Did you know that Mega Moolah paid out 79 million in jackpot wins in 2019?

Microgaming came up with a real winner when they released Mega Moolah all those years ago. It would be curious to know if its designers ever anticipated just how popular it would become. Whether they did or not, it is hard to argue against the fact that Mega Moolah has made Microgaming a household name among jackpot slot players.

Mega Moolah's main attraction is its progressive jackpot. Actually, the game offers four progressive jackpots. The largest among them is the Mega jackpot, which just so happens to pay out millions at a time. Win the Mega jackpot and you will be looking at a fairly sizeable payday.

This past year was no exception for sizeable Mega Moolah progressive jackpots. All in all, the Mega jackpot produced 12 winners in 2019 paying out a total of 79.48 million in various currencies (CAD, USD, NZD and GBP). The average Mega jackpot size was 6.62 million with a hit frequency of just 28 days. It's no wonder so many people consider Mega Moolah their favourite progressive slot game.

More about the Mega Jackpot

Each of Mega Moolah's for progressive jackpots can be won during any game session. But unlike some other games, you do not win by landing a certain number of symbols on a given pay line. You win by spinning a wheel of fortune with different coloured slots relating to each of the four jackpots.

How do you get the opportunity to spin that wheel? Opportunities are awarded randomly. At any point during a Mega Moolah session, the game might break away from standard play and present you with the jackpot wheel. Here's the thing: you are guaranteed to win one of the jackpots whenever you get the opportunity to spin the wheel.

The four jackpots are: Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega. If you are ever given the chance to play for a jackpot, make a point to notice that the Mini is represented by the most coloured tiles on the wheel. The Mega Jackpot has only a single slot. That is why it's worth so much money.

For the record, here is a list of each of the 12 payouts from the Mega Jackpot in 2019:

• January 30 - CA$20,058,463.58
• March 5 - US$12,944,048.68
• March 6 - CA$3,306,701.94
• May 4 - CA$8,162,217.05
• May 24 - £5,543,986.99
• June 17 - £3,033,563.60
• August 10 - CA$5,954,437.97
• September 5 - CA$4,744,627.73
• September 30 - CA$4,443,185.39
• October 16 - £3,557,058.75
• November 8 - £2,771,102.29
• December 30 - NZ$4,966,561.64

You will notice that the jackpots vary in size. That is due to the nature of progressive jackpots. A progressive jackpot is so named because it progressively gets larger until someone wins it. At that point it is reset to its base amount so it can start growing again.

The March 5, 2019 jackpot was worth in excess of US$12.9 million because it had grown for just over a month. The CA$3 million jackpot won the next day had much less time to grow. As such, time is the gambler's friend. Every day that passes without a jackpot winner is another day the jackpot gets larger.

Mega Moolah jackpot stories

What would you do if you won the Mega Jackpot? It is hard to say for most of us. After all, tens of millions of dollars are unfathomable to people who don't even make six figures. Nonetheless, big winners are routine for Mega Moolah. To demonstrate this fact, let's talk about some of the more well-known jackpot stories.

John Heywood (UK)

Mega Moolah's biggest winner is, to date, a UK player by the name of John Heywood. His £13.2 million is still a world record. He won back in October 2015 when the British Pound was strong. At the time, Heywood explained how difficult it was to wrap his brain around the win.

"It's all so surreal and I can't come to terms with it just yet. I just keep staring at my screen and seeing this huge number in my casino account," he said.

Mr Heywood also expressed the fact that he did not know how he was going to spend the money apart from meeting his father's healthcare expenses and purchasing a Bentley Continental GT. One thing is for sure, the former military man will not have to work again if he manages his winnings well.

John Orchard (UK)

Another UK resident, John Orchard, won millions from the Mega jackpot in 2012. He took home £5.88 million in late December of that year. It turns out that John was more of a bingo player than a slot player. Yet he decided to try his hand at a few progressive jackpot games.

He chose to play Mega Moolah with a £0.30 wager and, much to his surprise, was awarded one of those random chances to play for the jackpot. His luck continued when he hit the single Mega jackpot slot on the wheel of fortune. He walked away one of the game's most celebrated winners.

Giorgios (Greece)

Giorgios went from average video slot player to instant millionaire when he won the Mega jackpot in 2009. His payoff was €6.3 million won on a bet of €5. His story is another one of those amazing tales of jackpot winners turning small bets into huge wins.

Like so many other Mega Moolah big winners, Giorgios said, "I still cannot believe it!" There seems to be a theme here, right? It's not every day that you visit your favourite online casino for a few minutes of entertaining play and walk away a millionaire.

Klaus (Finland)

Klaus from Finland is another Mega Moolah rags to riches story. He started with a bet of 0.50c and turned it into a jackpot win of US$5.5 million. That was back in April 2008. Do the math and you'll discover that his win was some 11 million times his original bet.

His story is a little bit different in terms of his reaction. Like others, Klaus was initially skeptical of his win. He thought he might be looking at a phone number rather than a dollar amount. He apparently went outside to catch his breath before returning to his computer and checking his casino balance to discover US$5.5 million he didn't previously have.

Rawiri Pou (New Zealand)

New Zealand's Rawiri Pou took home NZD $10.14 million back in 2016. As a fast food worker, Mr Pou was acutely aware of how his jackpot win would change his life. Like so many others, Pou initially had trouble believing it was real. He spoke of being shocked over his win.

Pou went on to say that "there is so much my family and I can do with this money and it couldn't have come at a better time." We don't know the end of the story, but we trust that the millions paid to him by the Mega Moolah Jackpot continues to serve him well.

MG (Canada)

November 2016 is when Canada's MG won his Mega jackpot of CAD $11.63 million. He had plenty to say in the days following his big win:

"Wow thank you so much! This is obviously life changing! I cannot believe it! I will definitely be buying a nice big house and a vacation cottage! And taking my entire family on a first-class trip to Africa! This will mean great Christmas presents for everyone!"

Radoslaw (Poland)

"I was afraid to touch my computer; I was so shocked! I'm so happy, I don't know what to say!"

These were the words uttered by Poland's Radoslaw M. when he won US$1.2 million back in October 2009. The money certainly came in handy as Radoslaw was to marry soon after. He used some of the money to cover the costs of the wedding and honeymoon. The rest went toward providing the kind of life he and his new bride had always hoped for.

Anyone can win

The point of all this is to remind you that you have as good a chance as anyone else to be the next big winner. Chances to spin for the jackpot are awarded randomly by the software. Once inside the jackpot game, winners are determined by random number generators as well.

Mega Moolah is a pretty straightforward video slot with a gentle learning curve. It features a typical 5x3 reel configuration with 25 pay lines that you can adjust with every spin. You get to select the number of active pay lines, the number of coins bet per line, and the value of each of your coins.

There are lower and higher paying symbols along with both scatters and wilds. You also get a free spins bonus game that offers 15 free spins and a triple multiplier. Even if you don't get a chance to play for the jackpot during your first few sessions, you still stand to win in both base and bonus play.

The Jackpot Bonus Game is triggered randomly, which means every player has an equal chance of winning it. That's what makes Mega Moolah different from other jackpot slots.

Mega Moolah is a jackpot slot well worth playing. It is a fan favourite thanks to its impressive jackpots. Needless to say that it pays out some pretty impressive wins.

Sign up today and start playing! The jackpot is at the time of writing just under 12 million!