A Bonita Springs man hit the largest jackpot in Florida's history Sunday, good for $3.5 million at the Seminole Casino Immokalee.

Christopher Detzler, 59, who said recent jobs including driving a truck and reupholstering patio furniture, hit for $3,577.517.97 on a $5 Wheel of Fortune wide area progressive. He bet $10 a spin.

Detlzer, who regularly play at Immokalee and at the Hard Rock Tampa, attributed his multi-million dollar win to a recent lucky streak.

“I was on a roll for the last two months," he said, noting he had his eye on the winning machine, but had to wait until the game was open to play. He had cashed $22,000 and $8,000 wins recently.

Said Immokalee GM Tony Sanchez: "I'm glad to see it happen to a regular customer."

The Seminole Immokalee Casino is part of a Native American progressive gaming network that includes over 300 casinos nationwide. Each time a coin is played in a linked machine, anywhere in the network, the jackpot accumulates until it is won.

(I wrote a 1A story a few weeks ago about linked progressives coming to South Florida's parimutuels once this whole compact thing gets worked out. In other words, there will be a similar jackpot available at the Isle, Gulfstream, Mardi Gras and Miami-Dade, eventually.)

Sunday’s MegaJackpot is largest to be paid in the state to date. It's also part of a hot run that includes three prizes of over $1 million each, including a $2 million prize July 19, 2008, at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.

More coverage at the Naples Daily News site, reported by Steven Beardsley.