Gambler Turns $5 Into $2.2M On Side Bet In Las Vegas: Here's How

A lucky gambler in Las Vegas won $2.2 million off of a $5 side bet playing Pai Gow at The Venetian Las Vegas Casino and Resort. Pai Gow is a card game based on Chinese dominoes and was created in 1985 by Sam Torosian, the then-owner of Bell Card Club.

The gambler, whose name is unknown, hit a $5 side bet when the dealer dealt him a 7-card straight flush. This means all of the cards were consecutive, 7 through King and all of the same suit, in this case, clubs.

According to reports, the hand triggered a progressive jackpot, the largest Pai Gow progressive jackpot in the Venetian's history. The official jackpot was worth $2,211,469 off the gambler's $5 side bet. 

See Also: Viva Las Vegas: Tourists Enjoy Sin City, But Gambling? Depends Where

Many casino card games, like blackjack, give players the option to play a “side bet” in addition to the traditional hand. The side bets can pay off large amounts and sometimes include progressive jackpots, but are less likely to hit compared to the normal hand. 

Vici Properties Inc VICI, a real estate investment trust (REIT) owns the Venetian Resort, which was sold by Las Vegas Sands in 2022. Vici also owns other properties on the Vegas Strip, including MGM Grand Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay and more.

An investor can make a few decisions when deciding whether a stock is a good buy. In addition to valuation metrics and price action which you can find on Benzinga's quote pages — such as VICI‘s page, for example — there are factors such as whether or not a company pays a dividend or buys a large portion of its stock each quarter.

These are known as capital allocation programs. VICI pays a dividend, which yields 5.6% per year as of the closing price on July 25, 2024. Feel free to search Benzinga's dividend calendar for the next company due to pay a dividend and determine what kind of yield you can earn for holding a share of the company.

For example, if looking to earn an annualized return of 11.56%, buy a share of Marketing Alliance by Aug. 9, 2024. Once done, you can expect to receive a nominal payout of $0.05 on Aug. 16, 2024.

Buyback programs are obviously different and highly variable. A company can approve a buyback program and purchase shares as it sees fit over the course of time in which the buyback was authorized.

Looking through the latest news on VICI will often yield whether or not the company has approved a buyback program recently. Buyback programs usually serve as a support for share prices, serving as a backstop for demand.

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