For many people, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about casinos is the slot machines. They have long been some of the most popular games on the casino floor, being easy and fun to play, and not requiring any particular skills. You don’t need to be a seasoned card shark to enjoy the slots!
But with so many different games, both online and in brick-and-mortar casinos, it might be difficult to distinguish one slot machine game from another. There are so many different games out there, but over the years, some have managed to stand out from the rest. We wanted to have a look at seven of the most famous slot machine games of all time.
No slot machine title can even come close to Megabucks, first developed by IGT in 1986. Megabucks was the world’s first wide-area progressive jackpot, meaning that Megabucks games all around the world contribute to the jackpot, which is seeded at $1 million.
The game has been responsible for many of the largest recorded jackpot wins in history, including an anonymous software engineer who landed a record $39.7 million at the Excalibur in Las Vegas in 2003.
While there is a long list of big winners, such as cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay Brennan who won $34.9 million at Desert Inn, and a retired flight attendant who landed $27.5 million at Palace Station, both in Las Vegas, one of the standout winners of Megabucks has to be Elmer Sherwin, who won a $4.6 million jackpot in 1989 and again in 2005 with a $21.1 million Megabucks jackpot.
However, there are tales of a Megabucks curse, after one winner, six weeks after winning the jackpot, was left paralysed after being hit by a drunk driver, which tragically also killed his sister. There are many other tales, but none of which have any factual basis, and the Megabucks curse is considered an urban legend.
But cursed or not, Megabucks continues to be a very popular game, still awarding multi-million-dollar prizes.
Wheel of Fortune is arguably the world’s second most famous slot machine game, based on the famous US TV game show, developed by IGT in 1996, and found in casinos all around the world, and has made many multi-millionaires in its time thanks to its jackpot.
There are likely more versions of this game than any other slot machine title, but the most popular is the 3-reel version, featuring a colourful wheel at the top. It’s worth noting that if you’re playing the 3-reel version, place a max 3 coin bet to qualify for the progressive jackpot.
There is also a multiplayer version, which features a bank of machines giving each player their own screen, and the fun aspect of this is that players can play the bonus round together, amplifying the game show aspect.
However, none of the newer versions quite measure up to the original due to the huge progressive jackpots involved.
Lion’s Share became a viral sensation back in 2014, following news reports that the game’s progressive jackpot had gone unclaimed for 20 years. Despite the game being a basic 3-reel slot machine, it quickly became the hottest game in Las Vegas, with people queuing up at the MGM Grand to play the city’s only Lion’s Share machine.
A spokesperson for MGM Grand said at the time: “This game probably gets played about five times more than our average game on the casino floor. Our staff gets asked every single day, multiple times, where this game is, from people who haven't played it before.”
The $2.4 million progressive jackpot was finally won by a couple from New Hampshire, and following the win, MGM Grand retired the title, due to the excessive maintenance the old machine required. However, not before the game made a name for itself in the slot machine history books!
Mega Fortune is a slot machine for those who face the finer things in life, such as luxury cars, champagne and yachts, which is what the game is based around, and offers some of the largest ever online jackpots.
Mega Fortune’s progressive jackpot is seeded with €250,000, quickly growing to multi-million Euros before it is won. In 2013, a Finnish man won a record-breaking jackpot on the game worth €17.8 million, which was then surpassed by another game Mega Moolah (see below), but it demonstrated how rich players could make it by playing the Mega Fortune.
To play for the jackpot, the goal begins by getting 3 or more bonus symbols anywhere in the reels, then spinning a 3-layered concentric wheel to land the jackpot symbol on the innermost wheel. Then get arrows on the outermost and middle wheels so that the innermost wheel can be spun too.
It doesn’t sound too easy, but given that the average jackpot on Mega Fortune is €4 million, it might be worth the trouble!
Liberty Bell was the world’s first mechanical slot machine, invented by car mechanic Charles Fey in 1895.
Liberty Bell featured a coin slot at the top of the machine, small reels in the middle, and a pay table at the bottom. Players inserted nickels (a nickel being 5¢, which was worth nearly $2 in 2023 money!), then pulled a lever on the right-hand side of the machine to spin the reels.
Symbols on Liberty Bell included horseshoes, stars, diamonds, spades, hearts, and Liberty Bells. If you managed to land 3 Liberty Bells in a pay line, you won the jackpot of 50¢ - or almost $20 in today’s money.
The original Liberty Bell was altered in 1910 when Fey developed the Operator Bell, and the machine added some changes, such as gooseneck coin slots and fruit symbols. While you won’t find Liberty Bell or Operator Bell in any modern casinos, you can still find the original machine in the Liberty Belle Saloon in Reno, Nevada.
Mega Moolah was developed by Microgaming as a response to Mega Fortune’s huge jackpots, and in 2015, the game found international fame when British soldier Jon Heywood won a massive €17.9 million jackpot, which is still one of the largest online jackpots in slot machine history.
The game has a jungle theme and features a variety of wild animals, such as antelopes, elephants, giraffes, lions and monkeys, along with an African-themed safari soundtrack. Mega Moolah has a few features including free spins, a wild card symbol, and a bonus wheel. The lion serves as the wild card, while landing the monkey 3 or more times will grant you 15 free spins
There’s no shortage of Egyptian-themed slots, but one of them, Cleopatra, has stood out from the crowd, quickly becoming a classic.
IGT’s Cleopatra features Egyptian-style music and symbols, such as Cleopatra, pyramids, scarabs, the Eye of Horus, and a variety of Egyptian artefacts. The game spawned a sequel, Cleopatra II, but you can still find the original in many casinos today, including Coral Island Casino!
Conclusion
The driving force behind how famous a slot machine can become is almost certainly its jackpot, especially in the case of games such as Megabucks, which has delivered most of the largest jackpots in history, with Mega Fortune and Mega Moolah paying the most in online slots.
Wheel of Fortune might have paid out multi-million jackpots, but it found more fame by being based on a famous game show, and Liberty Bell might not have gained the popularity of the games on this list, but will always be noted in history for being the first mechanical slot machine.
Cleopatra might not have the same huge jackpots as some games, and it might not have a special place in slot machine history but has become immensely popular with slot machine players all around the world in both its online and offline casino versions.
Why not make plans to visit Coral Island Casino and play Cleopatra for yourself and see if you can find a favourite title?
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