At approximately 11:30 pm last night (Dec. 30) a Maryland man in Atlantic City on vacation won a $3,843,951 jackpot on a $5 “Wheel of Fortune” progressive slot machine at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

“We couldn’t be more excited to end the year on such a high note,” said Tim Burke, vice president of slots at Borgata. “What a perfect way to ring in the New Year for one of our lucky Borgata customers.”

The $3.8M jackpot was one of the largest in the casino’s nine-year history, according to a statement released by the Borgata Monday afternoon, Dec. 31.

At the request of the customer, now a millionaire, no further information is available at this time.

As we reported in this space last week, Caesars Entertainment’s combined total Bad-Beat Jackpot of $787,320 became the biggest of its kind in Atlantic City history.

We use the past tense became, because Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City announced that on Monday, Aug. 13, its Total Bad Beat Jackpot of $787,320 hit in the Caesars poker room.

Narong Sae Whited of Shelton, Washington, cashed-in on $237,154 for his losing hand, while the winner of the hand and Atlantic City resident  Nick Angelakopoulos came away with $158,422.

Additionally, 409 other poker players received a payout of $958, simply for being at a Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City poker room during the time of the Total Bad Beat.

According to Caesars, payouts of the progressive Total Bad Beat Jackpot are as follows:
·         30% of the jackpot will be awarded to the Bad Beat hand (losing player);
·         20% of the jackpot will be awarded to the winner of the hand;
·         The remainder of the jackpot will be awarded equally divided as shares among all of the seated players on any Bad Beat jackpot eligible game at all four (4) linked properties. The players mentioned above will also get a share in addition to the prize listed. All winners will receive a minimum of $100.00.
The minimum losing Bad Beat Hand will start at four (4) kings and every other week, on Wednesday, the required hand will be lowered by one (1) four of a kind ranking hand until the required hand is four (4) deuces. When the jackpot is hit the required hand will revert back to four (4) kings and reset the next Wednesday. Example: if the jackpot is hit on a Monday the 4 kings would only be in effect for 2 days.

Even though our resident poker expert and blogger Mike Pritchard is off this week, it doesn’t mean that poker action in Atlantic City has come to a halt, awaiting his return.

For instance, this just in from the Borgata:

Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot hit this morning for $190,290.

Since its inception, Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot has hit 71 times, paying a total of $9,036,551 in Bad Beat winnings. Borgata’s Bad Beat Jackpot hits on average every 11 days, for an average amount of $127,275.

You can see additional details here.