UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Jessica Weller won an impressive $224,347 when she hit a Wheel of Fortune MegaJackpot on a nickel machine at Mohegan Sun Nov. 24.
The winner is from Branford, Conn., and said she visits the casino regularly. Although she wasn’t sure what drew her to the winning machine, other than the fact that her brother had played it in the past, Weller’s MegaJackpot did catch her by surprise.
“I didn’t know I had won. When the attendant told me, I had to ask how much,” she said. When asked who she was most excited to share her MegaJackpot news with, Weller commented, “My family. I’m sure they’ll help me spend it.”
This MegaJackpot is the 12th to be paid this year and is the fifth in a recent run of Wheel of Fortune payouts. Just seven days ago, on Nov. 18, the casino paid an incredible $503,808 Wheel of Fortune MegaJackpot on a one-dollar machine. Three back-to-back Wheel of Fortune quarters jackpots have been paid in the last six weeks. The first hit Sept. 19, for $168,516, followed just days later by a $124,804 jackpot Sept. 23. And rounding out the MegaJackpot action, another prize was paid Oct. 13 in the amount of $108,944. This most recent MegaJackpot brings the total payout at Mohegan Sun for 2009 to $2.46 million.
Since 1996, 158 MegaJackpots have been paid totaling nearly $112 million. Mohegan Sun is one of two gaming facilities in Connecticut belonging to a 17-state gaming network that includes more than 300 tribal casinos in the nation.
Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is one of the largest entertainment, gaming, shopping and meeting destinations in the United States. Situated on 240 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence, located 15 minutes from museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country.
Wheel of Fortune video nickels is just one of the many IGT progressive systems found at Mohegan Sun. Progressive systems allow for larger jackpots than traditional stand-alone slot machines, as each coin that is played in a linked machine at a participating Native American casino contributes to the cumulative jackpot, which in the case of Wheel of Fortune nickels, starts at 100,000. A player wins the progressive MegaJackpot by betting 45 nickels at a time while attempting to line up the Wheel of Fortune symbols on the machine’s payline.
Wheel of Fortune was developed by IGT, a global company specializing in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and sales of computerized gaming machines and systems products. All IGT MegaJackpot top awards are paid in annual installments upon verification, except MegaJackpots Instant Winners Jackpots awards, which are paid in their entirety upon verification.
