Jackpot: Reno Local Wins $1.2M on Slot Spin at Grand Sierra Casino

Posted on: January 12, 2023, 09:24h. 

Last updated on: January 12, 2023, 02:24h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A lucky local resident hit a jackpot on Monday at Reno, Nev.’s Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. The mystery player won $1,258,232.29 on a slot spin.

Reno, Nev.’s Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
Reno, Nev.’s Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, pictured above. A player at the property recently won $1.2 million on a slot machine. (Image: Grand Sierra Resort and Casino)

The money was won on a Buffalo Diamond slot machine, KTVN, a local TV station, reported. The person wagered $4.

We are so thrilled to see one of our local guests win this life-changing money,” Shannon Keel, Grand Sierra Casino’s president and general manager, said in a statement. “We are proud to call Northern Nevada home and are pleased to know the winnings will be helping someone in our community.”

The player wished to remain anonymous. No details were released about the winner. Nor is it known how long he/she was playing before hitting the jackpot.

Aristocrat Leisure, the game’s manufacturer, is an Australian-based company. It provides mobile and casino games, in particular slot machines. It offers gaming content, too.

July Jackpot

Last July, Grand Sierra Casino paid out a major jackpot to another lucky slot player who won $1.4 million, KOLO, a local TV station, reported.

The casino identified the player as “Kathryn J.” She hit the jackpot while playing a Wheel of Fortune Triple Red Hot 7s slot machine made by International Game Technology (IGT).

The winner said she would use the money to travel and pay some bills. She was described as the wife of comedian Justin Rupple, who performs comedy and impressions.

IGT is a UK-based gaming technology company. It provides back-end services and solutions for lotteries and sportsbooks and manufactures slot machines.

Gambling Expanding

The Reno-Sparks region is seeing expanded gambling. Olympia Gaming opened the $120 million Legends Bay Casino at The Outlets at Legends shopping center in Sparks in August. About half of Legends Bay’s 80,000 square feet is used for gaming.

That includes 650 slot and video poker machines and table games, such as craps, roulette, three-card poker, ultimate Texas Hold ’em, and keno.

Legends Bay also has a Circa Sports sportsbook. It is the company’s sixth sportsbook in Nevada.

Casino Proposed

In addition, a new hotel-casino was recently proposed for a 20-acre parcel near the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

As envisioned, it will feature a 65,000-square-foot casino floor. Some 1,250 slot machines, over 40 table games, and a sportsbook are planned for the location. The hotel will include 201 guestrooms and 48 suites.

Before construction can begin, Reno city officials need to approve the project. For now, it is being called the Firecreek Crossing Resort-Casino. The developer is San Diego-based Elevation Entertainment.

Overall, Reno reported $728.4 million in gaming revenue in 2021. That’s the most revenue in a single year since 2007, the Nevada Independent reported.

The expansion of gaming follows the closing of a well-known Reno gaming property. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Harrah’s Reno was permanently shuttered. It was repurposed into Reno City Center, a mixed-use facility that no longer offers gaming.