Random Anonymous Player Hits $1.26 Million Jackpot … Do We Care?

I’m not so sure about this kind of post. I mean we love to write about jackpot slots here at Casinos.com, especially 7-figure jackpots that come with a clear horizontal photo showing an exciting display of big casino chips and/or cash.

But I also can’t help but cringe a bit when this sorta press release runs across my transom. First thing I check, is there a name? Because if so, then we’ve got a real story – a real person who had a life-changing experience at the casino. More often than not, however, these players are anonymous … and we understand that, too, because whose business is it really (other than the IRS’s) when you have a big windfall?

Second thing I look for is any info about how much they were betting. What kind of table minimum is required to have a chance at this kinda payday? What’d they have to put down on the bonus to qualify for the progressive?

With neither a name nor any details about the hand other than its suit, all we really have is a gee-whiz, the big prize hit – as expected, at a time that we couldn’t exactly predict, but hey, it just happened! Is it really newsworthy? The gaming media, casino “influencer” set, and especially the local TV news usually think it is, and dutifully line up and do their posts, because hey, it’s feelgood content, cheap and easy. 

But you don’t get what people really wanna know – which is, how much money (and time) was put into the game before it hit? Was the player alone or with a party, and were they drinking? What brought them to the casino in the first place, and how much did they tip?!

Here’s today’s press release about this weekend's big winner at MGM National Harbor (pictured above). It may or may not have been plugged into AI to be stripped of corporate puffery before being lightly rewritten by me:

$1.26 Million Jackpot Hits on Ultimate Texas Hold‘Em at MGM National Harbor

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (May 9, 2024) – A Virginia resident hit it big this weekend at MGM National Harbor, winning a $1.259 million progressive jackpot while playing Ultimate Texas Hold’em. The winning Royal Flush of diamonds occurred on Sunday, May 5, marking one of the largest Ultimate Texas Hold’em payouts in history.

MGM National Harbor is a 308-room, 24-story casino-resort in Maryland, on the shore of the Potomac River across from Washington DC. The $1.4 billion property features a 3,000-seat theater – ripe for acts like Judas Priest, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons and Air Supply – and all the restaurants, fancy shops and practical meeting space that people have come to expect from casinos that pay these kinds of jackpots. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what makes a jackpot report interesting to you, dear readers of Casinos.com. Send email to dan@casinos.com with your take, or tweet X at us @casinosc0m. Thanks!