One lucky American spend his Fourth of July loudly celebrating after he hit the largest bingo jackpot in world history at Foxwoods Casino.
A man named Arron P. won $440,000 on July 4, which, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the largest payout for a game of bingo — ever.
Foxwoods planned the Firecracker Bingo for months to celebrate its 40 years of its bingo operation. Foxwoods, a massive casino complex in Connecticut owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, got its start as a bingo hall on July 5, 1986. It now is the home of one of the biggest bingo halls in the world, normally seating upwards of 2,000 players at one time.
The special event brought in more than 3,000 players who escaped the heat wave inside with the ping pong balls and cards to try to grab some of the $1 million was up for grabs. Doors opened at 6 a.m. for games that started at noon.
“What the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation built forty years ago wasn’t just a bingo hall. It was a blueprint,” said Jason Guyot, President and CEO of Foxwoods Resort Casino. “That vision and courage to invest in something that had never been done at that scale on tribal land is the reason Foxwoods exists today. Attempting to set a Guinness World Records title on the same anniversary feels like the right way to honor that legacy, a milestone worthy of the one that started it all.”
And yes, officials from the Guinness Book of World Records were in the house to certify the record.
“I am thrilled to be at Foxwoods for this exciting moment,” said Michael Empric, Adjudicator, Guinness World Records. “The official attempt for the Guinness World Records title for largest payout for a game of bingo, single bingo house, reflect the ensuring popularity of bingo and the excitement it continues to generate. We look forward to seeing this milestone unfold.”
