When it comes to miracles at Christmas, we usually leave that to the likes of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the angels, shepherds and the three kings with their gifts.
However, while perhaps not a Miracle on 34th Street, we did have a slice of Christmas good fortune at the Caesar’s Entertainment run Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City.
That’s because one lucky poker player from Monmouth County in New Jersey landed a progressive poker table mega jackpot worth a very tasty $1,681,458 from just a $5 bet.
“Longtime Customer”
The lucky winner, who a casino spokesperson stated was a ‘longtime customer’ of the casino, was more than willing to share her good fortune with the dealers at the table.
She handed over 4.6% of the total prize, a cool $77,000, which the dealers shared between themselves.
That’s not bad for a night’s work.
We’re willing to bet that it was a good Christmas in the winner’s household as she converted a $5 bet into over $1.6m even after she had left the dealers their tip.
However, this lucky player wasn’t the only big money winner over the course of 2022.
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Other Big Money Winners in 2022
Of course, there were plenty of poker players who struck it big in 2022, none more so than Espen Uhlen Jorstadt who claimed the $10,000,000 top prize on offer for winning the World Series of Poker Main Event back in July this year.
That win rocketed him up the leaderboard in the Norwegian all-time money list to the top spot and he now ranks 106th in the all-time money list ranking globally.
We also saw Jason Koon double his $800,000 entry into the High Stakes Duel III Round 5 when he defeated Phil Hellmuth at the start of December, however Koon needs to win two more heads up games before he can cash out what would be a $3.2 million win.
And a word too for Kid Poker Daniel Negreanu who ended a two-year wait for a win with a $3.3m victory in the Super High Roller Bowl back in October.
However, it is not just the top poker players that have landed big wins. A number of other players have landed dream wins due to other jackpots available in their local casinos.
Bad Beat Jackpot Record Broken In 2022
One of the more popular progressive type of jackpot is the Bad Beat jackpot and this year, a new record for a winning amount paid out on a Bad Beat jackpot was set at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The lucky, or unlucky depending on your point of view, recipient of the record-shattering prize as Huttonsville, West Virginia native Benjamin Flanagan. who saw his hand of Quad Aces cracked by the Royal Flush held by his opponent, a Mr Broderson.
That incredible hand triggered the jackpot prize of over $1.2m and saw Mr Flanagan receive $490,708 for losing the hand, while Mr Broderson also took home a hefty prize of $368,029 on top of the winnings he received from the hand.
The other six players at lucky table 27 on that night also took home $62,338 each from the triggering of the jackpot prize.
Yet, while this jackpot prize was the new benchmark for a Bad Beat jackpot prize in the United States, it was not the largest Bad Beat jackpot prize triggered this year.
The Largest Bad Beat Jackpot Prize In History
The new record for a Bad Beat jackpot prize was set back in June at the Playground Poker Club which is located just outside Montreal in Canada.
Initially seeded with a $100,000 casino donation, the Bad Beat jackpot prize fund had grown to over $2,000,000 when it was triggered by a hand on June 21.
Gerry Roussel, the unfortunate loser of the hand, was consoled with a Bad Beat Jackpot prize of $846,802, while the lucky winner, Eric Lemay, took home $423,401 on top of his hand winnings.
The other players at their table also went home happy as they earned a $60,486 slice of the world record setting jackpot each.
This big Bad Beat Jackpot win comes hot on the heels of another win back in 2018 at the MILLIONS North America Festival, which saw a table share a prize of over $1.3m.
There was a smaller win for online players back in January 2022 when GGPoker’s Bad Beat jackpot prize was triggered and saw six players share a $600,000 prize between them.
What Would a $1.6m Win Buy You In New Jersey?
None of those Bad Beat winners won as much as the recent winner in New Jersey who would have found Christmas present shopping far more enjoyable with $1.6m burning a hole in their pocket.
So what would that get you in New Jersey?
Well, the average home value in New Jersey is $461,990 (calculated in November 2022) which means that the lucky winner could purchase three of these and still have plenty of change to splurge on furnishing them.
And with house prices rising by 7.3% in 2022, that would offer the lucky player a significant return on their initial investment.
Will Further Big Jackpot Prizes Be Won In 2023?
As we have seen with the number of jackpot prizes won throughout the course of 2022, it doesn’t matter if you play online, or head to your local casino, many places are now offering their own form of Bad Beat or Progressive jackpot feature which could trigger at any time, at any table on any qualifying hand.
It is therefore very likely that we will see more winners of prizes like these throughout 2023 and given the popularity of these prizes, and the significant amount of column inches that they generate for the casino and lucky winner, I would expect to see the value of these prizes keep on increasing year on year.
Just remember though, that for all your good fortune in landing a Bad Beat or Progressive jackpot, the taxman could want a slice of your good fortune, depending on where you live!
Sign up to bet365 Poker now to enjoy plenty of great poker action online in 2023!
