Race car driver claims over a million dollars in winnings at Caesar's Palace Casino, Las Vegas
In the heart of Las Vegas, the casino capital of the world, race car driver Christy Georges-Barnett struck gold at Caesar's Palace Casino on October 23, 2023. The 63-year-old racing legend bagged a jackpot of $1,185,599, exclaiming "It's a million dollars! It's a million dollars! Oh my God!" upon her win.
This victory marks another milestone in a career that spans over 40 years, during which Georges-Barnett has participated in over 450 competitions and clinched the first-ever UMP Dirt National Championship for women.
The win came at a one-armed bandit, a type of slot machine, adding another thrilling chapter to the annals of Las Vegas's casino history. This win is not the first million-dollar win in Las Vegas this year, as a tourist at the Las Vegas airport also pocketed over a million US dollars at a slot machine in the summer of 2023.
Georges-Barnett's win is significant as it took place at one of the world-famous casinos in Las Vegas. However, it remains unclear whether the million-dollar win will prompt her to retire from racing or continue her active participation in the racing scene.
The all-time largest slot machine jackpot in Las Vegas history is $39.7 million, won by a 25-year-old software engineer in 2003 on a Megabucks machine at the Excalibur casino. More recent million-dollar jackpots include a $1,082,545.37 win on a Dragon Link machine at Circa Las Vegas from a $250 spin and another million-dollar jackpot of around $1,016,145 won on the Dollar Storm slot machine at Circa Las Vegas with only a $2 bet.
Other notable jackpots in Las Vegas include a $599,015 win on a Whitney Houston slot machine at the Palms casino and a $408,966.89 win on a Frankenstein machine at Circa Las Vegas, both from $5 bets.
Historical records also mention Elmer Sherwin, who won a $21 million Megabucks jackpot at Cannery Casino, making him notable for hitting two large jackpots. Other large gambling wins in Las Vegas, such as billionaire Kerry Packer’s $20–40 million blackjack win, are noteworthy, but these aren't slot machine-specific wins.
Before her lucky spin, Georges-Barnett had invested $25, demonstrating that sometimes, all it takes is a small bet to change one's life forever. The race car driver holds the record as the fastest woman in the NASCAR series, set in 2007 at 208 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats. She also participated in all 20 races of the 2022 Johnstone Supply Southwest Super Truck Track Championship and won 10 of them.
As the dust settles on Georges-Barnett's historic win, the world waits to see if she will continue racing or hang up her helmet for good. One thing is certain: her name will forever be etched in the annals of both racing and gambling history.
What about casino games in Las Vegas? Georges-Barnett's big-wins at Caesar's Palace Casino on a slot machine, specifically a one-armed bandit, adds another exciting story to the casino-and-gambling history of Las Vegas. Slots aren't the only source of large-wins; million-dollar jackpots have been claimed at various casino games around Vegas this year as well.
