Denny Hamlin’s Vegas gamble pays off big as NASCAR star wins staggering six-figure casino payout

Denny Hamlin may have only finished 25th in last Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver left Sin City with some good luck in his pocket.

Hamlin, owner of the 23XI team alongside Michael Jordan, won an eye-watering $126,150 at a Vegas casino over the race weekend after an initial bet of $300. The racing star shared footage of the win on social media.

Hamlin's streak was only just beginning, though. By Saturday night, the Virginia native was back at it, scoring a second massive win of $85,825, and just half an hour later, he won another $65,300.

What makes this story even more incredible is that Hamlin claims this was his first time playing the slots.

"That's the first time I played slots," Hamlin told Bob Pockrass. "My buddy plays them all the time. He gave up his hot seat for me and it worked out well."

Hamlin is a pretty lucky fella, with the driver previously winning $50,000 after hitting five out of six numbers in the $2 billion Powerball lottery. Clearly, Lady Luck is looking over the him.

Despite his fortunes at the slot machines, Hamlin's Sunday at the speedway wasn't as successful. He qualified 15th but after a penalty on pit road that put him at the back of the pack, he finished in 25th. This comes just a week after a heartbreaking second-place finish at Phoenix Raceway, where he lost to team-mate Christopher Bell by a mere 0.049 seconds.

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman - Getty Images

“It’s so hard, especially [racing] a teammate,” Hamlin admitted, “because I mean, we could come out of here looking like fools if we don’t win, one of the two of us, especially controlling the race on the last restart on the last lap. So it’s really, really hard. But, you know, it’s the first time I think I’ve raced Bell for a race win in that kind of scenario. So I just wish I was on the inside, not on the outside.”

Hamlin will be hoping his luck reached Homestead this weekend.