With the abrupt closure of Atlantic City casinos due to Covid-19, it was up to the New Jersey online casinos to serve the millions of players within the state. The implementation of the new rules regarding physical casinos and Covid-19 control allowed players to visit their favorite casinos but in limited numbers.
With these new regulations in place, most casinos within the state were only allowed up to 25% capacity. According to a recent figure released by the Division of Gaming Enforcement in New Jersey, most of the state’s biggest jackpots last year were won online. The year’s biggest jackpot stood at $5.1 million and was won by a player who played Divine Fortune online via Unibet, a Hard Rock casino partner.
The second biggest jackpot of the year stood at $3.3 million, with the winner using PlayMGM, a Borgata mobile partner, and was won on July 27th. The year’s third-biggest jackpot stood at $2.6 million and was won at Bally’s Park Place casino on a Wheel of Fortune slots machine, while the year’s biggest physical casino wins took place in the same casino at the Boardwalk casino. Another Wheel of Fortune winner received $899,000 while a Monopoly 3RM player received $902,000 in winnings.
What Constitutes a Jackpot in New Jersey?
According to New Jersey officials, $50,000 is the state’s magic number. In 2020, this number was attained more than 770 times at New Jersey’s casinos and its affiliated websites in comparison to 2019’s 611 and 2018’s 384. The first-ever million-dollar jackpot of the year 2015 took place on Valentine’s Day when a player managed to turn $500 into $1.5 million at Betfair Casino.
The following year, two-million-dollar wins were registered on two separate occasions. In January 2016 at the Trump Taj Mahal, one player won $3.1 million while playing Wheel of Fortune on a one-cent, while another player won $1.5 million at Harrah’s while playing on a $1 stake. In 2017, there were $2 million jackpots, which were all won within Atlantic City casinos. The first win of the year stood at $2.6 million and came at Harrah’s on a Wheel of Fortune machine, while the second win came in only eight days later at Bally’s and stood at $1.2 million. In 2019, there was only one millionaire who managed to win $1.1 million on a Wheel of Fortune.
44 Players Won $200,000 or More
In 2020, there were 44 different players in New Jersey who managed to win $200,000 or more. Out of the 44 winners, one won over $400,000 while two were within the $300,000 to $400,000 range. October 24th and October 25th proved to be the year’s luckiest dates for players in New Jersey. 7 players managed to win $50,000 while one person won $60,000 on October 24th at Betfair Casino, with all 8 winning players playing Blackjack Classic Touch. On the same date, Borgata paid out 6 figure winners to two players, with one player winning $200,000 while playing Game King while the other winning $104,000 while playing Panda Power.
On the following day, there were 7 more winners who won $50,000 to $60,000 while playing Blackjack Classic Touch, while one more winner won $127,000 at the Resorts Online Casino. The biggest win of the year came on December 12th, with one player winning $899,793 while playing Wheel of Fortune. As of January 2021, there were 10 players who managed to win $100,000 or more by the end of January. One player won $250,000 while playing Raging Rhino Megaway at Caesars Casino, while two players have won $183,000 each while playing Divine Fortune and Dancing Drums respectively.