San Manuel Slot Machines Loosest 

Seven people have won upwards of $1 million jackpots playing the slot machines at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino near Highland. The Wheel of Fortune slot machine has paid out more jackpots than all of the casinos in the state, holding the record of the top two jackpots - $7.3 million and $6.4 million. "It's the luckiest place. Come on, we've given a lot out here," said Steve Lengel, Executive Director of Operations.

They seem to have the loosest slots in the state, as they have paid out more jackpots period, than any other casino in the state – paying out over $28 million in slot machine winnings. The jackpots for this particular slot machine, the Wheel of Fortune, have paid out more than $192 million in California alone, with over $2 billion paid out in slot machine winnings across the country since 1996.

The casino has 39 Wheel of Fortune slot machines, with people constantly playing them. Lengel thinks it has a lot to do with the game show as people play something they recognize. He says that they enjoy handing out the slot machine’s jackpots almost as much as the people enjoy getting them. The money goes into the slot machine, the money comes out of the slot machines – but somewhere in the middle some of it stays with the casino – so it isn’t like they are just giving money away – and some of it doesn’t even come from their casino. "Giving away money never loses its excitement," said Jill Philbrook, director of marketing. "I think it lets people know that you can come and make a dream come true."

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