If you’re a gambling fanatic, then you are sure to have heard of the opulence of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The hotel is one of the biggest gambling hotspots in the world and holds an enormous amount of desirability for those dreaming of a Las Vegas visit. It has one of the largest gaming floors in the whole of Las Vegas, with over 2,500 machines for gaming as well as 139 poker and table games. Visitors can spend hours playing an endless number of machines or participating in a wide range of table games, all in the luxury of the hotel resort complex.
If you have a passion for the traditional slot machines, then the MGM Grand certainly has a lot to offer you. The hotel is home to a wide variety of different machines which include progressive slots, video poker and multi-game options. There is a special High Limit Slots area, featuring some slot machines with pay-outs of $500,000. This may be an amount alluring enough for most slot machine lovers, but for the extra ambitious there is one slot machine on the MGM Grand’s gaming floor that is considered legendary in the casino world.
The Lion’s Share is the oldest slot machine in the hotel. It is an outdated three-reel slot machine that hasn’t produced a single jackpot in almost 20 years. Dedicated gamblers from all over the world have gathered at the one-armed bandit with one goal only – to claim the $2.3 million prize.
In the hope that the machine will pay out millions of dollars at any moment, gamblers have wasted hours trying to get the machine to cough up the cash. The machine has the highest level of ‘occupancy’, or the amount of time played, out of all 1,900 of the casino’s machines. The machine has gathered something of a following from having a Facebook and Twitter feed with the description: ‘Tracking the MGM Lion’s Share – the progressive slot machine that still hasn’t hit it!’
With the game being played about five times more than average, and with professional players coming to play from all over the world, the Lion’s Share slot machine could practically be considered a sport in its own right. From the commitment of players who are prepared to queue for hours at a time for a chance to play the machine, to the huge audience around the world that it has accumulated – Lion’s Share is gaining as much popularity as an internationally renowned sport.
The slot machine is required to pay out 75 per cent of the money that goes into it. Due to this, the Lion’s Share isn’t going anywhere soon, at least not until somebody hits the jackpot. With generations’ worth of gamblers money inside, new generations are continually drawn to the bright lights of the machine. As the jackpot slowly rises, so does the question – ‘will this slot machine ever pay out?’
Ironically, the MGM Grand is represented by a giant golden lion. So whether the MGM Grand lion will ever give up its ‘share’ from the Lion’s Share machine is a mystery.
