It’s been quite the year for slot players at NJ online casinos. The year 2018 will go down as the year that brought many jackpots into the homes of Garden Staters.

The five richest online slot jackpots of 2018

In the past year, New Jersey residents have scored online jackpots worth more than $50,000 66 times, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement records.

In other words, an average month in 2018 awarded five jackpots.

Of those 66, 18 of them were worth more than $100,000. And $100,000 represents life-changing money — the ability to pay off debts, or put a big dent in them, anyway.

However, the rarest of online jackpots came with awards greater than $200,000. In fact, the five richest online slot jackpots each exceeded $225,000. They were (in order of prize amount):

• $687,785.53 at Harrah’s on June 4
• $314,341 at Betfair on Aug. 4
• $287,945 at SugarHouse on Aug. 2
• $240,026.67 at Golden Nugget on June 7
• $226,845 ta Golden Nugget on April 13

These wins collectively exceed $1.75 million in awarded monies.

The big win at Harrah’s occurred on its Gods of Gold machine. It was the only significant jackpot recorded at Harrah’s NJ online casino the entire year.

Three of the other large wins occurred on Divine Fortune machines. The NetEnt game is a popular choice for many players across several sites, thanks to its Greek mythology theme.

Divine Fortune players also enjoy frequent payouts — big wins come in the midst of many smaller ones.

The last strike, which came April 13, happened on a Scientific Games product. Lock It Link Night Life proved to have the lucky combination for one Golden Nugget player.

The five richest live slot jackpots of 2018

If the online jackpots were life-changing amounts, the live slot jackpots at Atlantic City casinos are job-quitting ones. Simply put, the amount of money won in jackpots at casinos far exceeds the amounts available in online markets.

To even consider the richest live jackpots, the list began at jackpots $200,000 or higher. This figure was twice the cut-off point for online bonanzas.

In the end, the five highest jackpots blew past that arbitrary value. The five richest jackpots awarded in New Jersey this past year all exceeded $500,000, and two of them flew past the million-dollar marker.

They were (in order of prize amount):

• $2,481,940.75 at Borgata on Sept. 1
• $1,672,498.68 at Harrah’s on July 6
• $979,343.12 at Golden Nugget on Oct. 27
• $910,759.23 at Hard Rock on Nov. 29
• $628,653.04 at Harrah’s on Oct. 26

Interestingly, three of the biggest jackpots, including both million-dollar wins, occurred on versions of the Wheel of Fortune slot.

The biggest one happened on Wheel of Fortune Crystal Red game, the other million-plus win came on Wheel of Fortune Pink Diamond, and the fifth-largest occurred on Wheel of Fortune Gold Spin Bonus.

Of course, Wheel of Fortune games are some of the most popular available today. The chance to spin the wheel on top of each machine for extra money is difficult to ignore.

It is interesting, though likely coincidental that Harrah’s placed the highest online jackpot and two of the highest live jackpots this year. Harrah’s is certainly not the biggest fish in the casino pond, but it seems that huge jackpots are more frequently caught there.

Or, maybe not. Jackpots tend to go where they want, so that it may have just been Harrah’s turn this year.

Nevertheless, it was a banner year for live jackpots in New Jersey. Get to spinning, and maybe next year, it will be your turn.