(Thackerville, OK – September 7, 2009) – Bruce Hester won an incredible $2,241,817 when he hit a World Poker Tour^® MegaJackpot^® at the Winstar Casino on Saturday, September 5^th.

            The winner, a credit manager from Duncanville, Texas, said he was visiting the casino for his birthday. After spending some time on a nearby game, Hester “jumped” to the winning machine. Incredibly, his $9 investment, turned into a $2.2 million MegaJackpot^® just minutes after he began to play. When asked what went through his mind when he realized he had won the top progressive prize, the new millionaire said, “Shock and awe! I still don’t think I have realized it yet!” Hester went on to say that he will continue working at his present job, and his immediate plans will include paying off all of his bills, his son’s college, and he will be seeing a financial planner.

            Saturday’s MegaJackpot^® is the sixth to be paid at the casino so far this year, and the second largest to be paid in Oklahoma to date. The casino had a busy summer awarding a triple run of MegaJackpots^® in July. The excitement began on July 4^th with a $114,592 Wheel of Fortune^® quarters MegaJackpot^®. Just eleven days later on July 15^th, a $461,254 Wheel of Fortune^® MegaJackpot^® was awarded on a one-dollar machine, and was promptly followed by a $109,702 Jeopardy! ^® progressive MegaJackpot^®. on July 25^th. Last year, the Winstar casino awarded 8 MegaJackpots^® totaling $2.8 million. Winstar has now awarded 22 MegaJackpots^® totaling over $10.7 million in prize money, including a record-breaking $1.5 million prize on a Wheel of Fortune^® Special Edition^™ machine. The casino is one of dozens in Oklahoma belonging to a seventeen-state gaming network that includes over 300 tribal casinos nationwide. The network is made up of casinos that carry one or more IGT progressive game. Anytime a coin is played in a linked machine, anywhere in the network, the cumulative jackpot continues to grow until it is won.

            World Poker Tour^® is a penny progressive system and has a starting jackpot of $500,000. Five-reels and 20-paylines, plus a 10-credit Side Bet creates a 450-credit max bet opportunity. World Poker Tour^® was developed by IGT (www.IGT.com), a global company specializing in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and sales of computerized gaming machines and systems products. All IGT MegaJackpots® top awards are paid in annual installments upon verification, except MegaJackpots Instant Winners JackpotsÔ awards, which are paid in their entirety upon verification.

Contact: Holly Riker – ChitChat PR      Rapid City, SD  (605)390-7741        Email: hriker@chitchatpr.com

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