Man hits jackpot twice playing poker at Pittsburgh-area casino

HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A western Pennsylvania man hit the jackpot not once but twice at Live! Casino Pittsburgh this year, raking in more than $621,000.

Most recently, on May 20, Stephen Mcrae of Somerset Township pulled a royal flush to win a nearly $241,000 progressive jackpot playing Texas Hold 'em. His hole cards were the 10 and jack of spades and then flopped the ace, king and queen of spades, the casino said. 

It was the hand of a lifetime -- but not his first. He hit a $380,000 jackpot with another royal flush in January. He was dealt a 10 and a jack of hearts to go with the ace, king, and queen of hearts. 

"Mr. Mcrae will be remembered for a long time around here," said Live! Casino Pittsburgh general manager Sean Sullivan in a news release. "Royal flushes are so rare. To hit two in a matter of months was truly an exciting moment for all of us, and we couldn't be happier for him."  

Pittsburgh poker players have gotten lucky in recent months. In January, a player at Rivers Casino hit a record $1.4 million jackpot. The casino said the player won the jackpot when he was dealt a seven-card straight flush in a game of fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive. 

A few months before that, another player at Rivers Casino won $350,000 when his four aces lost to a royal flush, triggering the bad beat jackpot.

Madeline Bartos is a digital web producer for CBS Pittsburgh who has worked with KDKA since 2019.