$1 million-plus jackpot at Beau Rivage is one of two big wins at Biloxi casinos
A player has hit a jackpot for more than $1 million, the first time in about four years at a South Mississippi casino.
This was the second jackpot at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi in less than two weeks.
The latest and largest win came Sunday evening, when a player hit for $1,179,313.22 on a wide area $1 denomination Wheel of Fortune slot machine, said Beau Rivage spokeswoman Mary Cracchiolo Spain.
The woman from Alabama, who did not want to be identified, put a $41.60 ticket in the game at 6:37 p.m. A minute later, she hit the million-dollar progressive, Spain said.
The previous big win at the Beau Rivage this month came Nov. 16 when a woman from New York won $207,875 on a blackjack progressive table game that allows players to make a side bet in addition to their normal bet during each hand.
Both wins came after Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale seemingly spread his luck around the casino. The Texas furniture tycoon arrived at the Beau Rivage Nov. 15, fresh off his record $75 million payout on the Houston Astros to win the World Series in the largest known win on a sports bet.
He wagered $500,000 at the Beau Rivage for Houston to win the NCAA tournament in the spring.
Second jackpot at Harrah’s Gulf Coast
Also announced Monday was a $100,000 jackpot win from about two weeks ago at Harrah’s Gulf Coast.
A woman from Florida was playing a traditional reel slot machine in the high limits slot area when she hit the jackpot, said Harrah’s Gulf Coast spokesman Nick Breaux-Fujita.
She was identified as Willah S., with no last name given.
When a jackpot hits at a Coast casino, other players gather around to congratulate the winner and see the total displayed on the screen.
“People do love seeing other people win as well,” Breaux-Fujita said.
Biggest win in years
South Mississippi casinos had a drought of million-dollar jackpots for several years until 2018, when a Florida man won nearly $1.3 million at Hard Rock Casino Biloxi.
This appears to be the first $1 million-plus jackpot reported since then.
Locals often complain that out-of-state residents win all the jackpots.
Yet the largest jackpot in the 30-year history of Coast casinos was won by Thomas McMillan, of Woolmarket in Biloxi, who in 2009 over $14 million on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine at Hard Rock Casino. It also was the largest jackpot in Mississippi.
