In Foxwoods Resort Casino’s 25th Anniversary Firecracker Bingo event on Saturday, Jennifer McKenzie from East Lyme’s Niantic section won the $1 million jackpot.
The Firecracker Bingo tournament commemorates the start of casino gambling in Connecticut, when the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe opened a 1,200 seat bingo hall on its reservation on July 6, 1986.
Since that date, 19 million people have played bingo at Foxwoods, and the casino is still home to the largest bingo hall in the country at 3,500 seats.
For the actual anniversary date of gambling at Foxwoods, the casino will have a small ceremony on Wednesday to honor some of the employees that have worked for the tribe since 1986.
The Firecracker Bingo tournament on Saturday had multiple games along with several door prizes for those that paid the $500 per seat ticket. The winner of the biggest door prize was Victoria Rawlings from Newport News, Va., who won a 2011 Chevrolet Corvette.
