Texas man turns $5 into nearly $1.4 million in incredible Las Vegas wager
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Have you ever had the pleasant surprise of reaching into your wallet or pocket, expecting to find a few quarters but ending up discovering a $10 - or even $20 bill?
It feels like free money, turning you from someone counting the days until payday into someone who can get that iced coffee and a treat from Target, if you feel like spoiling yourself.
Now imagine if those quarters were actually a $5 bill, and that $20 was $1.4 million.
That's a lot of iced coffees.
This surprising turn of events is exactly what happened to a man named John from Texas, who played with only $5 when he went to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on Monday (27 November).
Just $5 on a Monday night - it's not exactly a setting that screams 'success', but John wasn't going to let that stop him.
This week, Caesars Entertainment, the gambling company which operates in Paris Las Vegas, shared a press release announcing that John had managed to win big at approximately 10pm.
Trying his luck on the Wheel of Fortune machine, which is credited with offering some of the largest progressive jackpot prizes anywhere, John managed to hit big with a jackpot of $1,390,820.
Paris Las Vegas took to X to share a post about John's win, showing the lucky gambler grinning in front of his winning machine.
"Ooh la la!," the post began. "Congratulations to John from Texas who hit a Jackpot for $1,390,820 playing Wheel of Fortune. #ForeverInParis."
According to Play USA, 25-cent Wheel of Fortune machines offer a jackpot that starts at $200,000, while the $1 and $5 machines offer a jackpot that starts at $1 million.
After the jackpot is hit, the amounts are reset on the machines to the starting amount.
John didn't reveal what he'll be doing with his winnings, but hopefully he'll find a good way to celebrate being a brand-new millionaire!
The gambler is far from the only person to win big on a small bet in Vegas, with another gambler from California managing to win big on a $5 bet of his own.
The tourist took it upon themselves to play the Megabucks slot machine at the Aria, and managed to walk away with a whopping $10.1 million jackpot.
Not bad for a day's work, is it? If only we could all be so lucky...
Please gamble responsibly. For help, support and advice about problem gambling, please contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline on 1-800-522-4700, which is available 24/7 and is 100% confidential.
