Pechanga Resort Casino Slot Jackpot Hits for Nearly $4.2 Million

Posted on: April 18, 2025, 02:38h. 

Last updated on: April 18, 2025, 02:38h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • A lucky guest hit it rich at Pechanga Resort Casino
  • A Megabucks machine hit for over $4.1 million
  • The California tribal casino is located south of Los Angeles

Pechanga Resort Casino was the site of a life-changing win this week.

Pechanga Resort Casino slot jackpot
A couple gambling at Pechanga Resort Casino hit it rich on a slot machine on April 13, 2025. Pechanga is a tribal casino south of Los Angeles. (Image: Pechanga Resort Casino)

The tribal casino owned and operated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians reports that a couple from Eastvale, roughly 50 miles north of the resort on a staycation, struck it rich on April 13. The couple, who wished to remain anonymous, were on their way to their hotel room after eating dinner at Kelsey’s when the wife told her husband to have a gaming nightcap before bed. 

The man said he sat down with $100 and began playing $3 and $5 spins on a Megabucks MegaVault machine. He said, “Something told him to bet bigger.” He played two $10 max spins, and on the second spin, he became an instant multimillionaire.

“I didn’t know we won at first. I thought I hit $230, but then the machine glass popped up the words saying, ‘call attendant,’ so I knew it had to be something bigger,” said the winner.

$4.1 Million Prize

The man had won much more than $230. By the time the casino slot attendant arrived, the couple realized they had won the progressive jackpot’s top prize, which at the time stood at $4,178,889.94.

It hasn’t hit home yet. She was sitting right there with me. I thank God she told me to play it,” the man said.

It wasn’t the first time the couple won big at Pechanga. They said they won a $17,000 slot windfall while on a similar staycation at Pechanga in 2017.

The couple will need to report the nearly $4.2 million prize as taxable income. The federal government will take 37%, or about $1.54 million. California will take a cut, too, with its top tax bracket at 12.3%.

The couple says they won’t retire on the slot payout but plan to instead help their three adult children pay off their student loans and car payments. The odds of hitting a Megabucks progressive jackpot are around one in 50 million.

Pechanga Cha-Ching

The $4.2 million Megabucks jackpot was the second slot prize worth upwards of seven digits in just a month. Exactly a month earlier, on March 13, a lucky player won $1,232,300.19 playing a Dragon Link slot game.

Pechanga is among the world’s largest casinos. The gaming space measures 200,000 square feet and has 5,500 slot machines and 152 live dealer table games. Sports betting remains illegal in California.

The Pechanga Resort has over 1,100 hotel rooms and suites, 10 full-service restaurants, a coffee spot, and three bars. The Pechanga Theater has 1,200 seats.

Other resort amenities include a spa and fitness center, retail shopping, wedding and event space, an 18-hole championship golf course, and an outdoor oasis pool complex that spans 4.5 acres.

Pechanga opened in June 2022 after the tribe invested $262 million. It has been expanded twice, with the most recent project completed in 2018 at a cost of $300 million. Guests must be at least 21 to gamble, an age that was raised from 18 in 2003.