Since a one- or two-coin play doesn't produce a top jackpot, IGT's central system doesn't capture instances of Megabucks jackpots hitting with less than max play having been bet. We checked with IGT's Public Relations Manager, who confirmed that in his 19 years with the company, only one player has actually admitted to lining up the winning symbols for the top jackpot with only two coins played.
Here's the story: On March 14, 2001, Kirk Tolman, a 22-year-old steel worker from Utah, was playing Megabucks at the State Line casino in Wendover, Nevada, while chatting with a friend. Apparently, the conversation distracted him and he forgot to play the third coin, only to see the three reels line up. Instead of winning $7.96 million, he walked away with a mere $10,000. "I don't know what I would have done if I would have hit it (the big one)," he was quoted as saying at the time. "It's unbelievable. I would have moved to Hawaii and surfed. I just don't know."
Pictured below are some of the lucky players who did not make the same mistake, including the implausibly lucky Elmer Sherwin, who has hit the jackpot not once, but twice. From left to right they are:
Photographs appear courtesy of IGT.
