Gambler hits slot machine jackpot and rings in New Year with big prize in Atlantic City

A gambler is ringing in the new year with a big jackpot from a New Jersey casino.

The player sat at a Dragon Link slot machine on New Year’s Eve at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, the casino said in a Jan. 6 news release.

Then the visitor bet $250, hit spin and watched as the symbols flashed across the screen until a jackpot message appeared.

Now, the gambler is $53,500 richer.

The game had a $10 denomination, the casino said, which means each credit is worth $10.

This isn’t the first win to celebrate the new year.

A Las Vegas gambler bet $5 on a Dragon Cash slot machine Jan. 1 at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino and won $106,437, McClatchy News reported.

Casinos were legalized in Atlantic City in 1976. Since then, the city has grown into a small resort city along the Atlantic Coast with casinos, nightclubs and entertainment.

The area, which is about a 125-mile drive south from New York City, brings in about 27 million people every year, according to city officials.

This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Gambler hits slot machine jackpot and rings in New Year with big prize in Atlantic City."

Helena Wegner

McClatchy DC

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.