For Las Vegas gamblers in the know, the No. 1 destination in Sin City may be the Lion’s Share, a three-reel, 20-year-old slot machine at the MGM Grand that’s managed to hold onto its jackpots for two decades.
With accumulated progressive jackpots, the Lion’s Share could give up $2.3 million?if a lucky player ever comes up sevens. The Lion’s Share takes bets of $1, $2 and $3.
Twenty-three-year-old engineer Justin Paulus, who played six hours at the machine recently and even fell asleep at the terminal, is determined to keep trying his luck.
“Security kept coming over to wake me up, but they didn’t say I had to leave,” Paulus told the Wall Street Journal. “So I’d wake up, press a button, and then fall asleep again. I just have this feeling it’s going to hit soon.”
The machine is available on a first-come, first-served basis. It has its own Twitter account, a Facebook profile, and fan websites, the Journal reported.
“I’m not normally like this, but with this machine, I talk to it,” said casino patron Siubhan Pabst. “Whenever a lion comes up, I rub it. I know it’s strange, but the machine has this juju about it.” Pabst won $10,000 at the machine last summer, but missed the big jackpot by one lion. “I was sitting there at the machine frozen in shock for 20 minutes. After, I was on this crazy high for two days.”
When the MGM Grand opened in 1993, there were dozens of Lion’s Share machines. The historic machine is now the only one remaining.
Don Krell, a Palm Springs, California, snowbird who was settled in comfortably for a long turn last week. “I’ll sit here for three days for a chance to take this thing home,” said Krell.
