Adam Roarty is a journalist covering sports betting, regulation, and industry innovation for CasinoBeats. His coverage includes tax increases in the UK, covering breaking stories in the ever-evolving landscape of US betting such as the...
Read Full BioA player from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, won over $1 million playing penny slots. The lucky gambler struck the jackpot while playing a 1-cent Wheel of Fortune slot machine on Monday at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi.
The player placed a $3 bet at 9:42 p.m., and the machine returned $1,132,124.08. This is the first jackpot of $100,000 or more at Coast casinos in 2026, following 31 hits in 2025.
Steven Mink, Beau Rivage’s senior manager of slot operations, told local news, “We are super excited to have the first statewide area progressive of the new year hit at Beau Rivage.”
Mink said the casino has seen jackpots hit more frequently and expects there to be more big winners in 2026. He added, “Over the past six years, the number of winners has increased year-over-year. In 2025, we had 192,999 jackpots pay out $516,348,104, and we anticipate even more winners in 2026.”
There was only one jackpot that paid out a higher prize at the casino last year, with one gambler winning $1,280,000 back in August. The second-largest payout was for $300,000, so players will hope that big prizes remain on offer for the rest of this year.
Other Gamblers Hit Big Over Holidays
The win is significant given the low stakes the gambler was playing with, but there have been far bigger wins recently. Around Thanksgiving, a DraftKings Casino player in Michigan won $22.4 million with a $0.20 wager, the largest online casino jackpot in U.S. history.
The jackpot was over double the previous record of $9.8 million, also set in Michigan. The payouts are reportedly configured differently in each state, which can result in larger, but less frequent, payouts in Michigan compared to other states, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
That win, however, pales in comparison to the Powerball player who landed a jackpot of $1.8 billion on Christmas Eve. Powerball announced that a player in Arkansas purchased the winning ticket, which matched all six numbers.
The winner can choose a lump sum of approximately $834.9 million before taxes or an annuity over 30 years. It is the second‑largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. The largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion, won in California back in 2022.
Gambling Winners Face New Tax Rules This Year
While the winner will be celebrating, they will also be forced to report their windfall to the IRS. Due to the vast sum of money, they will be unaffected by some changes in reporting gambling winnings this year.
The IRS has, in fact, raised the threshold for reporting slot machine winnings, up from $1,200 to $2,000. Under the revised IRS guidance, the new $2,000 minimum will also be adjusted for inflation in future years.
Meanwhile, an amendment to President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill no longer allows gamblers to offset taxes paid on winnings from losses. Prior to the bill passing, gamblers could deduct 100% of their losses from their winnings before paying tax on the remaining profit. This year, however, they can only deduct 90% of losses.
The change has been met with strong opposition from professional gamblers, as well as many lawmakers. Attempts to repeal the amendment have made little progress, however, with Republicans blocking attempts to accelerate alternative bills.
That means even if the jackpot winner racks up large losses during the rest of the year, they will still have to pay a big tax bill on winnings.
