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It’s easy to forget California does allow casino betting inside its state borders. It gets forgotten because sports betting isn’t allowed so many folks wrongly presume all forms of gambling are off limits. That’s not true, and recent winning receipts in the Golden State prove it.
Here are massive casino winnings we’ve seen reported in California as of late:
Gambler Banks $2 Million Jackpot
There’s something in the water at Colusa Casino Resort. There has to be given recent events. This property is on the north end of the state, not far off of Sacramento. Once you’re done reading this section, you might want to get on the first flight to Sacramento too.
First of all, on June 8, a “monumental win” transpired on the gambling floor, per the casino themselves — their words, not ours. Get this, a lucky fella bagged a whopping $2,752,887.71 from the casino. There are no typos either, that’s almost $3 million from one lucky spin.
Here’s what the casino said in a statement: “As the reels spun, the iconic Wheel of Fortune symbols aligned, triggering the life-changing jackpot. The excitement on the casino floor was palpable as fellow guests and staff members gathered to witness the incredible win.”
It’s one of the biggest wins in the casino’s history. The player who won the jackpot chose to remain anonymous — and that’s probably a smart move. We wouldn’t know from experience, but we can only imagine the bad attention you attract when people realize you won $2.7 million.
We should mention that this gambler will have a huge chunk of their winnings eaten up by taxes — both federal and state. The money will count as earnings, and at that level, the tax rate is almost 40 percent. Throw in state taxes and we anticipate this bettor only keep half of those winnings. But hey, even $1.3 million or so is still killer for spinning a slot machine wheel.
This is the second unique win the casino reported this past June. Earlier in the month, another gambler at Colusa Casino banked a five-figure jackpot. But here’s the cool part: the bettor staked a meager $0.50 to hit the jackpot. Talk about an impressive return on investment, eh?
So what do you say? Time to visit Colusa? Shoot, if you don’t, we’ll just have to beat you there since lady luck is alive and well here.
Another Six-Figure Jackpot Hit In California
You’ll get a double whammy if you head to Sacramento. Not only for Colusa but also Sky River Casino in Elk Grove. Here’s another local casino that’s been prone to jackpots as of late.
The most recent came on Father’s Day in mid-June. A gambler from Pittsburg — a town in California, not the big city in Pennsylvania — hit the $374,151 jackpot while celebrating the special day with her husband. The massive prize was won from hitting the Triple Diamond Progressive while playing Blackjack. This jackpot came eight days after the Colusa one.
“While every day is a winning day at Sky River, holidays tend to be even luckier for our guests as we’ve seen a number of impressive jackpots that have coincidentally hit on special days,” said Sky River Casino President Michael J. Facenda.
This is the second jackpot won at Sky River in 2024. The one before was actually bigger. In February, a Sacramento resident also won while playing Blackjack at the casino. Only this prize was a whopping $516,471.
If you don’t read that and get an itch to play blackjack at Sky River, then maybe this gambling thing isn’t for you. “Ride the hot hand” as they say and that’s blackjack at this property.
Big Wins Could Soon Be In Sports Parlays
The equivalent of hitting a casino jackpot in the sportsbook is smashing a massive parlay — something like a 10-teamer. Since California has yet to legalize sports betting, this currently isn’t possible.
However, that could soon be changing. A decision that happened in Florida last month just made sports betting in California a real possibility. In Florida, a local Native American tribe signed an agreement with local lawmakers to offer betting. This agreement was just an amendment of existing rules for casino gambling — no vote needed.
The Supreme Court chose not to hear a case that challenged that agreement as illegal. With that, other states with tribal casinos now have the green light to strike their own compacts. California certainly fits that category. In the past, betting bills failed miserably with voters. But now a vote might not even be needed, just a one-on-one compass between the state and tribes.
It’s just speculation at this point, but speculation with some real merit to it. While we wait for what happens, California bettors can continue to use offshore online sportsbooks to wager on sports. These work just fine and it’s the only real way Californians can get action.
If you’re looking for a reliable sportsbook, may we suggest one of the five below. These are the “best of the best” in our latest reviews so you’re money is in good hands any way you go.
