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As though it weren’t enough for one lucky Ladbrokes Casino player to take £75,000 on a single spin, as though it weren’t enough that he did it on a free spin earned through a promotion, the big winner also pulled off the feat on a Friday the 13th.

Ladbrokes Online Casino just released a few details – though not the identity – about their £75,000 winner, and it’s a story about beating the odds all the way. The London resident first won in the casino’s “Single Day Prize Draw Promotion,” which offered randomly-awarded £10, £25 and £50 prizes for play on the Mega Moolah Isis progressive slot.

Even stranger about this story is that just last month a Ladbrokes customer hit Mega Moolah Isis for over £88,000 – and that player was also from London! With such a stacking up of coincidences, it’s no wonder magical Friday the 13th paid off in strange ways, one supposes.

A representative for Ladbrokes marketing said that “A £75,000 win on Friday the 13th is amazing. It just goes to show that this day can be lucky for some! We have had so many big winners in the last few months that 2010 is starting to look very good for our customers.”

With a bit more than a trace of worry, Ladbrokes also reminds that the progressive jackpot on the record-breaking Mega Moolah progressive slot has just passed £4 million.

As though it weren’t enough for one lucky Ladbrokes Casino player to take £75,000 on a single spin, as though it weren’t enough that he did it on a free spin earned through a promotion, the big winner also pulled off the feat on a Friday the 13th.

Ladbrokes Online Casino just released a few details – though not the identity – about their £75,000 winner, and it’s a story about beating the odds all the way. The London resident first won in the casino’s “Single Day Prize Draw Promotion,” which offered randomly-awarded £10, £25 and £50 prizes for play on the Mega Moolah Isis progressive slot.

Even stranger about this story is that just last month a Ladbrokes customer hit Mega Moolah Isis for over £88,000 – and that player was also from London! With such a stacking up of coincidences, it’s no wonder magical Friday the 13th paid off in strange ways, one supposes.

A representative for Ladbrokes marketing said that “A £75,000 win on Friday the 13th is amazing. It just goes to show that this day can be lucky for some! We have had so many big winners in the last few months that 2010 is starting to look very good for our customers.”

With a bit more than a trace of worry, Ladbrokes also reminds that the progressive jackpot on the record-breaking Mega Moolah progressive slot has just passed £4 million.

Bet365 Games member “Vassilis T” hit the jackpot last week on a fantastically unique video slot called Alice in Wonderland. The lucky winner hit the game’s progressive jackpot, pulling in a prize of £107,808.

Alice in Wonderland slot is obviously based on the classic tale by Lewis Carroll. It is a 20 line, five reel video slot packed with special features. The most lucrative feature, as Vassilis can attest to, is its progressive jackpot. This big prize is paid out during the Tea Party Bonus Round, in which Alice, the March Hare, the Dormouse and the Mad Hatter sit around drinking tea while players win big prizes.

The game’s graphics are cartoonish, and they are much brighter and more playful than the visuals that came out in Tim Burton’s visit to Wonderland in his recent film starring Johnny Depp. This slot is light-hearted and fun, but as this recent progressive win shows, it still packs a powerful punch.

Vassilis T won this jackpot at Bet365 Games, a Playtech powered site offering more than 150 top casino games, including several other popular progressive jackpot slots like Stravaganza and Gold Rally. Beach Life is currently offering the biggest prize, with nearly $1.5 million just waiting to be won.

Bet365 Games member “Vassilis T” hit the jackpot last week on a fantastically unique video slot called Alice in Wonderland. The lucky winner hit the game’s progressive jackpot, pulling in a prize of £107,808.

Alice in Wonderland slot is obviously based on the classic tale by Lewis Carroll. It is a 20 line, five reel video slot packed with special features. The most lucrative feature, as Vassilis can attest to, is its progressive jackpot. This big prize is paid out during the Tea Party Bonus Round, in which Alice, the March Hare, the Dormouse and the Mad Hatter sit around drinking tea while players win big prizes.

The game’s graphics are cartoonish, and they are much brighter and more playful than the visuals that came out in Tim Burton’s visit to Wonderland in his recent film starring Johnny Depp. This slot is light-hearted and fun, but as this recent progressive win shows, it still packs a powerful punch.

Vassilis T won this jackpot at Bet365 Games, a Playtech powered site offering more than 150 top casino games, including several other popular progressive jackpot slots like Stravaganza and Gold Rally. Beach Life is currently offering the biggest prize, with nearly $1.5 million just waiting to be won.

Director Erik White’s new film Lottery Ticket is, unsurprisingly, a movie about a young man who wins the lottery. It is a comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and judging by the reviews that are popping up from film critics, nobody else is taking it very seriously either.

Lottery Ticket stars rapper Bow Wow as Kevin Carson, a young man living in the projects with his grandmother, whose life takes a turn when he wins a $370 million lottery prize. When he tries to cash in his winning ticket, he finds the lottery office closed for a long 4th of July holiday weekend. The movie follows his misadventures as he struggles to survive three days of begging and bantering from his friends and family, who are all eager to grab a slice of his new jackpot prize.

It’s an easy movie, slightly charming, but overall it’s not a very satisfying ride. Its all-star cast (Mike Epps, T-Pain, Keith David, Charlie Murphy, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Terry Crews, Ice Cube and Loretta Devine) offers a lot of great cameos which spices things up, but these brighter moments don’t keep the story from being utterly predictable. Is this Lottery Ticket worth the $9 it costs to see it in the cinema? Probably not.

Director Erik White’s new film Lottery Ticket is, unsurprisingly, a movie about a young man who wins the lottery. It is a comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and judging by the reviews that are popping up from film critics, nobody else is taking it very seriously either.

Lottery Ticket stars rapper Bow Wow as Kevin Carson, a young man living in the projects with his grandmother, whose life takes a turn when he wins a $370 million lottery prize. When he tries to cash in his winning ticket, he finds the lottery office closed for a long 4th of July holiday weekend. The movie follows his misadventures as he struggles to survive three days of begging and bantering from his friends and family, who are all eager to grab a slice of his new jackpot prize.

It’s an easy movie, slightly charming, but overall it’s not a very satisfying ride. Its all-star cast (Mike Epps, T-Pain, Keith David, Charlie Murphy, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Terry Crews, Ice Cube and Loretta Devine) offers a lot of great cameos which spices things up, but these brighter moments don’t keep the story from being utterly predictable. Is this Lottery Ticket worth the $9 it costs to see it in the cinema? Probably not.

A study undertaken by Gaming Club internet casino’s parent company Carmen Media Group suggests that, based on current trends, the average online progressive slot jackpot will be over $1,000,000 by 2018. Today, Gaming Club reports that its average jackpot payout is $50,000, but that includes both progressive jackpots and other in-game big payout jackpot wins – in 1995, the average “major jackpot” win was just over $5,000.

Can this exponential growth actually be sustained? A Gaming Club spokesmen certainly thinks so, saying in a publicly-released statement that “within a few years, we’re confident that jackpots will regularly make our winning players overnight millionaires.”

The reason for this rapid increase in single-hit payouts is quite simple: The birth and growth in popularity of the networked progressive jackpot; indeed, in seven years of the Microgaming progressive network, the big company has awarded over $260 million in jackpots alone. Since such progressive jackpots are generated by taking percentage of every wager worldwide, a massive jackpot pool is much more quickly generated than in a single-casino, single-machine situation.

Big winners are of course becoming more common than ever, with record-breaking wins basically happening once a year. The largest-ever online slot jackpot was hit last summer by player Georgios M., who hit Mega Moolah for a huge €6.3 million. The biggest recent winner was a Catherine M. of California, who won just a smidge under $1 million on Red, White & Blue at Go Casino.

A study undertaken by Gaming Club internet casino’s parent company Carmen Media Group suggests that, based on current trends, the average online progressive slot jackpot will be over $1,000,000 by 2018. Today, Gaming Club reports that its average jackpot payout is $50,000, but that includes both progressive jackpots and other in-game big payout jackpot wins – in 1995, the average “major jackpot” win was just over $5,000.

Can this exponential growth actually be sustained? A Gaming Club spokesmen certainly thinks so, saying in a publicly-released statement that “within a few years, we’re confident that jackpots will regularly make our winning players overnight millionaires.”

The reason for this rapid increase in single-hit payouts is quite simple: The birth and growth in popularity of the networked progressive jackpot; indeed, in seven years of the Microgaming progressive network, the big company has awarded over $260 million in jackpots alone. Since such progressive jackpots are generated by taking percentage of every wager worldwide, a massive jackpot pool is much more quickly generated than in a single-casino, single-machine situation.

Big winners are of course becoming more common than ever, with record-breaking wins basically happening once a year. The largest-ever online slot jackpot was hit last summer by player Georgios M., who hit Mega Moolah for a huge €6.3 million. The biggest recent winner was a Catherine M. of California, who won just a smidge under $1 million on Red, White & Blue at Go Casino.

Slotland is an online casino dedicated to slot games. The site runs on proprietary software, which means every game they offer is exclusive, and can’t be found anyplace else. Slotland is especially well known for its progressive jackpot games. The jackpots don’t get as high as they do on some of the larger software networks like Microgaming or Playtech, but players can still win considerable amounts of money.

The latest jackpot winner at Slotland is player SOUTHBELLE, who just the other day won $148,711 while playing the Lucky Stars progressive slot.

“I’m so excited I can’t think straight,” said the lucky player shortly after she won. “I’m sure not used to having that kind of spending money so I really don’t know what I’ll do with it! I’m terrible for spoiling my family. Can’t help it! So I’ll have some fun with this that’s for sure. First though, my brother has been going through some tough times lately so I’m going to help him with some of the bills that have piled up.”

All the slots at Slotland are connected to the same progressive jackpot. The last time this jackpot was won on Lucky Stars was way back in December 2007, but since then, players have won the jackpot on other Slotland games.

“We had a $168,476 winner in May but other than that this is our biggest win since last October,” said Slotland manager Michael Hilary.

The Slotland Casino progressive jackpot has been reset to the base amount of $50,000 and will start growing with every wager placed at the casino until another lucky player wins it all.

Slotland is an online casino dedicated to slot games. The site runs on proprietary software, which means every game they offer is exclusive, and can’t be found anyplace else. Slotland is especially well known for its progressive jackpot games. The jackpots don’t get as high as they do on some of the larger software networks like Microgaming or Playtech, but players can still win considerable amounts of money.

The latest jackpot winner at Slotland is player SOUTHBELLE, who just the other day won $148,711 while playing the Lucky Stars progressive slot.

“I’m so excited I can’t think straight,” said the lucky player shortly after she won. “I’m sure not used to having that kind of spending money so I really don’t know what I’ll do with it! I’m terrible for spoiling my family. Can’t help it! So I’ll have some fun with this that’s for sure. First though, my brother has been going through some tough times lately so I’m going to help him with some of the bills that have piled up.”

All the slots at Slotland are connected to the same progressive jackpot. The last time this jackpot was won on Lucky Stars was way back in December 2007, but since then, players have won the jackpot on other Slotland games.

“We had a $168,476 winner in May but other than that this is our biggest win since last October,” said Slotland manager Michael Hilary.

The Slotland Casino progressive jackpot has been reset to the base amount of $50,000 and will start growing with every wager placed at the casino until another lucky player wins it all.

Typically on the pages of Gambling Results, you’ll see six-figure winners in slots and state lotteries all the time – but winning $775,338 in a *raffle*? That’s newsworthy!

The lucky winner of this surely record-breaking raffle in Michigan, so far identified publicly only as “Santo,” was the beneficiary of a simple local promotion that essentially “went viral” to run through 49 weeks and sell a crazy 238,000 tickets in seven days alone.

The holder of quite possibly the world’s biggest raffle pool ever was the Carleton Rotary Club of Carleton, Michigan. Beginning nearly one year ago, all the club sought to do was raise a little money by holding a “Jack of Spades raffle.” The idea was that one winning ticket was drawn each week and the ticket-holder rewarded with a prize; the winner could then draw from a deck of 52 cards plus jokers to increase the prize. The jack of spades was designated as the jackpot card – a card it took 49 weeks to draw. (Talk about your progressive jackpots…

By the time the 49th and final draw was made on Friday night, lines formed at the Grafton Inn Sports Bar & Grill – where the raffle had been held weekly – to buy tickets hours before the establishment opened.

Typically on the pages of Gambling Results, you’ll see six-figure winners in slots and state lotteries all the time – but winning $775,338 in a *raffle*? That’s newsworthy!

The lucky winner of this surely record-breaking raffle in Michigan, so far identified publicly only as “Santo,” was the beneficiary of a simple local promotion that essentially “went viral” to run through 49 weeks and sell a crazy 238,000 tickets in seven days alone.

The holder of quite possibly the world’s biggest raffle pool ever was the Carleton Rotary Club of Carleton, Michigan. Beginning nearly one year ago, all the club sought to do was raise a little money by holding a “Jack of Spades raffle.” The idea was that one winning ticket was drawn each week and the ticket-holder rewarded with a prize; the winner could then draw from a deck of 52 cards plus jokers to increase the prize. The jack of spades was designated as the jackpot card – a card it took 49 weeks to draw. (Talk about your progressive jackpots…

By the time the 49th and final draw was made on Friday night, lines formed at the Grafton Inn Sports Bar & Grill – where the raffle had been held weekly – to buy tickets hours before the establishment opened.

A couple of twenty-something Canadians hit a massive progressive slot jackpot while playing at Casino Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada over the weekend. The pair started the evening at the roulette tables, and they were having a rough time. After losing more money than they would have liked, the young men returned later in the evening, resolute to do better.

A slot machine caught their eye – it was called Monte Carlo, and it had been occupied most of the night. They saw their chance and dropped some coins on the game. Their luck changed. A $40 gamble helped them hit the $913,940 jackpot, changing their lives forever.

“I was extremely shocked,” said one of the lucky winners. “I didn’t say too much for the entire night. I was up until about 5 a.m. just sitting there.”

The last time Monte Carlo hit was back in 2008, but this weekend’s win set a record for the biggest amount won in the 14 years the casino has been open. It is also the largest slot payout ever in Canada.

Slot fans hoping to net their own massive jackpot should try their hands on Mega Moolah, an online slot machine with a jackpot that is sitting at almost $4 million, growing bigger by the minute.

A couple of twenty-something Canadians hit a massive progressive slot jackpot while playing at Casino Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada over the weekend. The pair started the evening at the roulette tables, and they were having a rough time. After losing more money than they would have liked, the young men returned later in the evening, resolute to do better.

A slot machine caught their eye – it was called Monte Carlo, and it had been occupied most of the night. They saw their chance and dropped some coins on the game. Their luck changed. A $40 gamble helped them hit the $913,940 jackpot, changing their lives forever.

“I was extremely shocked,” said one of the lucky winners. “I didn’t say too much for the entire night. I was up until about 5 a.m. just sitting there.”

The last time Monte Carlo hit was back in 2008, but this weekend’s win set a record for the biggest amount won in the 14 years the casino has been open. It is also the largest slot payout ever in Canada.

Slot fans hoping to net their own massive jackpot should try their hands on Mega Moolah, an online slot machine with a jackpot that is sitting at almost $4 million, growing bigger by the minute.

Four winners shared in this weekend’s UK national lottery jackpot grand prize of £4.47 million, but none were as openly generous – or as young – as Stacey Bywater of Holmfirth, England. Stacey, who is 18 years old, was allowed by her parents to play the lottery after her last birthday, even though U.K. law says that anyone over 16 may win.

Bywater’s share ended up being exactly £1,117,779 (about $1.75 million), but British media is happily reporting that Stacey has level-headed plans for the money. First she says she’d like to help her mother and father get a bigger home, moving out of the council house they’re residing in now. She’ll at least be putting down the deposit on a mortgage for a new house.

Afterward, Stacey said she’d be buying herself a Mini Cooper convertible and perhaps a living space – but only for rent. “I’m only 18 and I don’t want to leave them yet,” she told local media outlets. “I don’t think it has sunk in that I’m a millionaire.”

The winning numbers chosen by Stacey and three others were 13, 16, 22, 25, 31 and 39. The total prize pool for last Saturday’s draw was over £14 million ($22 million).

Four winners shared in this weekend’s UK national lottery jackpot grand prize of £4.47 million, but none were as openly generous – or as young – as Stacey Bywater of Holmfirth, England. Stacey, who is 18 years old, was allowed by her parents to play the lottery after her last birthday, even though U.K. law says that anyone over 16 may win.

Bywater’s share ended up being exactly £1,117,779 (about $1.75 million), but British media is happily reporting that Stacey has level-headed plans for the money. First she says she’d like to help her mother and father get a bigger home, moving out of the council house they’re residing in now. She’ll at least be putting down the deposit on a mortgage for a new house.

Afterward, Stacey said she’d be buying herself a Mini Cooper convertible and perhaps a living space – but only for rent. “I’m only 18 and I don’t want to leave them yet,” she told local media outlets. “I don’t think it has sunk in that I’m a millionaire.”

The winning numbers chosen by Stacey and three others were 13, 16, 22, 25, 31 and 39. The total prize pool for last Saturday’s draw was over £14 million ($22 million).

A Shanghai resident won the lottery just days ago, claiming a 259 million yuan jackpot ($38 million USD). This is the second largest lottery win ever recorded in China.

The ticket, purchased at a lottery booth in Dalian Road, Yangpu District, was for a game from the China Welfare Lottery called Union Lotto, sometimes known as the two-colored ball game. Each ticket offers up to 55 top prizes and many more secondary prizes. The winner grabbed 50 out of the 55 top prizes, each one worth five million yuan (about $740,000 USD). An additional six million yuan ($885,600 USD) was won through secondary prizes.

The winner, whose identity has yet to be released, will have to pay approximately 20 percent of the winnings as tax.

The Union Lotto is a progressive jackpot, so it keeps growing week after week if there is no winner. Last year, a player from China’s Henan Province won 359.9 million yuan, the largest lottery jackpot the country has ever seen.

A Shanghai resident won the lottery just days ago, claiming a 259 million yuan jackpot ($38 million USD). This is the second largest lottery win ever recorded in China.

The ticket, purchased at a lottery booth in Dalian Road, Yangpu District, was for a game from the China Welfare Lottery called Union Lotto, sometimes known as the two-colored ball game. Each ticket offers up to 55 top prizes and many more secondary prizes. The winner grabbed 50 out of the 55 top prizes, each one worth five million yuan (about $740,000 USD). An additional six million yuan ($885,600 USD) was won through secondary prizes.

The winner, whose identity has yet to be released, will have to pay approximately 20 percent of the winnings as tax.

The Union Lotto is a progressive jackpot, so it keeps growing week after week if there is no winner. Last year, a player from China’s Henan Province won 359.9 million yuan, the largest lottery jackpot the country has ever seen.

Sometimes it seems even quitting gambling can be a gamble – especially if you win a jackpot.

Apparently finding himself becoming a problem gambler back in 2004, New Zealander Sothea Sinn and his then-girlfriend filled out the paperwork for a self-exclusion ban at Auckland’s Sky City Casino. But Sinn had either overcome his problem or lost control of it last month when he went to play at Sky City again.

Sinn’s trip to the casino ended up becoming a serious good news/bad news scenario: The now 28-year-old hit a $44,000 jackpot playing the pokies; unfortunately for him, Sinn was told that the ban was still in place and that they would not be granting his big prize after all.

“I was absolutely gutted,” said Sinn to Auckland’s Dominion-Post newspaper.

Stating that he believed the self-exclusion ban would have expired within six years’ time, the casino countered by claiming such a ban can only be removed once the banned player has attended a certain number of mandatory counseling sessions to treat addiction to gambling.

Sinn has told local media that he will hire an attorney and attempt to bring a formal complaint to the New Zealand gambling authorities in order to obtain his winnings.

Sometimes it seems even quitting gambling can be a gamble – especially if you win a jackpot.

Apparently finding himself becoming a problem gambler back in 2004, New Zealander Sothea Sinn and his then-girlfriend filled out the paperwork for a self-exclusion ban at Auckland’s Sky City Casino. But Sinn had either overcome his problem or lost control of it last month when he went to play at Sky City again.

Sinn’s trip to the casino ended up becoming a serious good news/bad news scenario: The now 28-year-old hit a $44,000 jackpot playing the pokies; unfortunately for him, Sinn was told that the ban was still in place and that they would not be granting his big prize after all.

“I was absolutely gutted,” said Sinn to Auckland’s Dominion-Post newspaper.

Stating that he believed the self-exclusion ban would have expired within six years’ time, the casino countered by claiming such a ban can only be removed once the banned player has attended a certain number of mandatory counseling sessions to treat addiction to gambling.

Sinn has told local media that he will hire an attorney and attempt to bring a formal complaint to the New Zealand gambling authorities in order to obtain his winnings.