Best Slot Machine Winners
Introduction to North Carolina Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
Currently, slot machine winnings are not taxed in the United Kingdom. The same goes for any other casino game. It doesn’t really matter if you win £5 or £5 million playing online slots, your winnings will be tax-free as long as you reside anywhere in the UK, be that in England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland. That's because although you can't win at slot machines every time, picking a good slot machine is the best way to improve your odds and let the RTP of the casino slot do the ‘hard work' for you.
North Carolina slot machine casino gambling consists of two tribal casinos in the Great Smoky Mountains in the western tip of the state.
Tribal-state gaming compacts in North Carolina have established theoretical minimum and maximum payout for their video gaming machines while return statistics are not publicly available.
- Choosing the best slot machine to play for real money can help you beat the casino and win loads of cash prizes. US players can learn the best way to pick a winning slot machine by going through our guide. Our team of experts has compiled a checklist to use when looking for a slot game to play.
- The same is oddly true for online casinos. While the “avoid machines at the end of long rows and near exits” may be much harder to apply at an online casino, it is a solid rule of thumb that if you haven’t seen a win on a machine you’re playing in a long time, it’s probably best to move on to another machine.
This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.
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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in North Carolina*
The minimum legal gambling age in North Carolina depends upon the gambling activity:
- Land-Based Casinos: 21
- Poker Rooms: 21
- Bingo: 18
- Lottery: 18
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering: Not available
Video poker machines were once widespread in the state, but 2000’s state regulations limited video poker machines to three per site and banned the installation of new video gaming machines.
In 2007, after nearly a half dozen attempts, the state legislature fully banned commercially-owned video poker machines and video gaming machines.
North Carolina has a single federally-recognized American Indian tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The tribe has built two casinos on its Qualla Boundary lands located in the Great Smoky Mountains.
The type of casino action found at these Indian casinos includes “skill or dexterity” based video slot machines. These tribal casinos offer a variety of table games.
Although owned by the tribe, operation of both casinos is by Harrah’s which, itself, is a brand for Caesars Entertainment. The tribe owns and operates a high-stakes bingo hall.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.
Slot Machine Private Ownership in North Carolina
It is legal to own a slot machine privately in the state of North Carolina if it is 25 years old or older.
Best Slot Machines Wins Youtube
Gaming Control Board in North Carolina
Because North Carolina has no commercial casinos or other types of commercial gaming, the state does not have a gaming commission or control board.
Casinos in North Carolina
There are two American Indian tribal casinos in North Carolina. These two casinos are in the Great Smoky Mountains in the western part of the state.
The largest casino in North Carolina is Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort with 3,280 gaming machines.
The second-largest, and only other casino in North Carolina, is Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel with 1,000 gaming machines.
Commercial Casinos in North Carolina
There are no commercial casinos in North Carolina.
Tribal Casinos in North Carolina
The two tribal casinos in North Carolina are:
- Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Whittier found 50 miles west of Asheville.
- Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy found 109 miles southwest of Asheville.
Other Gambling Establishments
As an alternative to enjoying North Carolina slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering North Carolina is:
- North: Virginia Slots
- East: The Atlantic Ocean
- South: Georgia Slots and South Carolina Slots
- West: Tennessee Slots
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to North Carolina.
Our North Carolina Slots Facebook Group
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in North Carolina? If so, join our new North Carolina slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in North Carolina. Join us!
Payout Returns in North Carolina
The theoretical minimum and maximum payouts set by the tribal-state gaming compact is 83% and 98%.
The tribal casinos in North Carolina, per the same compact, are not required to provide publicly available return statistics.
Summary of North Carolina Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
North Carolina slot machine casino gambling consists of two tribal casinos in the western tip of the state. While owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Caesars Entertainment operates both tribal casinos.
Further, both tribal casinos have theoretical payout limits of 83% and 98% but do not offer return statistics. Finally, North Carolina’s slot machines must be video games of skill or dexterity.
Annual Progress in North Carolina Slot Machine Casino Gambling
In the last year, there has been no change in the slots gaming industry in North Carolina, excepting disruptions due to our ongoing national crisis.
Related Articles from Professor Slots
Top Dollar Slot Machine Winners
Other State-By-State Articles from Professor Slots
- Previous: New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling
- Next: North Dakota Slot Machine Casino Gambling
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
Photo of Trinadad Torres courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.
Admit it. You have the same dream we do.
Everything conspires and you find yourself in the right place at the right time – seated in front of a Megabucks slot machine that’s primed and ready to hit. You push the button (of course, pulling a lever would be more dramatic, but this is 2015 and the one-armed bandit has gone the way of the horse and buggy). The logos on the reels all line up. And then the moment you’ve been waiting for finally arrives…you realize you’re a millionaire.
Correction: A multimillionaire.
IGT’s Megabucks has been paying out ginormous life-changing jackpots for almost 20 years. Its slogan is “Dream big. Win big.”
A network of slot machines linked throughout Nevada, Megabucks boasts a top prize that builds from a base amount of $10 million. To play it costs $1 a spin, but to quality for that top amount you’ll have to shell out $3. That sounds pretty steep, we know. But trust us, if you hit Megabucks with only a buck or two invested, you’ll leave with a jackpot in the thousands instead of millions. And just imagine trying to live with that.
As you’d expect, Megabucks lays claim to having paid the largest slot jackpots in Vegas history. It last hit here in mid March at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The lucky winner was Trinadad Torres, a 78-year-old woman from Magna, Utah. She played $100 before netting the $10,744,292.71 jackpot. Her plans include traveling to the Philippines and buying a yellow Mustang.
While nothing to sneeze at, Torres’ windfall just misses placing her on our list below of the 10 biggest slot jackpots ever won in Sin City.
Photo of Excalibur courtesy of MGM Resorts International.
Jackpot amount: $39,710,826.36
When: March 21, 2003
Where:Excalibur
More than 12 years ago, a 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles, who wanted to remain anonymous (and who can blame him?), hit the city’s largest slot jackpot after playing $100 on a Megabucks machine. A C-note in return for nearly $40 million…now that’s what we’d call a damn good investment.
Photo of Cynthia Jay-Brennan at the Desert Inn courtesy of Ethan Miller / Las Vegas Sun.
Jackpot amount: $34,959,458.56
When: Jan. 26, 2000
Where: Desert Inn (imploded in phases in 2001 and 2004 to make room for Wynn Las Vegas)
Gobs bigger than any tip she’d received, cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay-Brennan, then 37 years old, hit the second largest Megabucks slot jackpot in Vegas (at that time it was the city’s highest Megabucks payout). But her story took a tragic turn when her car was rear-ended about six weeks later by a drunk driver. Her older sister Lela died in the accident, and Jay-Brennan was left paralyzed.
Photo of Palace Station courtesy of Station Casinos.
Jackpot amount: $27,580,879.60
When: Nov. 15, 1998
Where:Palace Station
Ignoring your budget isn’t always a bad thing. Just ask the then 67-year-old retired flight attendant from Vegas who racked up the city’s third largest Megabucks slot payout. She’d only intended to play $100 at Palace Station that day, but wound up putting $300 in…and we’re pretty she doesn’t regret overspending one bit.
Jackpot amount: $22,621,229.74
When: May 27, 2002
Where:Bally’s
How does that old expression go? The early bird catches…the $22.6 million slot jackpot. Well, that’s how Johanna Heundl (then 74 years old) of Covina, California, might remember it. She was on her way to breakfast when she decided to stop and play a Megabucks machine. Having looked away for a moment, she couldn’t believe her eyes when she turned back and saw all the logos aligned in the payline.
Photo of Caesars Palace courtesy of Caesars Entertainment.
Jackpot amount: $21,346,952.22
When: June 1, 1999
Where:Caesars Palace
An Illinois man, then 49 years old and described as a “self-employed business consultant,” put a $10 bill into a Megabucks machine at the Roman-themed property and hit this whopping multimillion-dollar slot jackpot on his first spin. Here’s what we want to know: Is he still consulting? Can we hire him to help us get into the business of being millionaires?
Jackpot amount: $21,147,947
When: Sept. 15, 2005
Where:Cannery Casino Hotel
One man, two times a Megabucks winner. What are the odds? They’ve got to be astronomical. Certainly, anyone would be happy to score a single multimillion-dollar slot jackpot. But not everyone is Elmer Sherwin. A frequent Vegas visitor, Sherwin hit his first Megabucks jackpot of $4.6 million at The Mirage back in 1989. It was a sign of even better things to come. Sixteen years later, at the age of 92, that lucky son of a gun (kidding, we’re not jealous…really) did it again, adding another $21.1 million to his bank account.
Photo courtesy of the M Resort.
Jackpot amount: $17,329,817.80
When: Dec. 14, 2012
Where:M Resort
Oh, the best things in life are free…especially when they lead to a $17.3 million jackpot. A Las Vegas woman stopped by the M Resort in Henderson to gamble with her “free play” credits and enjoy a meal with some dining vouchers. Before she knew it, she’d become a multimillionaire.
Photo of “Rampart Lucky Local” courtesy of the Rampart Casino.
Jackpot amount: $14,282,544.21
When: Nov. 30, 2014
Where: Rampart Casino
Late last year a Las Vegas man put $20 in a Megabucks slot machine at the Summerlin-area Rampart Casino. Within five minutes he’d hit a jackpot worth $14.2 million. His plans were altruistic (unlike ours). The man, dubbed the “Rampart Lucky Local,” said he would make a donation to his church. The church, which had been holding services in a high school gym, can now have its own location built.
Photo of Aria courtesy of MGM Resorts International.
Best New Slot Machine Winners
Jackpot amount: $12,769,933
When: Jan. 21, 2011
Where:Aria
A woman visiting her niece in Vegas decided to drop $6 in a Megabucks slot machine before heading back to her room. Her reaction when the winning symbols lined up: “The machine broke.” Luckily, her niece was there to clarify things. We think we should book a room at Aria because about four months after that jackpot occurred, another Megabucks jackpot hit at the resort for $10,636,897. Talk about lightning striking twice!
Photo of New York-New York courtesy of MGM Resorts International.
Jackpot amount: $12,510,549.90
When: April 14, 1997
Where:New York-New York
New York-New York opened its doors on Jan. 3, 1997. Perhaps due to a little of the “city that never sleeps” magic, Vegas resident Suzanne Henley made her fortune at the Big Apple-themed megaresort just a few months later. On her way home from work, she stopped in to play a Megabucks machine – one that she’d had an inkling might hit. Henley waited in line an hour before she could play. And at 1:44 a.m., after putting $100 in, her diligence paid off…to the tune of more than $12.5 million.