French Gambler Turns Pocket Change into $3 Million On Slot Machine

Walk in with a €2 coin, walk out with €2.6 million. That is what a gambler was able to do this past Sunday, welcoming 2022 as a new millionaire.

Instant Fortune From a Minimal Bet

An unidentified Frenchman in his thirties took a trip to the Pasino Saint Amand Les Eaux casino in northern France this past Sunday. He was familiar with the property, described as an “occasional player” by the operator.

He slipped a €2 ($2.26) coin into a Megapot slot machine and, when the action came to a stop, he was staring down at a jackpot win of €2.6 million ($2.93 million).

The Megapot of Prize Money is available at 175 slots machines that are linked across 38 casinos owned by the Partouche Group in France. According to the operator, 31 winners have each won more than €1 million ($1.13 million) over the past decade. The last big win was in September of last year, when someone took home €2.08 million ($2.36 million). That was at the Casino Le Lyon Vert in Lyon.

The new 2022 payout was a record for the jackpot since it was first introduced in 1973.

Big Prizes Await Gamblers in 2022

The jackpot won at the Pasino Saint Amand Les Eaux is impressive but pales in comparison to what awaits those who play the Powerball lottery in the US. Powerball’s jackpot has risen to $610 million for Wednesday night’s draw, making it the seventh-largest in the game’s history.

The top prize was boosted from $575 million as a result of strong ticket sales.

Although no one picked all the winning numbers Monday night when a $561.3-million jackpot was up for grabs, there were still three millionaires. Officials from Lottery said that more than 1.8 million tickets won cash prizes in Monday’s drawing.

Increased ticket sales can cause jackpots to rise dramatically when prizes are this big. There’s always a chance that even more money will be available by Wednesday night’s drawing. The jackpot winner can receive a lump sum of $434.2 million.

To increase interest and quickly grow prizes, Powerball drawings have been held three days a week since August 23 of last year. There are three draws each week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, at 10:59 PM Eastern Time.

California’s October 4, 2021, draw saw the last jackpot winner, at $699.8 million. This jackpot was the fifth-largest in Powerball history, and seventh in US lottery history.