The Mystic Gambler

Casino Gambling Tips and Information

Video Poker Remains The Best Game To Play In Most Casinos

By Leave a Comment

Video poker jackpotVideo poker stands out as one of the best games to play in a casino for several reasons, rooted in its blend of skill, strategy, and favorable odds compared to many other casino offerings.

First, it offers some of the highest return-to-player (RTP) percentages. With optimal strategy, certain video poker variants—like Jacks or Better—can have an RTP exceeding 99%, and in rare cases (like full-pay Deuces Wild), it can even creep above 100%. This means the house edge is razor-thin or, theoretically, nonexistent, unlike slots (where the RTP often hovers between 85-95%) or table games like roulette (with a house edge of 2.7% or higher). For example, a “9/6” Jacks or Better machine (paying 9 coins for a full house and 6 for a flush) can yield an RTP of 99.54% if you play perfectly, which is tough to beat. [Read more…] about Video Poker Remains The Best Game To Play In Most Casinos

Single Ticket Wins $1.269B Mega Millions Jackpot, Ninth-Richest in U.S. History

By Leave a Comment

A single ticket matched last night’s Mega Millions drawing to claim the ninth-richest jackpot in the history of the United States.

Mega Millions lottery jackpot California
The Circle K convenience store in California’s Cottonwood was where a Mega Millions ticket that won a $1.269 billion jackpot was sold. The winner has one year to come forward. California does not allow lottery winners to remain anonymous. (Image: Google Maps)

The $1.269 billion annuitized jackpot marks the fifth-richest Mega Millions prize ever won. The Mega Millions Consortium, which operates the interstate lottery game on behalf of its 45 member participating states, plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, reports that the lucky play was sold in California.

The ticket that matched the Friday night numbers 3, 7, 37, 49, and 55, plus the gold Mega Ball 6, was sold in Cottonwood at the Circle K Sunshine Food and Gas convenience store along Rhonda Rd. Cottonwood, a former stagecoach town roughly 125 air miles north of Sacramento, is located in Northern California’s Shasta County.

“Congratulations to our $1.269 billion jackpot winner from California. What an amazing present this holiday season,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium.

“At an incredibly special time of year, this is both an incredibly special moment for our winner and all the great organizations and causes that benefit from lottery ticket sales around the country,” Johnston continued. “Thank you to everyone who plays. Because of you, we have winners all around the country taking home cash prizes both big and small, and we have educational causes, parks, and many other great organizations benefiting as well.”

The winner has one year to come forward. California does not allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

Winning Breakdown

The lucky winner will have the option of choosing the full value of the $1.269 billion jackpot paid out over 30 years or the one-time cash option of $571.9 million. Both amounts were increased from the pre-draw estimate of $1.15 billion and $516.1 million on stronger-than-expected sales.

The $1.269 billion annuity and $571.9 million cash are before federal taxes. California does not consider lottery winnings as taxable income.

Since most Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners take the cash, let’s break it down assuming that trend continues. If the winner opts for the one-time payout, the $571.9 million will be reduced to approximately $360.3 million after an effective federal tax of 37%.

In June, Casino.org reported that lottery players in California, New York, and New Jersey are the luckiest players when it comes to Mega Millions and Powerball. Those three states lead in terms of the number of jackpots won since 2017.

That shouldn’t be much of a surprise, as California is the most populated state in the country and has one of the most robust lottery programs.

California, we’ve done it again! One lucky ticket sold at Circle K Stores on Rhonda Rd. in Cottonwood was the sole ticket across the nation to match all six numbers in tonight’s (Dec. 27) Mega Millions drawing!” the California Lottery posted on its social media channels.

411 on Cottonwood 

Shasta County’s Cottonwood is perhaps best known for being where actor-comedian Chris Farley filmed his final film.

The 1998 movie “Almost Heroes,” an adventure comedy western that was met with negative reviews, was primarily filmed in Cottonwood. Farley starred alongside Matthew Perry, who like the former SNL star died of a drug overdose. 

Shasta County is perhaps best known for being where the soft drink manufacturer originated. Shasta County is named after nearby Mount Shasta.

The post Single Ticket Wins $1.269B Mega Millions Jackpot, Ninth-Richest in U.S. History appeared first on Casino.org.

Rephrased by The Mystic Gambler

Jackpot News Roundup: Two Major Holiday Wins at California’s Sky River Casino

By Leave a Comment

Two lucky visitors each won hundreds of thousands of dollars at California’s Sky River Casino in the days leading up to Christmas.

Sky River Casino
Sky River Casino, pictured above. Two jackpots were paid out this month. (Image: Sacramento Bee)

While at the Elk Grove tribal gaming property, an unnamed Stockton, Calif. resident hit about $748K on a slot machine. That guest was playing the Monopoly Cash Wheel slot on Monday.

In addition, last Thursday, at the same casino, an unspecified Sacramento resident won $239,818. That visitor was playing Texas Hold’em, and hit with a royal flush.

No word on how either lucky winner will spend their newly-found fortune.

The casino, operated by the Wilton Rancheria tribe, features more than 2K slot machines, 80 table games, as well as 18 restaurants and bars.

Tachi Palace Casino Guests Both Hit Jackpots

Another two jackpots were won recently at Tachi Palace Casino Resort, also in California, the property announced on December 18.

One mystery winner hit $498,662. That guest won with a Blackjack Match STAX progressive jackpot. The second unidentified guest won $80,038 on a Bonus Spin Extreme Double Diamond jackpot while playing Spanish 21. The wager was for $5.

One of the winners said they will use the jackpot to “improve my life for the better.”

Visitor Wins at Rio in Vegas

At Las Vegas’ Rio Hotel & Casino, an unnamed player won $411,589 on December 16.

The guest was playing Kong: Skull Island, a slot machine that was recently acquired at the gaming property. The bet was for $18.75.

The payout was the largest jackpot at the casino since 2023, the Rio revealed.

$1M in Cash Awarded

California’s Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel gave out $1M to a lucky player on December 16.

The event was part of the property’s “Million Dollar Moment” yearly promotion.

Mario Lopez, the celebrity and actor, presented the payout to the unnamed Southern Californian resident.

The theme this year recognized the 85th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz movie.

Partnering with the Wizard of Oz to lead us down the yellow brick road to a million dollars has been electrifying at both Yaamava’ and the Palms [in Las Vegas],” Kenji Hall, general manager at the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel, said in a statement.

The winner is an Emerald-level Club Serrano member.

MGM Grand Detroit Jackpot for Brian Christopher

Last week, casino influencer Brian Christopher revealed he won his largest jackpot ever while at the MGM Grand Detroit.

He was at the Michigan gaming property as part of a promotion involving his Rudies fan club last Wednesday. He was filming while he was trying his luck at slot machines.

He sat down at a Crazy Chickens slot machine. He bet $37 and won $79,589. But his luck continued. He continued to win jackpots, and walked away with over $100K in total payouts.

“It was unbelievable, as I’m waiting to get paid out, I hit another five or six jackpots on the same game. It just kept going,” he was quoted by MLive, a regional news site.

Christopher has some 708,000 YouTube subscribers. He’s also a BetMGM ambassador.

The post Jackpot News Roundup: Two Major Holiday Wins at California’s Sky River Casino appeared first on Casino.org.

Rephrased by The Mystic Gambler