Progressive slots are the casino’s version of the lottery, as they promise the chance at life-changing money for just a couple of bucks per spin. Players flock to progressive slots in droves, as everyone wants a shot at hitting it big and taking home millions of dollars.
Jason spent years managing casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, and he is going to give you the inside info on how progressive slots really work from a true industry insider.
With that, let’s jump right into it, with 7 facts about progressive slots that will shock you. We will kick things off by taking a look at the casino’s house advantage on progressive slots and how it is likely much higher than you might expect!
The Casino Hold Is Higher On Progressive Slots
The casino knows that you are mesmerized by those huge progressive jackpot numbers, which is why they jack up the house advantage on the game. Their thinking is that you are going to play anyways, so they may as well charge you for the experience.
When you compare the house take for a progressive slot machine to a typical reel, video reel, or video poker machine, it is going to be much higher on the progressive slots. The hold on an optimal rule set video poker machine can be as low as less than 1%, whereas progressive slot machines are going to hold double digits.
When you factor in that a large percentage of the money that is going to be paid back to the players goes to the progressive jackpot winner, it makes it that much harder for the average player to walk away a winner. If you want to chase millions, and let’s be honest here, who doesn’t, expect to pay a premium price to do it while playing progressive slots.
The House Must Pay Out All Money Collected
Most gamblers have no idea how progressive slot machines actually work. For every dollar bet on a progressive slot machine, a percentage of it goes toward the progressive jackpot pool.
The exact breakdown is going to vary from slot to slot, but just know that every time someone pulls that handle, the progressive meter is going to go up.
That money is held separately from the rest of the money that is collected, and per gaming regulations, must be paid out in full to players. Essentially all the casino is doing is holding the player’s money for them, until they eventually give it all away to one lucky gambler.
Many gaming jurisdictions set rules on how long the casino can hold the player’s money, which is why you will see games that advertise that they must hit by a certain date or dollar amount. When that big jackpot does eventually hit, all of the money paid out comes from the pool of money contributed from all of the handle pulls.
You Must Play Max Bet to Win the Jackpot
While not every slot machine is going to be identical, one thing that you can bet on when playing progressive slots is that you must bet the maximum if you want to hit the jackpot. That doesn’t mean that you can’t win if you are playing less than the max on a progressive slot, it just means that you can never win the top award on the game.
We already talked about how a large percentage of the money that gets paid back out to the players on a progressive slot machine comes via the top award jackpot, and if you aren’t eligible to win the big one, you shouldn’t be playing the machine at all.
If the max bet for a specific game is above your bankroll, you are better off dropping down in denominations and playing max credits on a different game with a smaller max bet. The last thing you ever want to do is hit the magical combination that should get you rich, only to find out that you don’t qualify because you didn’t play the max bet.
Progressive Slot Jackpots Can Reach 8 Figures
When slot machines first appeared on casino floors, they were used to distract the wives of the “real” gamblers that were playing table games. But since those humble origins, slot machines have come a long way, and they now dominate the gaming landscape in terms of volume.
The days of winning a couple of nickels on a slot machine are long gone, as slot machines have become big business with even bigger jackpot payouts. A quick walk across the casino floor of any major casino will show you multiple machines boasting million-dollar payouts.
These jumbo jackpots are exceedingly rare, but as more and more casinos get in on the progressive slot machine craze, they are only going to get bigger and bigger. It is only a matter of time until we see a new record set, and it won’t shock me at all when we inevitably see the first 9 figure progressive jackpot payout!
Huge Progressive Slot Jackpots Are Paid by The Manufacturer, Not the Casino
Here is a progressive slots fact that I am sure you didn’t know! When those massive 8 figure payouts do hit, it’s not the casino that pays it out, it is actually the game manufacturer. The slot machine makers take out insurance against these big jackpots, to lessen the blow of the hit when it eventually comes.
That is why the casino separates the progressive funds from the normal money that flows through the slot machine. All of the money that is on the progressive meter is actually being held by the game manufacturer, not the casino.
If you have ever seen a monster jackpot hit, you may have noticed that they can take several hours to be paid out. That is because it must be verified by the casino, the game manufacturer, and a representative from the insurance company.
BEST 👏 WEEKEND 👏 EVER 👏. Kaoru H. of Torrance, Calif., hit a $873,511 jackpot with a $5 bet on IGT’s Wheel of Fortune 4D penny slots in the C Concourse. Fun fact: The largest jackpot ever won at the airport was $3,961,585.14 in January 2005. pic.twitter.com/pbqqnsSIqO
— Harry Reid International Airport (@LASairport) July 20, 2020
With so many different hands in the cookie jar, and so much money being paid out all at once, everyone involved wants to ensure that everything was on the up and up, and that there was no shady business or machine malfunctions that caused the jackpot to hit when it shouldn’t have.
Many times, the manufacturer will actually disassemble the entire bank of machines to confirm a legit jackpot before it gets paid out. There have been several high-profile progressive jackpots that turned out to be machine malfunctions, voiding all payouts. A big part of the casino’s due diligence when handing out that much cash is to know without a doubt that the hit was legit.
Taxes Will Be Taken Out of Your Payout
When you are playing a normal slot machine and hit what is known in the industry as a taxable jackpot (a jackpot over $1,200 in the US), you can choose to take all of the money right away or to have taxes withheld from your payout. When you hit a major progressive jackpot, you don’t have a choice, as the casino is going to withhold taxes upfront, even if you don’t want them to.
Depending on which market you are playing in and which country you are from, the amount that they are going to withhold is going to vary. As a general rule, they will hold roughly a third of any major progressive jackpot for tax purposes.
In a case like that, where you are from a country that doesn’t tax gambling wins, you will have to work with your home country’s government to retrieve your funds after the fact, as they are going to withhold it from you no matter what. It is a little bit of a bummer to hand over so much cash to Uncle Sam, but it is a good problem to have, as that means you just won a boatload of money!
One lucky winner hit a jackpot for $3,854,682 on the IGT Megabucks® slots game, which marks the highest payout in history for all six Seminole Gaming properties and the largest slot jackpot ever awarded in Florida on an IGT game!
Read More | https://t.co/GKtbTXTJxx pic.twitter.com/4UZ4aqbEdQ
— Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood (@HardRockHolly) July 23, 2020
Many Progressive Machines Are Linked Across Multiple Properties
So, we know how progressive jackpots grow, as a percentage of every handle pull is added to the progressive pool. But you might be wondering to yourself, how can these progressive pools get so big, so fast?
Well, many of the slot machine game manufacturers link their machines across multiple properties. So, in reality, you aren’t just playing one machine when you are playing a progressive slot machine, you might be playing for money that was collected on machines at several different casinos.
Megabucks is a good example of a slot where the prize pool is built up at hundreds of different casinos, allowing it to grow at a much faster rate than if it were just one machine at one casino. When you drop your dollar into a progressive slot, a player in another casino, or even another country, depending on the game you are playing, could end up taking home the progressive jackpot that you helped build.
Conclusion
Do you want to know where some of the biggest progressive slot jackpots in the world are at? Of course, you do! These days, some of the biggest progressive jackpots can be found online!
Are you looking for a place to play progressive slots for real money online? Look no further than TheSportsGeek’s play slots for real money page, where we bring our readers exclusive offers at all of the best online casinos.
Here you will find sign-up bonuses, deposit matches, cash back, and more, and you don’t want to miss out on all of the free cash! Thanks for reading, and good luck playing progressive slots at your favorite online casino!
