Beginner’s Luck

Everyone wants Lady Luck to smile on their trip to a casino—especially if it is on their first visit. Few ever imagine that they will be lucky enough to walk out with more money than they went in with. History confirms though that ‘beginner’s luck’ does exist. Three people in the U.S. found this out for themselves. Since winning big on casino jackpots, three people have almost become household names in the country. At least, anyone who does try their hand at hitting the big time for every trip they make to the exhilarating world of gambling has heard of these big first time winners.

Elmer Sherwin

Elmer Sherwin is one of the first people to go down in history as being a first-time casino jackpot winner. In 1989, he paid a visit to the Mirage and walked away with an impressive $4.6 million win to his name. Reports claim that Elmer used this money to follow his passion of becoming a globetrotter. But the bug had bitten Elmer. He dreamed of hitting a much bigger jackpot a second time. His passion drove him to visit the Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas in 2005. After years of continuing to gamble, Elmer walked off with an even more impressive second win of $21.1 million at the grand old age of 92. Proud to have achieved his 16-year goal of a second major win, Erwin graciously donated a large portion of his winnings to charity. After all, it wasn’t about the money for Elmer, but the prestige!

Cynthia Jay-Brennan

Cynthia Jay-Brennan is probably more famous for the tragedy that followed her win on the Desert Inn Megabucks slot machine in 2000. Lady Luck smiled down on Cynthia on the night of January 26, showering a grand win of $34.9 million on this young woman. The 37-year-old cocktail waitress from Las Vegas couldn’t possibly have imagined what would follow a short six weeks later. Both Cynthia and her sister were involved in a rear-end vehicle collision that left her sister dead, and Cynthia paralyzed for life. Her tragedy has become a legend in Las Vegas where superstitious doom is strongly associated with massive jackpot wins. On the other hand, the millions that Cynthia won with her first-time gamble possibly eased her enormous suffering in life.

Johanna Huendl

Johanna Huendl is a third first time gambler who proved that ‘Beginner’s Luck’ is a real thing. Distracted by all the exciting activities around her at Bally’s Casino in Las Vegas while out for breakfast with friends, Johanna heard how a gambler had recently won $3,000. Leaving her breakfast table, she decided to make a quick play for the Megabucks jackpot. In 2002, she became the winner of $22,621,230, which changed her life forever. Even more surprising for this novice gambler was that she thought that the logo line-up on the screen meant that she had won $2,000. Luckily for Johanna, her jackpot win was a lot more. What did she do with her jackpot? Johanna had arrived in the U.S. in 1956 from Austria as a bright-eyed young bride. It was now time to take a trip back to her homeland, using a small part of her jackpot winnings.

Stories like this are simultaneously heart-warming and heart-breaking. One lucky man won the jackpot twice. One deserving waitress was able to use her winnings to make her life easier after the enormous tragedy, and an immigrant got the opportunity to re-visit her home country years later. ‘Beginner’s Luck’ is a double-edged sword at times!