Luck Be This Lady, Twice

The stars were aligned for Jo Ann Argyris, or more like the symbols that signify an incredible second $1 million jackpot.

Argyris hit her second million-dollar jackpot in less than a year Thursday night at the Railroad Pass casino in Henderson, Nev.

"I saw the symbols, but it just didn't seem possible," said Argyris, a self-employed single mother of two and a grandmother of three from Boulder City, Nev.

In June, Argyris won her first $1 million jackpot on a slot machine at Sunset Station casino in Henderson.

Amazingly, both machines were the same — penny, progressive video slots dubbed Millionizer, which are distributed by Australia-based Aristocrat Technologies.

The $1 million jackpot is part of the machine's secondary bonus system, which is triggered randomly during play.

Argyris speaks with co-anchor Harry Smith on The Early Show Tuesday from the same machine at the Railroad Pass casino where Lady Luck lent her a huge hand for the second time.

Argyris tells CBS News she almost didn't stick around long enough to win her second pot of gold.

"My favorite show is "CSI." My daughter and I got there at 7:45, and I said, 'We're leaving at 8:30,' to go watch 'CSI.'

By 8:20, she had two of the symbols she needed for her second $1 million, and she told her daughter she still intended to leave to watch 'CSI."

But then, she got the third symbol needed for the $1 million.

"It doesn't make a noise or anything when you get the third one," so she didn't realize she'd won.

Then, Argyris tells Smith, "My daughter looked over and she said, 'Mom, you did it again.' And I said, 'What did I do?' And she said, 'Mom, you won $1 million again." And I said, 'What!' And I looked over and I saw the three (winning symbols) and I said, 'Oh, no,' and I put my head in her lap and I just started to cry. I didn't think it was possible again. Not this fast."Last year, she used the winnings to pay off her mortgage, remodel her house and take 10 family members on a cruise to Mexico.

Argyris tells Smith that, this time, she's buying herself a new car, taking her family on a Hawaiian cruise, and taking her mother and sister to Italy.

While speaking with Smith, Argyris agreed to try her luck one more time at the machine, and she won, though only $2.90.

Several gambling experts said the odds of the same person hitting two $1 million jackpots on the same type of machine in a year's time are astronomical.

"You're looking at odds in either the billions or trillions," said Anthony Curtis, president of lasvegasadvisor.com, a consumer newsletter that tracks casino promotions and gambling trends.

UNLV professor Bill Thompson called Argyris "one very lucky lady" and said it would be "mind-boggling" to come up with the odds of winning two jackpots in less than a year.

"Of course, I wonder why someone who has hit a $1 million jackpot would feel the need to go out and try again," said Thompson, who studies the casino industry at UNLV.

Even after two $1 million jackpots, Argyris isn't necessarily a millionaire.

Nevada gaming regulations allow the prize to be awarded in installments — $50,000 annually for 20 years. However, as she did last year, Argyris accepted a lump sum discounted payment for the jackpot — a little more than $400,000 after taxes and fees.