What happens if you win the Wheel of Wishes top Wowpot jackpot?

With the newly released Wheel of Wishes slot hitting casinos on general release from the 11^th February, there has been a real buzz in the online slots community since then. Microgaming's newest progressive slot may have taken over the Wowpot name, but it now has a jackpot worthy of the exclamation too.

The old Wowpot progressive was a small progressive prize, usually of around five to ten thousand in value. However, in the revamped Wheel of Wishes slot, the new Wowpot progressive jackpot prize is seeded at a cool TWO million pounds.

Of course, just like on the MegaMoolah.com slot, just because Microgaming use the British Pound as their base currency for the game, this doesn't mean that you have to play using pounds. You can play in a wide selection of currencies, dependent on where you live in the world and any win you land in your own currency is paid out to you from the British Pound balance.

For example, if you won a prize of 5 million in Canadian Dollars for example, that equates to around £2.9 million British pounds, which would then be deducted from the balance on Wheel of Wishes to pay that lucky winner in full.

With an initial seed amount double that of the previous biggest Microgaming progressive jackpot prize (the million Mega jackpot prize on the Mega Moolah slot) slot fans have been eager to try their hands at playing the new Wheel of Wishes slot in the hope of becoming the first player to land that prize, or perhaps the Major jackpot prize, which stands at a not inconsiderable sum of at least 50,000.

However, what would happen if you loaded up the slot, had a spin, launched the Power Spin mode, landed the big Scatter in full on the reel and then on your Jackpot Wheel Bonus, spun the wheel and watched it land on that single gold coloured sector to signify that you had just won that massive Wowpot progressive jackpot?

Well in this article, we will learn a bit more about what the process would be if you were ever lucky enough to win this massive progressive prize (or indeed any other huge jackpot win) at your choice of casino.

When the wheel turns gold

At the very moment that you spin the Jackpot Bonus Wheel in the Wheel of Wishes slot and your wishes are granted by that gold sector being the one the pointer is pointing to at the end of the spin, the first thing that will happen to you is likely to be one of two things.

Initially, you may feel elation and excitement, but in truth a more common reaction is one of shock and disbelief. Many people actually refuse to believe that the slot has indeed changed their life in a single spin. They will look at the amount they have won on screen and almost refuse to believe it has happened.

Famously, one winner of the Mega Moolah jackpot, saw the amount he had won come up on screen and thought that it was a telephone number that he had to ring in order to claim his prize!

So the first thing you need to be aware of is if you land The Big One playing Wheel of Wishes, then it is likely you will be in shock, surprised and perhaps in a state of disbelief. There is nothing wrong with that, it tends to be a natural reaction. However, what happens next should then help you bring your big win into the real world.

The phone call

You may remember when you signed up at your chosen online casino that when you did, you had to put into the sign up page your home address and telephone number on which you could be contacted. The reason you provide your details is more than simply for security reasons, it is also just should something fabulously fortunate happens to you, such as winning a massive jackpot prize.

What will happen is that when your win is triggered, the casino that you are playing the game with, will also be notified that a player has won a top jackpot prize playing the Wheel of Wishes slot. Within a very short space of time, an operator at the casino will then call you on the telephone to begin the process of confirming your win and verifying it.

The point of this phone call is two-fold. Firstly, it is to confirm that you are who you say you are and that your details are correct. Unfortunately, this is required because some people will join casinos that are based in countries which are not allowed at certain casinos for a variety of different laws and regulations. The casino cannot pay out any monies to a player not based in the correct country, nor can they pay out to a player using a fake account, or someone who has logged into your account and who has accessed it to play. Nor can they pay someone who turns out to be a minor (aged under 18 in most jurisdictions).

Of course, if your account is entirely legitimate and you are over the legal age to wager at the casino and based where you have registered, then there is no problem with this at all, however the casino has to take these precautions against issues like money laundering, underage gambling and illegal gambling.

So, once the operator has confirmed you are who you say you are they will then explain what happens next, which is a process called the verification of your win.

Verifying your win is genuine

Once your call has ended with the casino operator and they will have told you they will be back in touch shortly once the win is verified, then the process of making sure your win was a genuine one will take place.

Why does the casino have to do this? Well, while they are incredibly rare, software errors can happen and sometimes a game may report a win, when in actual fact, the slot has malfunctioned. It would be incredibly rare (much rarer than an actual win of a big progressive jackpot) for this to happen, but it could potentially happen.

Now some people think "well, it wasn't my fault the game cocked up, I think I should still get my winnings!" and while I have sympathy with their misfortune, if you read the terms and conditions of the Wheel of Wishes slot, or indeed any other progressive, it does say that if there is an error in the game, then any winnings are declared null and void. That goes if the win is just for a few pence, or millions of pounds.

Of course, the chances of this being the case are extraordinarily slim, but just as with checking the identity of the player, casinos are obliged to ensure that any jackpot trigger is a genuine one.

This is also the time that the casino will check for any attempted cheating or gamesmanship on the slot. It is incredibly rare that a gamer will have the skills and ability to hack a slot game, indeed I am not sure there is even a case on record, but once again, it is something that casinos need to check, even if the chances of it happening are small.

Once the casino has checked that the win is 100% genuine, then they will be back in touch with you to confirm that fact and the good news is that this process is a relatively speedy one usually.

To go public with Joe Public or not?

Assuming everything checks out with your win, then the casino will be back in touch a short time after that to sort out the payment and transfer of the cash sum into your chosen bank account. This process doesn't take too long and can usually be sorted within a few days to a week.

However, one other consideration you need to think about regarding your big win is whether or not you want to go public with details of your win, or you want to remain anonymous.

Some people may want to shout news of their victory from the rooftops, and that is their right, but equally some people want to keep their identities a secret and if you do, then only the very basic details of your win (how much was won, when and at what casino) will be made public.

Going public to let the world know you are now a millionaire is tempting for some, but it does open you up to people suddenly wanting to become your best friend, or simply writing to you to ask for money for all kinds of different things, from investing in their company, to asking for money for a sick or dying relative. These begging letters can be hard to deal with for some people and are often the reason why people elect to remain anonymous.

If you suddenly come into a large sum of money, then it can be overwhelming with regards what to do with it and many casinos will also put you in touch with a financial advisor or similar professional, who can guide you with what to do with your money. They will be able to tell you what is the best way to save, invest or spend your cash, and how to make sure your good fortune can last you a lifetime.

One piece of advice that nearly all top advisors give to a new winner is to take some time away from daily life, away from home and all its distractions, to get used to your new-found wealth. Many suggest taking a holiday for a fortnight where you can sit back, relax and think closely about what you want to do with your money, who you want to help and what you can realistically buy.

This is important as the amount you can win on a progressive jackpot slot like Wheel of Wishes can vary a great deal. If you land the jackpot just after it has been seeded for example, then you may win just over 2 million. However, if the jackpot hasn't been won for a long period of time, then the amount you win could be much higher.

That does impact what you can do with your money. If you have 2 million to spend, you may be able to invest half of that and then spend the rest helping out family and friends, plus sorting out a new house and car.

However, if you have won 10 million, then you can do all of that and vast amounts more. People who are new to large amounts of money may need help adjusting to the scale of these things and that is what a financial advisor can do and what you can think about while on your holiday.

Then when you return home, sun-kissed and refreshed after a couple of weeks away, you should not only find that your winnings have been sorted and are ready for you, but that you have a much better idea of what you are going to do with it.

Of course, it is only a tiny fraction of players on the Wheel of Wishes slot that will ever experience this process, but it is good to know what will happen beforehand and, it is also nice to have a little daydream about what could happen if one day, the slot gods decide that it is your spin that is going to be the big money winner!

Good Luck!