Progressive slots are the casino’s version of the lottery, as they promise the chance at
life-changing money for just a5️⃣ couple of bucks per spin. Players flock to progressive
slots in droves, as everyone wants a shot at hitting it5️⃣ big and taking home millions of
dollars.
For as popular as progressive slots are, there is very little information
available out5️⃣ there on how they actually work. But that is where our resident casino
expert here at TheSportsGeek, Jason Gray, comes5️⃣ into play.
Jason spent years managing
casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, and he is going to give you the inside5️⃣ info on how
progressive slots really work from a true industry insider.
With that, let’s jump right
into it, with 75️⃣ facts about progressive slots that will shock you. We will kick things
off by taking a look at the casino’s5️⃣ house advantage on progressive slots and how it is
likely much higher than you might expect!
The Casino Hold Is Higher5️⃣ On Progressive
Slots
The casino knows that you are mesmerized by those huge progressive jackpot
numbers, which is why they jack5️⃣ up the house advantage on the game. Their thinking is
that you are going to play anyways, so they may5️⃣ as well charge you for the
experience.
When you compare the house take for a progressive slot machine to a typical
5️⃣ reel, video reel, or video poker machine, it is going to be much higher on the
progressive slots. The hold5️⃣ on an optimal rule set video poker machine can be as low as
less than 1%, whereas progressive slot machines5️⃣ are going to hold double digits.
When
you factor in that a large percentage of the money that is going to5️⃣ be paid back to the
players goes to the progressive jackpot winner, it makes it that much harder for the
5️⃣ average player to walk away a winner. If you want to chase millions, and let’s be
honest here, who doesn’t,5️⃣ expect to pay a premium price to do it while playing
progressive slots.
The House Must Pay Out All Money Collected
Most5️⃣ gamblers have no
idea how progressive slot machines actually work. For every dollar bet on a progressive
slot machine, a5️⃣ percentage of it goes toward the progressive jackpot pool.
The exact
breakdown is going to vary from slot to slot, but5️⃣ just know that every time someone
pulls that handle, the progressive meter is going to go up.
That money is held
5️⃣ separately from the rest of the money that is collected, and per gaming regulations,
must be paid out in full5️⃣ to players. Essentially all the casino is doing is holding the
player’s money for them, until they eventually give it5️⃣ all away to one lucky
gambler.
Many gaming jurisdictions set rules on how long the casino can hold the
player’s money,5️⃣ which is why you will see games that advertise that they must hit by a
certain date or dollar amount.5️⃣ When that big jackpot does eventually hit, all of the
money paid out comes from the pool of money contributed5️⃣ from all of the handle
pulls.
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You Must Play Max Bet to Win the Jackpot
While not5️⃣ every slot machine is
going to be identical, one thing that you can bet on when playing progressive slots is
5️⃣ that you must bet the maximum if you want to hit the jackpot. That doesn’t mean that
you can’t win5️⃣ if you are playing less than the max on a progressive slot, it just means
that you can never win5️⃣ the top award on the game.
We already talked about how a large
percentage of the money that gets paid back5️⃣ out to the players on a progressive slot
machine comes via the top award jackpot, and if you aren’t eligible5️⃣ to win the big one,
you shouldn’t be playing the machine at all.
If the max bet for a specific game5️⃣ is
above your bankroll, you are better off dropping down in denominations and playing max
credits on a different game5️⃣ with a smaller max bet. The last thing you ever want to do
is hit the magical combination that should5️⃣ get you rich, only to find out that you
don’t qualify because you didn’t play the max bet.
Progressive Slot Jackpots5️⃣ Can Reach
8 Figures
When slot machines first appeared on casino floors, they were used to
distract the wives of the5️⃣ “real” gamblers that were playing table games. But since
those humble origins, slot machines have come a long way, and5️⃣ they now dominate the
gaming landscape in terms of volume.
The days of winning a couple of nickels on a slot
5️⃣ machine are long gone, as slot machines have become big business with even bigger
jackpot payouts. A quick walk across5️⃣ the casino floor of any major casino will show you
multiple machines boasting million-dollar payouts.
We have even seen some slot5️⃣ machines
payout 8 figures, as the largest progressive slot machine win of all time was
nearlyR$40 million bucks!
These jumbo jackpots5️⃣ are exceedingly rare, but as more and
more casinos get in on the progressive slot machine craze, they are only5️⃣ going to get
bigger and bigger. It is only a matter of time until we see a new record set,5️⃣ and it
won’t shock me at all when we inevitably see the first 9 figure progressive jackpot
payout!
Huge Progressive Slot5️⃣ Jackpots Are Paid by The Manufacturer, Not the
Casino
Here is a progressive slots fact that I am sure you didn’t5️⃣ know! When those
massive 8 figure payouts do hit, it’s not the casino that pays it out, it is actually
5️⃣ the game manufacturer. The slot machine makers take out insurance against these big
jackpots, to lessen the blow of the5️⃣ hit when it eventually comes.
That is why the
casino separates the progressive funds from the normal money that flows through5️⃣ the
slot machine. All of the money that is on the progressive meter is actually being held
by the game5️⃣ manufacturer, not the casino.
If you have ever seen a monster jackpot hit,
you may have noticed that they can take5️⃣ several hours to be paid out. That is because
it must be verified by the casino, the game manufacturer, and5️⃣ a representative from the
insurance company.
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With so many5️⃣ different hands in the cookie jar, and so much money being
paid out all at once, everyone involved wants to5️⃣ ensure that everything was on the up
and up, and that there was no shady business or machine malfunctions that5️⃣ caused the
jackpot to hit when it shouldn’t have.
Many times, the manufacturer will actually
disassemble the entire bank of machines5️⃣ to confirm a legit jackpot before it gets paid
out. There have been several high-profile progressive jackpots that turned out5️⃣ to be
machine malfunctions, voiding all payouts. A big part of the casino’s due diligence
when handing out that much5️⃣ cash is to know without a doubt that the hit was
legit.
Taxes Will Be Taken Out of Your Payout
When you5️⃣ are playing a normal slot
machine and hit what is known in the industry as a taxable jackpot (a jackpot
5️⃣ overR$1,200 in the US), you can choose to take all of the money right away or to have
taxes withheld5️⃣ from your payout. When you hit a major progressive jackpot, you don’t
have a choice, as the casino is going5️⃣ to withhold taxes upfront, even if you don’t want
them to.
Depending on which market you are playing in and which5️⃣ country you are from,
the amount that they are going to withhold is going to vary. As a general rule,5️⃣ they
will hold roughly a third of any major progressive jackpot for tax purposes.
That is
even true if you live5️⃣ in a country that doesn’t tax gambling wins or has a tax treaty
with your home country absolving you from5️⃣ paying.
In a case like that, where you are
from a country that doesn’t tax gambling wins, you will have to5️⃣ work with your home
country’s government to retrieve your funds after the fact, as they are going to
withhold it5️⃣ from you no matter what. It is a little bit of a bummer to hand over so
much cash to5️⃣ Uncle Sam, but it is a good problem to have, as that means you just won a
boatload of money!
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Many Progressive Machines Are Linked Across Multiple
Properties
So, we5️⃣ know how progressive jackpots grow, as a percentage of every handle
pull is added to the progressive pool. But you5️⃣ might be wondering to yourself, how can
these progressive pools get so big, so fast?
Well, many of the slot machine5️⃣ game
manufacturers link their machines across multiple properties. So, in reality, you
aren’t just playing one machine when you are5️⃣ playing a progressive slot machine, you
might be playing for money that was collected on machines at several different
casinos.
Megabucks5️⃣ is a good example of a slot where the prize pool is built up at
hundreds of different casinos, allowing5️⃣ it to grow at a much faster rate than if it
were just one machine at one casino. When you5️⃣ drop your dollar into a progressive slot,
a player in another casino, or even another country, depending on the game5️⃣ you are
playing, could end up taking home the progressive jackpot that you helped
build.
Conclusion
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