"We came out of the lunch room and got in front of these machines," he said. "I was with two friends, and one of them said she had $15 and was going to invest it in one of these machines. So we started playing.
"I was starting to run out of money," he said, "but then those things came up, the five eagles."
The birds indicated that Schaeffer had won $4,231,745.
He plans to use the money to set up trust funds for his five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
"I'm not going to splurge or do anything crazy, take a cruise or anything like that," he said. "I did my traveling with my wife when she was alive. I'll use it to get my grandkids set up."
Schaeffer retired in 1989 from his job as a steel worker, and only goes to the casinos two or three times a year.
"I never got that lucky before," he said.
The jackpot is the largest in the 30-year history of Resorts, spokesman Brian Cahill said.
