World Tournament of Slots Winner Makes $1 Million in Bahamas

by Roy Brindley, 29 October 2025

The World Tournament of Slots has awarded its 2025 champion a $1 million cash prize.

It’s a race to win as many points as you can in any slots tournament. © Getty Images

Key Facts:

• The World Tournament of Slots has crowned its second winner.
• $1 million competition was a star-studded event featuring 500 players.
• 2025’s World Series of Poker winner beat the 2024 World Slots champ in a heads-up challenge.

The 2025 World Tournament of Slots saw 500 players worldwide congregate on Atlantis Paradise Island, an ocean-themed casino resort located on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, during the last weekend of October.

When the reels finally stopped spinning, Vanna White, best known as the co-host of the game show Wheel of Fortune, announced that Hector Barahona is the new World Tournament of Slots champion.

After collecting his $1 million show cheque, Barahona, from Toronto, Canada, said: “I’m gonna do so many things. Of course, I’m going to help out my family and my cousins.” He later added, “I like to make other people happy, so I’m going to use it [his cash windfall] to do that.”

Second prize, $100,000, went to Dolores Kelly, and Susan Connors collected $50,000 for third. The top 20 received an award of at least $1,000. However, there was no joy for defending champion Stephanie Hall, who won the $1 million first prize in 2024.

Before the World Tournament of Slots officially began, Hall played a head-to-head’ slots showdown’ against the 2025 World Series of Poker winner, Michael’ The Grinder’ Mizrachi. The poker champion came out on top.

Amongst the notable celebrities in attendance was The Real Housewives of Orange County star, Heather Dubrow. She served as the tournament’s ‘Keeper of the Trophy’ while her friend, American actress, television personality and former Playboy Playmate, Jenny McCarthy, helped promote the event.

The World Tournament of Slots is an invitation-only event. For the most part, places in the 2025 competition were awarded to online slot players as part of a customer bonus loyalty incentive program. The machine contestants played at the event was the IGT Casino Cleopatra slot.

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Slot tournaments are easy, fun, and exciting. Played on regular slot machines, just like the ones you would find on any casino floor, contestants sit alongside one another pressing the same buttons and tapping the same screens. It makes for a fascinating spectacle.

The primary difference between traditional cash slots is that contestants play for points in a series of short, time-based rounds. At the World Tournament of Slots, the top 20 players participated in the final round.

Guinness World Records lists the largest ever slot tournament as a 3,173-player competition staged by Muckleshoot Casino in Washington State, USA. As part of the venue’s 21st anniversary celebrations, it was a free-to-enter competition offering $100,000 in prize money.

Slot tournaments are not restricted to land-based casinos. Licensed online casino sites such as JackpotJoy regularly stage two-minute multiplayer Slot Master Tournaments where winners receive cash prizes or a set of free spins.