Arizona visitor wins nearly $55G at Jake's 58 in Islandia
The visitor scored the prize on a 10-cent Kong Skull Island slot machine with a $37.50 bet, triggering the machine’s “KONG JACKPOT." Credit: Suffolk County OTB
A trip to Jake's 58 turned into an unexpected payday for one Arizona visitor earlier this week.
The player from Mesa, Arizona, who chose to remain anonymous, won $54,840.95 from a 10-cent Kong Skull Island slot machine with a $37.50 bet, said Suffolk OTB officials in a news release. Officials did not immediately respond to a request for further details.
"If you only put $37.50 in, you get $55,000 out, that's a great day for a player, but also for Jake's 58 casino. They get to market the positive outcome, and that keeps people coming back," said Anthony Lucas, a gaming professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Slot machines have a high house advantage and they're fast, making it easy to quickly blow through an allotted budget, he said, noting that the odds of winning the top award at a slot machine are very low.
Generally, with some exceptions, sticking with the same slot machine does not improve odds of winning, he said.
"If you want to get value for your time," he said, it might be better to play games like poker or bingo.
"Stuff like that takes a long time if you want to make your bankroll last," he added.
Jake's 58 offers slot machines, off-track betting and electronic table games with options that include blackjack and roulette, according to the casino's website. Jackpot payouts from when the casino opened in 2017 through this September totaled more than $61.2 million.
One of the Islandia casino's largest payouts was in 2023, when an East Northport resident won nearly $2.3 million while playing Wheel of Fortune, Newsday has reported. At the time, OTB officials said it might be the largest prize won in the casino's history.
More recent jackpot winners include a Ronkonkoma resident's $12,484.98 win in July 2025 and a Middle Islander's $10,092.73 payout that same summer, according to the Jake's 58 website.
The casino is expanding gambling operations, with plans to double the number of betting terminals to 2,000, Newsday has reported. The $210 million buildout will more than triple the number of parking spaces to nearly 2,000, and also includes new eateries and event space.
Earlier this month, the Village of Islandia approved nearly 800 additional parking spaces for the casino on around 8.5 acres of vacant land west of the site, Newsday reported.
Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep. 7: Guardian Caps in high school football Gregg Sarra sounds off on Guardian Caps being worn in high school football, Tess Ferguson looks at the final week of the high school fantasy football regular season and Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep. 7: Guardian Caps in high school football Gregg Sarra sounds off on Guardian Caps being worn in high school football, Tess Ferguson looks at the final week of the high school fantasy football regular season and Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
