14,387,950.46!!!

[pojo]

http://www.sunherald.com/casinos/story/1131432.html

$14,387,950.46!!!!!!!
By MARY PEREZ - meperez@sunherald.com

BILOXI — For Thomas McMillan of Woolmarket, it was a payout of $14,387,950.46 when he hit the biggest slot jackpot in Mississippi history Tuesday at Hard Rock Casino Biloxi.

For Duncan McKenzie, Hard Rock Biloxi president, it was priceless.

“We knew it was going to hit here,” declared McKenzie. Hard Rock advertised the huge jackpot on a sign along Interstate 110 and when the winner was a local guy from Woolmarket, “That’s perfect,” said McKenzie. “That’s the dream. And he says the Hard Rock is the only place he plays.”

McMillan, who is retired and will turn 68 next week, was playing the $1 Wheel of Fortune for a little over an hour.

“This is the only machine I ever play,” he said. He and his wife, Arlene, play at the Hard Rock several times a week. On Monday the area was closed while the casino installed a new Wheel of Fortune sign over the bank of machines.

“I’ve got to go back today,” he told his wife Tuesday. “I just have a feeling.”

They usually play for an hour. “I gave him an hour and 15 minutes today,” said Arlene. When she headed back from the penny slots she was playing, she saw people standing around him and thought he was ill or he had won $1,000.

At about 3:15 p.m. he was down to $13 of the $300 he had started with. Three times in the past he’s had two out of the three Wheel of Fortune symbols come up. “When that third one hit I just started screaming,” McMillan said.

The Hard Rock staff brought champagne and offered the couple a suite for the night. The Gaming Commission and International Game Technology, the manufacturers of the slot machine, were called to verify the win.

“That jackpot’s been building for a long time,” said Julie Brown, director of marketing for IGT. She confirmed it was the largest in Mississippi’s 16 years of casino history. Had McMillan bet only $1 he would have won $2,000, and a $2 bet would have paid $4,000, By betting the maximum $3 bet, he hit Mississippi’s progressive jackpot.

McMillan said he was so happy the $14 million jackpot hit in Biloxi. “We’ve always come to Hard Rock,” he said.

“I called my sister first,” who lives in Dallas. “All she did is scream and drop the phone,” McMillan said.

Their neighbor, Trampas Ladner, came to the Hard Rock. “I had to see it for myself,” he said.

McMillan said they plan to pay off their houses and bills, help family and maybe take a cruise to Alaska, as long as the ship has slots.

“We’ve been blessed,” he said, and Arlene finished his sentence, “that we found each other.” She is originally from New York and he’s from Dallas. They met in Florida after Arlene’s husband died in the World Trade Center. They moved to Woolmarket six years ago and were lucky to escape Hurricane Katrina with minimal damage to their home.

Recently they were worried about the economy. Now, “Uncle Sam is going ‘oh goody, goody,’ ” he joked.

When he hit the jackpot he watched the Wheel of Fortune sign reset to $800,000. “I’ll come back tomorrow,” he said. “and I’ll play the same slot.”

[johnson2113]

Damn!!!! We played those Wheel of Fortune's in Vegas and just about every casino we've been in and never hit sh*t!

[rich_big]

14 and a half mil? not bad!!!

[moeron]

I'm happy that it's someone who could use the money. Of course everybody could use that amount. Hopefully he is retired....Well before he won. I have always said if I ever won any amount like that It would change a lot of lives. I hope that he enjoys it. And that he takes care of his family.

[Spider Johnson]

I wonder if he will donate 10% to my favorite charity....???

All the best be with him and his winnings! That is the thing about gambling and the various lottery's: If you don't play, you can't win.

The other bad thing is: The U.S. Goverment takes around 37% off the top of such winnings. I am not sure what the state of Mississippi is going to take off the top. He should still wind up with around half or so. Still a nice chunk of change.

[parrothead216]

I'm happy that it's someone who could use the money. Of course everybody could use that amount. Hopefully he is retired....Well before he won. I have always said if I ever won any amount like that It would change a lot of lives. I hope that he enjoys it. And that he takes care of his family.

He could use the money??????? He's gambling $300.00 several times a week!!!!

In addition to that his new wife would have collected millions for losing her husband in the WTC.

It sounds like they were at the local blood bank to selling their blood to pay their bills.!!!!!!

Happy for them but they sound hardly like the needed the money!

[FunkHouse9]

When he hit the jackpot he watched the Wheel of Fortune sign reset to $800,000. “I’ll come back tomorrow,” he said. “and I’ll play the same slot.”

What ever happened to "quit while you're ahead"? It'd be tragic if this guy upped the stakes and put a lot of those winnings right back into the machines.

[luvinlife]

Come on NH POWERBALL!!!!!!

[TropicalTroubador]

After being at a convention in a conference room across from a bank of WoF machines, I'm afraid I've developed a serious allergy to the sound of them. But I wish this guy luck. And wouldn't mind someone dumping that much money into my own lap...