While it seems as if the word ‘jackpot’ is almost synonymous with casinos, many games on the casino floor actually don’t revolve around jackpots at all. Poker and blackjack tables have table pots that grow over the course of a night, while craps or roulette players can feel like they’ve hit the jackpot after making and winning a big bet. However, in casinos the only actual ‘jackpots,’ in the traditional sense of the word, are held within slot machines. Progressive slots, e.g. in microgaming casinos offer the highest ones!
Slot machines, like the famous Microgaming slots, have two different types of jackpots. The first type, the ‘flat top machine,’ has a fixed jackpot, meaning that, no matter how much money is spent at the machine in any given day, week or month, the jackpot remains at a pre-determined level. These fixed jackpots are generally fairly small and are paid out on a relatively frequent basis to encourage slot machine gamblers to keep playing in pursuit of their own jackpot.
The other type of slot machine jackpot is called a ‘progressive jackpot,’ and is generally the biggest potential payout on any given casino floor. Progressive slot machines have a jackpot – usually displayed loudly and proudly above the machine – that grows in increments each time the machine is used. Many casinos link their progressive machines so that each machine contributes to the same potential jackpot. Winning slot combinations at these machines are much rarer than at their flat top counterparts, though the jackpots are also considerably larger. Recently a player won over $1m Playing Major Millions at Luxury Casino!
If you decide to play a progressive slot machine at your favourite local or online casino, keep in mind that most casinos require players to make maximum bets in order to be eligible for the jackpot winnings. In other words, if you bet under the maximum amount, but score a winning slot combination, the casino would not actually let you take the full jackpot winnings – not the kind of news any gambler wants to hear after finally finding success.