California woman wins $22.6 million jackpot

Tuesday, May 28, 2002 | 9:30 a.m.

Johanna Heundl, 74, a retired printer from Covina, Calif., won a $22.6 million Megabucks jackpot, the third-largest slot jackpot in history, Monday at Bally's Las Vegas.

Heundl said she was on her way to breakfast when she stopped to play the machine, hoping to win the smaller $3,000 progressive prize.

She had invested $100, and when that was gone, she put in a second $100 bill.

She won the big prize after spending $170.

Initially, Heundl said, she thought she had won $2 million.

A frequent Las Vegas visitor, Heundl said she was celebrating her birthday, which is May 17. It was the first Megabucks jackpot for Bally's, but the 57th Megabucks awarded by International Game Technology since the progressive jackpot originated in 1986.

She has decided to exercise the option of one lump-sum payment.

Heundl said she is not sure what she will do with the money, but plans to visit family in Austria.

The Megabucks record is a $34.9 million jackpot won at the Desert Inn in January 2000. A $27.5 million jackpot won at Palace Station in November 1998 is the only other one larger than Monday's.