Las Vegas man wins $7.8 million on third Megabucks hit in three weeks

LAS VEGAS (AP) - It went for months without a hit. Now Megabucks is on a roll.

A Las Vegas man won $7,783,158 on a Megabucks slot machine at the Bellagio Resort and Casino Monday night. That's the third time in three weeks that Megabucks machines have struck.

The latest winner is a 38-year-old computer consultant who was out for a Valentine's Day date when the Megabucks logos lined up on the machine he was playing.

The winner chose to remain anonymous, but said he would likely continue to work with computers. He said now he has the luxury of pursuing what really interests him rather than having to work to pay bills.

He was presented the first check for $313,333. The jackpot is paid out in annual installments.

Since Jan. 26, International Game Technology machine jackpots have totaled more than $54 million. That includes a record $34.9 million jackpot at the Desert Inn hotel-casino on that date, a $7.7 million Megabucks hit at the MGM Grand hotel-casino on Feb. 4, and a $4.2 million payout at an IGT Wheel of Fortune game at the Mandalay Bay resort Sunday.

The Nevada Megabucks machines are linked in 157 casinos statewide, with the game building from a base amount of $7 million.