Record-breaking £13.2m Mega Moolah jackpot won by 26 year old UK soldier

After months of build up after long passing the former record payout for the slot, the Mega Moolah jackpot has finally paid out and with it the record win of £13,213,838.68 was won by a 26-year old British soldier Jonathon Heywood from Cheshire.

The popular Microgaming slot, known around the world as the "Millionaire Maker" has seen its jackpot growing since it was last won by a Canadian player called Mark, who took home $7.5m in Canadian dollars, the equivalent of around £3.5m in British Pounds.

After that win in April, the slot was seeded with the minimum fund of £1m and since then players have been steadily playing hoping that they would be the next lucky winner.

By the summer, the Mega jackpot had already swelled to more than the previous record, which was held by another UK resident, John Orchard of Lincolnshire who won a jackpot in excess of £5.8 million back in December 2012.

It was clear that someone was in line for a payout and the frenzy that followed saw more and more players trying their luck at the game which saw the jackpot creep over the £10m mark, then the £11m mark, £12m mark and then just a week or so ago, it reached an unprecedented £13m.

In the end, it was the 26-year old from Crewe who won the jackpot on the 6th October. The soldier, who has served a tour in Afghanistan, was playing the slot for 25p a spin at Betway Casino when the Mega Moolah Jackpot Bonus Game flashed up on screen.

This time, instead of the Mini, Minor or Major jackpot being won, it was THE Mega jackpot that the soldier landed, pocketing a stunning £13.2m jackpot.

It's some good news for the Crewe-based soldier in what has been a tough year that has seen hid grandfather die and his father suffering in need of a heart and lung transplant. Jonathon has vowed that he will use his windfall firstly to secure the best possible treatment for his father.

Alan Alger, a spokesman for Betway Casino added: "We are delighted for Jonathon and having met him the day after his win, we can honestly say that this couldn't (have) happen(ed) to a nicer young man. We hope he really enjoys the world record win."

Following the news of the biggest win on their flagship slot, Microgaming CEO Roger Raatgever was also quick to add his congratulations to the winner: "We have the longest-standing progressive jackpot network, having launched the first internet progressive jackpot in 1998, as we as the biggest having paid out half a billion euros to date" Raatgever stated on Sunday.

"Our progressive jackpot network has set many records since its inception, but I'm absolutely overjoyed to say that our software has generated the world's largest ever online jackpot win. Many congratulations to Jonathon on his life-changing and historic win!"

The signs are that after having sorted treatment for his father out, Jonathon plans to do just that.

"It's amazing" Jonathon stated "The first thing I will spend it on is the best possible medical treatment for my dad. That's more important than anything. Family comes first and I'd give all this money back for him to be healthy again."

He will then use some of his money to treat himself to something a little flashier to drive.

"I'm trying not to get carried away and I really don't know what else I'm going to buy with the money, apart from a yellow Bentley Continental GT."

"I've never even dreamed of driving a Bentley, let alone owning one. I've got a Fiat Punto at the moment!" he told reporters. Despite winning the money on the 6th October, Jonathon was so stunned that he turned in for work the next day.

Since then the Mega Moolah jackpot has been reset back to its seeding amount of a million and players are already trying to be the next player to land a big jackpot.

Read more about the Mega Moolah winners or visit Betway Casino.