NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – Maria Botelho won $328,705 when she hit a Wheel of Fortune MegaJackpot on a $1 machine at the Seneca Niagara Casino Jan. 2.

The winner is from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and said she chose the winning machine when her luck ran out on a quarter machine.

“I was having no luck on the quarter machines, so I tried my luck on Wheel of Fortune.” When asked what went through her mind when she realized she had won the top progressive prize, she said, “I couldn’t believe I would win that money. I was frozen.” The winner immediately called her son to share her news. “They said, ‘mom you deserve it!’” Botelho plans to use her winnings to pay bills, help family, and “live comfortable.”

The MegaJackpot is the first to be paid at the casino this year. In 2009, the Seneca Niagara Casino paid two MegaJackpot prizes. The first hit Feb. 28, when a Rochester, N.Y. man won $217,771 on a Wheel of Fortune quarters machine. The second, an incredible $885,274 Wheel of Fortune Special Edition MegaJackpot, was paid on June 20.

The Seneca Niagara Casino has now paid 37 MegaJackpots totaling nearly $21 million since 2003. Seneca Niagara is one of two New York casinos belonging to a Native American progressive gaming network which includes more than 300 tribal casinos nationwide. Each time a coin is played in a linked machine, anywhere in the network, the jackpot accumulates until some lucky winner hits the top jackpot award. Combined, Seneca Niagara along with sister casino, Seneca Allegany in Salamanca, N.Y., have now awarded an astounding 52 jackpots totaling more than $24.8 million.