Megabucks Slot

Let's be honest: when you picture the Las Vegas slots dream, it's Megabucks you're seeing in your mind's eye. As great as modern video slots are with their enormous screens and fancy graphics, it's the ding ding ding and the clank clank clank of Megabucks that dreams are made of.

In many ways, the sound of the mechanical three-reel slot machine is the soundtrack to Las Vegas' popular culture. You watch Ocean's Eleven or Casino, and it's the three-reel slot machine you hear in the background. When Rusty wins cars in National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, he's playing mechanical three-reel slot machines.

And when it comes to the three-reel slot machine, one legend stands above all else. Sure, Wheel of Fortune might want to stake a claim, but only one slot changed the game. Before we go further, let's have a brief history lesson.

Megabucks is a wide-area progressive jackpot slot machine that hit casino floors in 1986. Since then, it has produced record payouts and unique casino folklore. At the time of writing, that record stands at $39.7 million, won by an anonymous 25-year-old software developer from Los Angeles in 2003 at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. That was the fifth $20 million-plus Megabucks jackpot to hit in Vegas in five years.

The absolute legend, though, is Elmer Sherwin. He walked into the Mirage in Las Vegas on the day it opened. After running through $80 of his own on Megabucks in 90 minutes, the 76-year-old former serviceman borrowed another $20 from his ex-wife to keep playing. He walked out with $4.7 million.

That's not even the amazing part of the story, though. 16 years later, he won another $21.1 million on Megabucks, this time at the Cannery Casino in Las Vegas.

So, when we say that Megabucks is a legend, we are not kidding.

The Megabucks slot machine is a big, bold, classic 3-reel slot usually displayed in a large cabinet towering over other slots. The progressive jackpot amount is prominently displayed above the machine, often with a flashing digital meter to catch players' attention.

Reel symbols are based on classic slot imagery, such as single/double/triple bars, red sevens, and the Megabucks logo symbol. The slot itself is usually gold, green, and black with a chrome trim to signify glamour.

Megabucks doesn't even try to compete with newer, flashier video slot machines. It doesn't have to; it knows what it is. There are no characters or fancy visuals; the theme effectively is just 'play me, and I can change your life'.

Casinos move fast. These days, through the magic of TITOs, players can shovel thousands of dollars into a slot machine in one go and bet hundreds each spin. Megabucks is a machine that is beautifully out of its own time. It's a throwback to when slots were a bit more, shall we say, equal opportunity.

Back in Elmer's day, Megabucks had a fixed $1 bet level. Nowadays it's $3. Suppose that's inflation for you, but the point is it's still fixed, so everyone has the same chance of winning whether you're a high roller or not.

Those chances are not good either. Let's be clear. In fact, some boffin once claimed he'd run the numbers as boffins do and came up with a 1 in 49,836,032 chance of hitting the Megabucks jackpot. What on earth was old Elmer cooking?!

All you need are three Megabucks symbols on the one payline. That's it. There is no bonus feature; there is just you, a button (or lever if you want to go really old school), hope, and potential heartbreak.

Here's the important stats:

• Grid: 3x1
• 1 Payline
• Bet Level: Fixed $3 per spin
• No Bonus Features 
• One Progressive Jackpot
• RTP: 88.6%
• Volatility: High

As I said, there is no bonus feature. There are payouts, though, should you land winning symbols on the one payline. Generally speaking, you are looking for diamonds here, as it pays out for just two of them. Otherwise, it's three of a kind.

Those payouts aren't especially impressive though. Megabucks tells you what it is in its name. It's all about winning the big one.

Nope. No free games. In fact, Megabucks laughs in the face of the mere concept of free games. Free games are for the unambitious; players who are happy with just messing around. Megabucks demands you think bigger or leave it to those who have the balls to dare to dream.

While Megabucks is magnificently old school, it is not entirely immune to modernity. It will still accept your rewards card. And you should still insert it when you play, even if I suspect Megabucks will secretly be judging you poorly for it when you do.

Megabucks is not just any slot machine. It's a unique institution all by itself. That's why it is still treated like Las Vegas casino royalty in the likes of Bellagio, Wynn, and Mandalay Bay even today.

If entertainment is what you're looking for, Megabucks won't provide it. Unlike modern video slots, Megabucks won't sing and dance for you. However, don't mistake that for a lack of character. Megabucks has loads of character.

Have you ever seen the pictures of freeways built around old houses because some grumpy old grandpa refused to sell up and move with the times? The house just sits there, looking all out of place yet profoundly and almost irritatingly proud of itself and its own stubbornness to accept changing times.

Well, Megabucks is that stubborn old grandpa. However, he's a very rich grandpa, so try charming him now and again to see if he likes you.