Five dollars. That's all it took.

A guest at Resorts World Las Vegas turned a single $5 spin on an IGT Megabucks Mega Vault machine into $11.1 million early this week. It's the first Megabucks jackpot ever to hit at Resorts World since the property opened in 2021.

The Quick Hit

• What happened: $5 bet wins $11.1 million Megabucks progressive
• The damage: First-ever Megabucks jackpot at Resorts World
• Why you should care: This is the kind of life-changing hit we all dream about
• The move: Play Megabucks when the progressive is high (it resets after a hit)

The Details

The winner was reportedly in town visiting family when they sat down at the Megabucks Mega Vault machine early Wednesday morning. A few spins later, the progressive hit.

At $11.1 million, this is a massive score. Megabucks is the granddaddy of progressive slot jackpots in Nevada—it's been around since 1986 and has created more instant millionaires than any other slot game in the state.

The winner chose to remain anonymous, which is the smart play. Nothing good comes from being the publicly known "guy who just won $11 million at slots." Your long-lost cousins suddenly remember they exist. Every charity in the country finds your phone number. Just take the money and disappear.

How Megabucks Works

For the uninitiated, Megabucks is a wide-area progressive jackpot that links machines across Nevada. Every time someone makes a bet on a Megabucks machine anywhere in the state, a portion goes into the progressive pool.

The minimum bet to qualify for the jackpot is $3. Our winner was playing $5 per spin—max bet mentality. The jackpot had been building since the last big hit, and someone was going to collect eventually.

After a jackpot hits, the progressive resets to $10 million and starts climbing again. So if you're the type who likes to chase Megabucks, wait a few weeks for the number to build back up.

The Resorts World Factor

Resorts World has been open since June 2021 and this was their first Megabucks jackpot. The Vegas Strip's struggles we mentioned don't seem to have affected slot luck—variance doesn't care about tourism numbers.

This follows other recent Vegas jackpot news, including the Dragon Link hit at the Venetian and the $537K win at Prairie Band Casino over the holidays.

The Bottom Line

$5 to $11.1 million. That's a 2.22 million percent return on investment. Your index fund isn't doing that.

This is why degenerates keep feeding the slots. The odds are astronomical, but someone has to win eventually. This week, it was some anonymous person visiting family in Vegas who's now set for life.

We're not jealous. Okay, we're a little jealous. Congrats to the winner.