Published on: December 30, 2025, 12:32h.
Updated on: December 29, 2025, 01:18h.
- Holiday gamblers are hitting it big this season
- From jackpots in Powerball to slot machines, numerous life-altering wins have emerged
This holiday season, no surprise topped the remarkable $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot claimed by a fortunate player in Arkansas on Christmas Eve. However, impressive winnings also popped up across casinos nationwide.
As we approach the end of 2025, holiday festivities continue, with many casino patrons scoring remarkable prizes since the start of the season just last week.
With many casinos offering festive promotions and free slot play giveaways, more winners are anticipated right up until New Year’s. Here’s a recap of the substantial wins recorded this holiday season so far.
Slot Players Score Major Wins
On December 23, a lucky slots player at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort in Kansas snagged a jackpot worth $537,211 with just a $1 bet. Preferring to remain anonymous, this gambler struck it rich on a Gold Standard Jackpots machine. Just a day prior, another player won $10,716 on an 88-cent wager using a Fortune Frenzy slot at the same casino.
At Thunder Valley Casino Resort in California, a slots enthusiast playing a Samurai Secrets machine hit an impressive $118,428 jackpot with just a one-dollar bet on Christmas Day, December 25.
“Christmas was a fantastic occasion to witness a player experience such a remarkable moment,” remarked Dawn Clayton, the casino’s general manager. “These victories truly elevate the holiday spirit here.”
On Christmas Eve, a participant on the Dollar Storm Emperor’s Treasure machine secured a $105,390 jackpot at Thunder Valley. Concurrently, a player at the French Lick Casino in Indiana won an $11,221 prize from a Blazing 7s Triple Double on a mere $0.25 bet. Another lucky individual at Horseshoe Hammond in Indiana playing Dragon Cash won a grand total of $130,666.79.
In Las Vegas, a visitor from Louisiana won $186,468 wagering $8.50 at the Fontainebleau on Christmas Eve, hitting big on a Double Firestorm Bison machine.
Thus far, the largest casino jackpot this holiday season was won at Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip, where a player raked in a staggering $1.2 million while playing a Double Super Times Pay Poker machine, hitting three royal flushes with a $105 bet.
This marks the second occasion this month in which the jackpot on this video poker machine hit, with the odds of achieving three royal flushes estimated at about 1 in 9.6 million.
Tax Implications for Gamblers
Without intervention from Congress, a tax alteration included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill may impact gamblers significantly starting in 2026. A provision within the Republicans’ legislation states that, from next year, gambling deductions against winnings will be limited to 90%.
For years, gamblers filing itemized federal tax returns could fully deduct their losses against their winnings. Nevada lawmakers are currently working to revise the OBBB to reinstate the 100% gambling deduction.