“It changed her perspective,” recalled Barrientoz. On her very first pull ever, she won the $330,000-plus jackpot. She sat down and slipped $20 into a progressive Wheel of Fortune machine. She felt out of place, but was willing to try her hand at a slot machine. It was the widow’s first-ever visit to a casino. “They just wanted to take their friend out to have some fun, take her mind off her troubles.” “About 12 years ago a group of ladies came in to play and brought a friend whose husband had passed away,” recalled Johnny Barrientoz, director of slots who oversees some 1,430 machines at both Turtle Creek Casino and Leelanau Sands Casino.

It could be a life-changing moment if the prize is hefty enough. Suddenly you realize you’ve just won a big jackpot.

It’s the dream of every slot player: Slide money into the machine, press the button, (or pull the handle if you’re an old school player), and watch the symbols line up. What Really Happens When You Hit a Slot Machine Jackpot By Al Parker | Sept.

Slot machine wins this week