March 30, 200323 yr LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A young man visiting America's gambling capital hit pay dirt -- a world record $39 million on a slot machine. The 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles, who requested anonymity, came up big Friday at the Excalibur Hotel-Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, according to International Game Technology, which made the Megabucks slot machine. He was visiting family and keeping track of college basketball's "March Madness" tournament with some friends in Las Vegas, where betting on the games is legal. His uncle had told him about the Megabucks machine, which can pay out $5,000 for a $1 bet. If you play for $3 a pull, the winnings increase dramatically. "This MegaJackpot is nearly $5 million more than the previous world record slot jackpot amount of $34.9 million," said John Sears, vice president of MegaJackpots for IGT. Friday's winner said he'd put in about $100 when he turned his head away for an instant. When he looked back, the winning symbols had lined up and he was $39,713,982.25 richer.
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