Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Mega Moolah winning millionaire goes Down Under

In what has to be one of the biggest payouts of the year (and certainly one of the tiniest all-time in terms of initial investment in ratio to payout), one Klaus E. of Finland bagged $5,556,753.68 (approximately €3.6 million / £2.85 million) in moolah thanks to a Mega Moolah progressive jackpot last month.

How much had Klaus plunked into the machine before the reels lined up correctly? Fifty cents, translating out to a return on investment of over 111,100% -- not too shabby at all.

Klaus won his fortune at Australia-based BlackjackBallroom, whose owners had the lucky winner fly out to Oz for the requisite photo opportunities, press conferences ... and o yeah, handing over that big check.

When asked to describe his first reaction to hitting the huge jackpot, poker player Klaus said “This can’t be true” with the disturbingly common skepticism these days (Are there really that many pranksters and hoaxers out there?). “It looked like a phone number from [a Hollywood movie]: 555 and such.” However, a phone call from Casino Rewards came shortly thereafter to confirm the reality for Klaus and “the next thing I knew I was on a plane to Australia!”

Be sure to check out the video interview with Klaus, a truly good guy who works with at-risk teens in his native Finland; hopefully his winnings will allow him to perform more good deeds for his community.