We’re told this is movie producer Mark Hodos from Florida, the latest Nevada Megabucks winner of $10.3 million (Image: IGT)

Year there must be something in the air in the desert at this time of. Last 12 months in mid-December, a lady playing A overseas Game Technologies’ Megabucks slot machine used gaming credits earned to hit a $17.3 million jackpot at the M Casino; now a Florida guy has hit a $10.3 million one during the MGM Grand during the exact same week this year. an executive producer of ‘All American Christmas Carol’ a sort of trailer trash form of the Dickens classic, it would appear champion Mark Hodos says the moolah will go back in his Hollywood production company. Although we see no mention of him on the film’s IMDb, but we have been naturally cynical and if this person claims ‘Hollywood,’ then we say ‘Bollywood.’

Then way to save yourself numerous grovelling L.A. investor pitch meetings, sir if he’s legitimately a producer.

Two in a Row

Hodos’ win followed a player who hit the Megabucks this November since well, also at the MGM Grand, which may be the biggest casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The Megabucks slot machines are typical on the IGT that is same Nevada, making for large payouts, with minimums of $10 million and more added since it doesn’t get hit.

With no official state lottery by itself, Megabucks is considered the equivalent, and during its 19-year history in Nevada, has brought numerous millionaires into presence. It is also the basis for several urban legends, including one that always seems to stay within the shadows with any lottery win: the start of very bad luck.

One piece of bad luck that can not be avoided is Uncle Sam’s greedy paws within the pot. Based on a $35-million win, it’s estimated that champions is only going to get an initial check of about $1.4 million. The winner that is big has up to ninety days to determine if they want to get the balance in annual installments, which will be paid out over 25 years, or take a lump sum which will be only 60 per cent for the actual win total; based on that $35 million, that could emerge to ‘just’ $21 million, so obviously most Megabucks winners go for choice #1.

A Pound of Flesh to the Feds, Of Course

Don’t go shopping for a Beverly Hills estate just yet though; since the minimum income tax price on that annual income will nevertheless be 40 %; at least Nevada doesn’t have a state tax, which someone who won the California Megabucks would have to pay because well, for instance. So on your $35 million, that is $13,400,000 going towards some very IRS that is nice Xmas over the next 25 years.

And you’re left with $20,100,000, or a measly $804,000 net (more or less) per year for the next 25 years. Suddenly it isn’t as life-changing as it seemed, can it be?

Regardless, people keep on playing Megabucks and dreaming large; that MGM Grand winner hit for $12.46 million, explaining why Hodos’ subsequent win was so ‘small’ november.

IGT says it has paid away more than $728 million in total jackpots since 1986 in Nevada, and more than a billion dollars nationwide.

Exactly How Do You Enjoy Megabucks Anyway?

If reading about these victories (despite their downfalls) has gotten Megabucks fever going in you, here is what you will need to know: the progressive jackpot is just a buck slot machine that takes a minimum of $3.00 to be qualified to hit the jackpot. The jackpot auto-resets to $10 million; reports are that that may soon be bumped up to $11 million after each win.

IGT the going company on whose machines Megabucks runs has some 750 slot machines in about 136 casinos throughout the Silver State. IGT owns these machines, providing each casino a piece of the action, centered on profits per device. This one is single state and for Nevada only, although IGT does have other Megabucks jackpots in California, New Jersey and Mississippi, as well as on several Indian reservations unlike many lotteries. Because none of those states have actually as many casino venues as Nevada, however or as much hype the jackpots are usually on the smaller part.

All other machines in the system will be instantaneously notified and reset to the base jackpot again with a Random Number Generator (RNG) controlling who wins, once the jackpot is hit on one machine.

Odds of winning Megabucks vary, based on who you ask; ranging from 1 in 17 million up to 1 in 50 million. And one bit of hype that Megabucks can’t seem to shake are those tales of woe that befall all champions, based on lore.

Some of these rumors may be based on a true story; that of 37-year-old cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay-Brennan, who hit Megabucks back in 2000 for $34. 9 million. A mere six weeks later, a drunk driver hit her car, leaving her sister dead and Jay-Brennan a quadriplegic. Needless to say, a lot of those that haven’t won Megabucks have had the fate that is same no money to aid them, but logic never ever stopped an excellent urban legend from throwing up dust.

Others who supposedly kicked it because of winning Megabucks included a winner that is 25-year-old 2003, although IGT- who can protect winners’ identities, unlike real state lotteries claims the now 35-year-old is nevertheless among the living and doing just fine.

Sheldon Adelson’s EuroVegas in Spain Goes Up in Smoke

Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson would youn’t do much calmly is walking away from his EuroVegas casino project in Madrid, Spain (Image: keepcalmomatic)

Adios, señores y señoras. There are no EuroVegas in Madrid after all. After prolonged battles with Spanish nationals and the us government over issues such as public smoking laws and even bringing a casino towards the ancient country at all, Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s CEO Sheldon Adelson determined late final week to pull the plug regarding the near $30 billion resort and gaming complex, telling investors he felt the casino project had been no longer in his shareholders’ most readily useful passions.

Asian Love Affair

Adelson desires to refocus and zero in on his uber-successful projects that are asian. And with Sands now swooping up some 80 percent of its annual gaming revenues from the Macau and Singapore sectors, who could blame him?

The EuroVegas development which was in fact set to encompass 12 different properties, a staggering 36,000 resort rooms and six casinos, as well as department stores, restaurants, golf courses, performance venues and a convention that is major is now one for the history books. The cumbersome nature of bypassing existing and creating new regulations simply became too much bother for not enough potential reward in the end.

‘That process has been incredibly thorough, and even though the government and many other people been employed by diligently on this work, we don’t see a course in which the criteria needed to move ahead using this large-scale development can be reached,’ noted Adelson.

Smoking Mad

One of many key dilemmas facing Adelson had been strong and vocal opposition from anti-casino groups, mostly focused around making an exception for smoking in public, which is strictly banned in Spain. Despite a government that is largely supportive saw the prospective for aiding Spain’s ailing economy by creating a possible 260,000 jobs within the next 10-12 years all of it started to not make sense anymore.

Even video gaming analysts agreed it was time and energy to move on.

‘It ended up being becoming more apparent that the government that is spanish not meet all the conditions that Las Vegas Sands had requested, and now we could have viewed a determination to move forward without these conditions as a negative,’ said RBC Capital Markets gaming analyst John Kempf, explaining to investors why the decision to leave was made.

In the conclusion whether to keep their game face on or not, we will never ever know for sure Spain’s federal government acted like they pushed EuroVegas out of the picture by themselves; the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told the press that Adelson was indeed throwing out too many requests for guarantees both legal and financial that, according to de Santamaria, ‘did not comply with Spanish law or compared to the European Union.’

De Santamaria went on to state that these demands encompassed critical line products such as tax concessions, guarantees of settlement should future laws be introduced that might negatively impact the casino resort complex and finally, a caveat that essentially no competition would be permitted to set base in EuroVegas’ arena.

For Adelson, enough is enough, and he’s just ready to move on.

‘Right now our focus is on encouraging Asian countries, like Japan and Korea, to dramatically enhance their tourism offering through the growth of integrated resorts there,’ Adelson said.

Gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski of Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets believes Adelson is on the path that is right his decisions and focus.

‘Given the current early-stage efforts to introduce formalized video gaming legislation in Japan, we sense [this] announcement could have been driven by the greater sense of certainty around a potential Japanese opportunity and management’s interest in keeping powder dry in an effort to enhance its stature through what is going to be a fiercely competitive bidding process,’ Wieczynski said associated with the end of EuroVegas and renewed Asian region concentration.

Japan has been focusing on getting gambling legalized and casinos built and able to move in time for what they project to be a tourist that is heavy aided by the Summer Olympic Games slated for Tokyo in 2020.

As for how it all affected Sands Corp.’s stock profile, it don’t, much. As of late last week, shares closed at $76.57 on the NYSE, which represented a $0.39 jump per share.