California woman rakes in $7.4 million at Carson Nugget

A California woman turned a $20 bill into $7,490,791 when she hit a Wheel of Fortune dollars MegaJackpot at the Carson Nugget Saturday night. Leda Faye Forbes of Fairfield, California was here with her sister and brother-in-law to attend a class reunion that Governor Kenny Guinn was throwing at the Governor's Mansion, but due to a last-minute glitch, she couldn't get a ticket to the event.

With time on her hands, she wandered first to the Ormsby House, and then to the Nugget. She couldn't find the $1 Wild Cherry slot, which is her favorite, and decided to play the Wheel of Fortune.

"I don't even like the game, but I put $20 in, and in about 20 minutes I built it up to $162 in credits," Forbes said. "Then I watched as the first, then the second Wheel of Fortune symbol lined up. I looked away thinking the third one never hits. Then the bell began to ring and I looked at the machine and said, 'Oh my God, oh my God. I have done it. I've hit the big one."

A member of the Carson Nugget staff went to the reunion to inform Forbes' sister, and a few minutes later she came into the casino with tears flowing down her face.

"I'm so happy for you!" she said as she embraced her sister.

Carson Nugget marketing director Doug Brown said Forbes was going to talk to family and some trusted friends before making any decisions concerning the money, and she had no immediate wish list. She left Carson City with an initial payment of $342,539.59 last night, and will receive her legal and financial options, including a buyout percentage, from IGT within about a week.

Forbes, who is 67, lives with her husband in Fairfield, California. She worked for 32 years as a manager with the J.C. Penny Company, and is retired.