tony G (Tony Guoga) broke the record for the biggest poker hand ever won online. He played a 3-handed $5000/$10,000 stakes Pot Limit Omaha Poker on CoinPoker – an online crypto-based platform where he won the record $7,750,652 pot.
The Biggest Slot Wins Online
In 2016 the online player known as D.P. won the Mega Moolah jackpot, worth over $11.6 million, which became the largest win in history on a mobile device. Having in mind the tons of mobile users that join every day, the next record-breaker might be closer than you think. Why not try your luck at one of the top casino apps for UK players.
In March 2022, Tyler Niknam, best known as Trainwreck, won the massive $22.5 million during a live stream, playing the Might of Ra slot developed by Pragmatic Play. What’s interesting about this win is that he won such a cosmic prize without hitting a jackpot and now holds the record for the biggest non-jackpot online slot win.
This next victory is among the biggest gambling wins in history and belongs to a Finnish gambler that played the Mega Fortune slot at a Scandinavian online casino. The winning spin of $24 million came on just a $0.25 bet during the bonus round. Even though it happened way back in 2013, it remains, up to this day, the largest slot victory online.
Ultimately, we recommend you take a peek at our article about the best online slot wins where the biggest rewards and the best Return to Player (RTP) percentages await.
The Biggest Blackjack Wins
Blackjack often is players’ first choice because it is not only simple to play but also due to the fact that blackjack has the best odds of winning with just a 1% house edge in most casinos. Plus, you’re only playing against the dealer, which is another huge advantage. Blackjack will surely be your best option if you are looking for a profitable play, provided that you have a strategy, of course. Here are the top 3 largest blackjack wins in history.
The millionaire CEO of Heritage Development, Don Johnson, not only had no problem placing large bets, but also was a highly experienced blackjack player. Known for his impressive mathematical skills, his win of $15 million took over five months, during which his strategy was to stick to the most favourable house rules and split every high hand into four and then double his bets. It definitely was his unique playing style that led him to his wins but also earned him a ban from playing blackjack at the casino.
In 1991, Kerry Packer, an Australian businessman, stepped into a casino and left with $7 million thanks to blackjack. Another time, the man won $40 million in just 40 minutes at the Vegas MGM Grand Casino. His strategy was playing eight hands simultaneously on the same table and betting a solid $250,000 on each round.
Last, on our list, we will mention the well-known MIT Blackjack Team, inspiration for the hit movie 21. If you haven’t heard of them – the team was led by Bill Kaplan and consisted of students who used sophisticated mathematical strategies to beat casinos at blackjack. The group operated for multiple years, during which they won more than $50 million and became legends, claiming the biggest gambling wins in the history of blackjack.
The Biggest Roulette Wins
There’s something about roulette that makes you excited and interested in the game. The roulette wheel has undoubtedly become one of the most recognised symbols of casinos and a real icon in the gaming world. Explore with us the top 3 biggest gambling wins on roulette and the talented players behind them.
Charles Wells, often called ‘Monte Carlo Wells’, was a well-known English gambler and fraudster. The man is also the inspiration for the famous song ‘The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo’. One night in 1891, Charles visited the Monte Carlo Casino Resort to play roulette and won 23 out of 30 consecutive spins, leaving with close to a million francs. However, that was not enough for the player who returned to the casino not long after and managed to win more than a million francs once again on just pure luck.
In 2008, Mike Ashley, a billionaire entrepreneur and former owner of the English Premier League club Newcastle United, walked into London’s Fifty Casino for just a few spins. The player wagered more than $550,000, making a complete bet that includes all splits, corners, streets, and six-line bets, plus a straight-up bet on number 17. Just like that, in less than 15 minutes, Ashley left with $1,493,875.
Another highly successful businessman called Pedro Grendene Bartelle visited the Punta del Este casino in Uruguay during his travels just to try his luck on French Roulette. Bartelle bet on most of the third dozen numbers and stacked most of his $500 chips on 32. When that exact number came in, Pedro turned $35,000 into $3.5 million.
The Biggest Sports Gambling Wins
We could not have talked about the biggest gambling wins ever without mentioning the largest sports wins. This last paragraph will tell you about the top 3 biggest sports gambling wins, so get ready.
Vegas Dave, whose real name is Dave Oancea, is a famous gambler from Las Vegas who, in 2015, during the baseball season, won $2.5 million, betting $140,000 on the Kansas City Royals to win the World Series. Of course, he had to split the amount between 15 different casinos as no casino wanted to take his huge bet, but he still figured it out and won big.
The widely known poker player Billy Walters placed a single bet of $3.5 million on the New Orleans Saints competing against the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl XLIV. His team ended up winning their first-ever Super Bowl with a 31-17 score. Still, it is unknown how much exactly he made off that solid bet, but it surely is one of the biggest gambling wins in sports history.
The number one winner on our listing of the highest gambling wins in sports is an anonymous player, allegedly from Eastern Europe and around 30. The lucky gambler won $14 million in the 2017 World Series, making a series of successful bets, the last being his sixth bet on the game between the L.A. Dodgers and the Houston Astros on November 1st, 2017.
The Top 3 Largest Gambling Wins in History
We bet those massive prizes really got you inspired. After all the different games and various categories we discussed, it’s now time for the best part. Here is our list of the top 3 biggest wins ever in the history of gambling.
- 🥉 $1.337 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot in 2022
- 🥈 $1.537 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot in 2018
- 🥇 $1.586 Billion Powerball Jackpot in 2016
Apparently, nothing beats the Mega Millions jackpot – no blackjack strategies and schemes, nor the massive jackpot prizes. The bottom line is that you should play the lottery more because you never know when luck will knock on your door.
Biggest Gambling Wins FAQ
Hopefully, this article was not only fun and interesting to read but also answered all your questions regarding the biggest gambling wins. Nevertheless, here are some frequently asked questions we have prepared that you can refer to for a little extra or if there’s anything you have missed.