It’s a story which is enough to capture anyone’s imagination, even if just a little bit.
You turn up to Las Vegas with five dollars in your pocket, hit the slots, and walk out a millionaire.
This might sound like the sort of thing that would only happen in the movies, but for one gambler it did become a reality.
The player turned up with $5, and decided to have a flutter. Well, it is Vegas after all.
It’s the sort of throwaway thing you might not even consider. It’s $5 dollars and you’re in Vegas, why not?
The tourist, who was not named, then won a whopping $10.1 million jackpot on a notoriously tricky slot machine.
Sadly, little is known about the lucky Californian player – who has yet to be named.
According to IGT Jackpots, the person seemed to have an ace up their sleeve as they sat down to play the Megabucks slot machine at the Aria.
The luxury resort provided the perfect background for the sudden windfall, with the player walking away with an impressive $10.1 million.
Before you decide to have your own flutter though, we should warn you about how unlikely you are to win big.
OnlineGambling.com reports that just 20 multi-millionaires have been made since the Megabucks slot machine was first introduced back in 2005.
The odds are also not in your favor either if you live outside of Sin City, as the millionaire-making machine are only available there.
However, you could try and make your own luck – like one plucky Brit who risked everything on a single spin of the roulette wheel.
In 2004, Ashley Revell sold his car, home and even the clothes off his back to make the high-stakes gamble in Las Vegas.
Putting his money where his mouth is, the Londoner even got backing from an online bookies and changed his name via deed poll to ‘Ashley Blue Square Revell’, before heading stateside.
The story captured the public’s imagination and Sky even recorded the audacious bet as part of a reality show called Double or Nothing.
However, all bets were off when Revell finally entered the Plaza Hotel & Casino with around $135,300.
The brave Brit decided to put everything on red and waited anxiously to see if the odds were in his favor after making the biggest gamble of his life.
Amazingly, Revell ended up doubling his prize fund and walked away with a staggering $270,600 – thanks to the split decision.
While it worked out for Revell, we still wouldn’t suggest you follow suit. For every person who bets their house on black and wins, there’s someone who does the same, and loses their home.
It’s also worth remembering that casinos thrive on rags to riches stories of people making millions off a single spin.
There’s always the itch in the back of every gambler’s mind, what if I’m the next one?
But remember the old maxim: The house always wins.
