Handful of life-changing winnings handed out already at Coast casinos in 2026
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Beau Rivage paid a $100,000 Top Dollar slot jackpot to a Florida visitor.
- Main Event awarded John Langevin $313,428 after a three-way final table chop.
- South Mississippi casinos logged four jackpots totaling $1.8 million in early 2026.
Another winning week at Beau Rivage Resort and Casino saw a big slot jackpot and three big winners on the final table at the Beau Rivage Heater poker tournament.
A visitor from Tallahassee, Florida was playing a $100 denomination on the Top Dollar slot machine Sunday. The person, who declined to be identified, placed a $200 bet and won a $100,000 jackpot.
This is the fourth $100,000 or greater jackpot in 2026, with one slot player winning more than $1 million at the Beau Rivage just days into the new year.
Casino winners this year
In just the first three weeks of the year, four jackpots totaling $1.8 million hit at South Mississippi Casinos:
Jan. 5 — A player from Baton Rouge won $1,132,124 on Wheel of Fortune at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi
Jan. 5 — A Gulfport man won $364,350 playing MS Stud poker at Island View Casino in Gulfport
Jan. 7 — A player from Mississippi won $194,768 playing Triple double stars at Treasure Bay Casino in Biloxi
Jan. 18 — a player from Florida won $100,000 playing Top Dollar slot machine at Beau Rivage Casino.
Poker tournament winners
The poker tournament that guaranteed $5.5 million in payouts wrapped up Monday night with John Langevin of Port Orange, Florida, holding the most chips in the Main Event. The top three players at the final table agreed to a chop, ending play.
Main Event — Langevin took the Main Event top prize of $313,428 and the coveted championship belt. Huy Nguyen of Lawrenceville, Georgia, finished second, earning $238,715. Wanda Hallman of Cantonment, Florida won $209,874 for her third-place finish
Event 2 — The tournament started with Biloxi resident Jon Bergeron outplaying 5,000 challengers in Event 2 to win $242,115. Billy Reed of St. Martinville, Louisiana finished second and won $155,248 and Clyde Maliuka of Clearwater, Florida won third and $111,392.
Event 3 — Chase Cummings of Waxahachie, Texas won $115,136 for first place and Michael Lexh of Alma, Arkansas won $115,136 for second place.
Linda Hammons, 88, of Alabama, went viral on social media as she finished her first tournament in 14th place in a field of more than 2,600 people.
