An Illinois visitor nearly walked away from a Las Vegas casino before an additional spin on a Wizard of Oz slot machine resulted in a six-figure progressive jackpot. The anonymous guest from Minonk, Illinois, won almost $400,000 at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino.
Illinois Tourist Wins Six-Figure Vegas Jackpot
According to Westgate Las Vegas, the visitor spent the afternoon at the property and was playing a two-cent Wizard of Oz slot machine. The guest placed a $4.80 wager and made several spins before triggering the statewide progressive jackpot.
The casino said the visitor had initially planned to stop playing after two unsuccessful spins. He was reportedly preparing to leave and visit Benihana instead. However, he decided to make one more spin.
That final spin produced the jackpot. The winning payout totaled $374,443.83, turning an ordinary afternoon at the property into a major Las Vegas casino win.
The winner chose not to disclose his name. Westgate said he celebrated the payout with fellow guests and members of the casino’s team on the gaming floor. The casino also shared a humorous description of the aftermath, saying the winner spent the rest of the evening pointing toward the machine and smiling.
Westgate Las Vegas Jackpot Follows Final Spin
Cami Christensen, president and general manager of Westgate Las Vegas, said the property’s team was pleased to see the Illinois visitor receive the payout. “Seeing a guest hit a jackpot like this never gets old,” Christensen said in a statement released by the resort. She added that the guest’s three spins had turned a $4.80 wager into more than $374,000.
The Wizard of Oz slot machine title belongs to a long-running series of casino games. WMS Gaming originally developed the franchise for casino floors. WMS later became part of Scientific Games, while its casino gaming business now operates as Light & Wonder.
Light & Wonder continues to release Wizard of Oz titles through the WMS gaming lineage. The company has developed several versions based on the classic story and its characters.
The Westgate jackpot came several months after another major Wizard of Oz payout at Hard Rock Atlantic City. In that case, a Florida woman reportedly won more than $1 million after playing a different Wizard of Oz machine.
Westgate Has Recorded Other Major Jackpots
The latest payout also follows another major jackpot at Westgate earlier this year. On June 16, the resort reported a $10,292,912.32 payout to a visitor from Atlanta who hit an IGT Megabucks Wolf Run Eclipse progressive slot jackpot.
Westgate said that the winner had been playing for roughly three minutes before the jackpot was awarded. The winning wager was reportedly $5. The property described that payout as one of the largest slot jackpots in its history. The September jackpot was considerably smaller, but it still placed the Illinois visitor among recent guests to receive a substantial progressive payout at the Las Vegas resort.
Progressive jackpots can vary based on the specific game and linked machines. The amount displayed on a progressive game can increase as qualifying wagers are made, although individual game rules determine how a jackpot is triggered.
