Grad Student Turns 40 Cents into $500K via Online BetMGM Game

Jonathan Hamrick, a grad student from West Virginia, turned 40 cents into $532,969 this week, via a spin on an online slot game from BetMGM. That’s over 1.3 million times his original bet. The money will pay off his loans for tuition and board.

“I was sitting in class and I figured I had a couple of extra minutes to get on and play,” Hamrick said in a statement provided to Casino.org by BetMGM, the iGaming and online sportsbook platform of MGM Resorts International.

“So I logged on, hit spin a couple of times … clicked the button, and it said, ‘Congratulations.’”

The game was Bison Fury, a five-reel online slot featuring an American wilderness theme.

Since his jackpot exceeded $500,000, BetMGM treated Hamrick to a comped Las Vegas trip, including a stay at ARIA, where he was presented with the customary oversized photo-op check.

“I was in disbelief for a while, but once it hit my account, it started getting real,” Hamrick said. “I don’t have to be in debt anymore… Grad school is expensive, and I had to take out loans. Now, I don’t have that burden.”

Bison Fury was developed by BetMGM by Entain, the Isle of Man-based gaming conglomerate that maintains a 50% ownership position in BetMGM’s US operations.

In June, according to BetMGM, another online casino player did even better than Hamrick at Bison Fury. That player, a Michigan resident who preferred to remain anonymous, won a $1 million progressive slot jackpot on a 40-cent bet.

BetMGM’s online casino apps are available in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The platform’s online sportsbook is operational in 22 states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.