Home /
News /
Progressive Jackpot Slot Machines – Win The Biggest Prize In The Casino /

Progressive Jackpot Slot Machines – Win The Biggest Prize In The Casino

We've all seen the photos in the news of some lucky winner being handed a huge check with a massive amount of money written on it. And, as a casino slots player, you probably secretly hope that one day, that'll be you smiling out at the camera. But before you start to play the progressive jackpot slot machines in earnest, it's probably a good idea to understand exactly how they function. Then, armed with this knowledge, you'll hopefully have a better chance of taking home a life-changing prize.

Rate this news

Progressive Jackpot – Win The Progressive Jackpot Slot?

We’ve all read the story about the lucky casino slot player who managed to hit the jackpot. They later go on to retire to a life of sipping cocktails on a yacht. And we’re sure that, deep down, every slot player has the same fantasy. Every time they hit the spin button to spin the reels, they secretly imagine what they would do with all that life-altering amount of cash. But before we start winning, or searching out the best online casinos with jackpots, let’s take a look at the different types of progressive jackpot slots and how they function.

What’s A Progressive Jackpot?

Way back in the mid-19th century, a Bavarian immigrant called Charles Fay became the inventor of what was to become the jackpot slot machine of today. Charles Fay opened his manufacturing business, the “Slot Machine Factory” in 1896. Fast forward to 1986, and the games developer company, IGT released the first Megabucks slot machine. Suddenly there were jackpot slots that didn’t have a fixed price. In fact, it relied on its total prize money coming from the network of all IGT slots. And to prove that the prizes were real, just one year later a jackpot of almost $5 million was won by a gambler in Reno, USA.

Progressive Jackpot Slot Seed Value

As you’re probably well aware, most of the regular slots will pay out a prize which is a fixed amount. In other words, it really doesn’t matter how many coins you put into the machine. But the progressive jackpot slot operates on another level. You’ll find that the prize money will rise each and every time money is put into the machine. That’s because a small percentage of each wager will go towards the jackpot. If you stand on the gaming floor of any casino. Just look at how many people play the slots. Now you’ll recognise how the prize amount can build up to an eye-watering amount. Once a lucky player has landed the jackpot, then the minimum prize amount will be reset on the network. This is known as the “seed value.”

Period Between Payouts

It’s important to note that there are two different categories of progressive slots machines. The first one is called “Open Ended.” Theoretically, if you were playing these, then you could actually wait for years until you hit the jackpot. Now the second type will have a payout deadline. This could function thanks to a specific date or when the jackpot reaches a certain size. Of the latter, these prizes tend to be smaller. They are known as “tiered jackpots.” They exist as a form of incentive to attract players by offering different progressive jackpots. These can range from thousands of dollars, that you can win on a weekly basis, to a slot game that pays out daily.

Standalone Or Autonomous Progressives

Back in the day when the progressive jackpot slots first came to the marketplace, there was only one type of machine available. Only bets placed directly into this one machine would contribute to the jackpot prize. That meant that each prize was directly linked to a single machine on which it was being played. These are the “stand-alone progressive slots jackpots.” Today these are much rarer to find. In fact, many players have little interest in them. That’s because most of today’s progressive jackpot slot machines are in a network together. This means to say that by putting money into one machine, you stand a chance of winning a prize from the combined total of machines in the network. Hence the huge size of potential winnings.

Bodog isn’t just super-safe but also super-fun

Local Or Internal Progressives

Then we have some other categories which allow for even greater prize money. The best of these is the “local progressive jackpot slot.” As described above, this is a single machine. But one that’s linking to many others. But all of them are within the same casino itself. Now if you happen to be gambling at a mega-resort in Las Vegas, then they will be hundreds of machines all linked together. Conversely, if you’re at a tiny casino somewhere on the back roads of the rural US. Then there may only be a dozen machines contributing to the prize. Keep in mind that the jackpot itself is a product of the number of machines being played together. That’s why the size of the prizes can vary considerably. But when it comes to playing a local network, then the range is between $100,000, though normally well below $1 million.

Wide Area Network Progressives

When it comes to the biggest prizes on offer by progressive jackpot slots, then you will need to find the “wide area network progressives.” Casinos are keen to publicise big wins as an incentive to bring in new players. So it’s no surprise that everyone is searching for wide-area progressives. Instead of the network solely basing itself on the machines in a single casino, the jackpot in this case is a result of linking the network of casinos in the whole state. And that’s why it’s possible for players to win astronomically large prizes. Probably the best known wide area network progressive jackpot slots are the Megabucks and Mega Moolah. In fact, Megabucks is famous for often giving out eight-figure prizes. You can find both of these at the excellent Bodog Casino.

How Does A Progressive Jackpot Slot Work?

Essentially, the slot machine will accumulate money until someone wins. At that point, it will reset itself back to the minimum seed amount. And then the whole process starts again. Of all the money that’s put into the slot, a small percentage will go towards the progressive jackpot prize, with the rest going to the casino. Let’s have a look and see how it works in greater detail.

A typical example would be 10% coming from the player’s bet. Of this, 1% would go towards the next seed money. The progressive jackpot itself will take the other 9%. Now, once the $100,000 prize minimum is reached, then the whole amount of the 10% is added to the climbing prize amount. For example, if you were betting $2.50 per spin, then 0.25 would go towards the progressive jackpot. The other $2.25 will act in exactly the same manner as if the slot machine were a regular non-progressive one.

You’ll be surprised just how many players operate under the misunderstanding that the casino takes a percentage of the jackpot win for itself. In the vast majority of cases, this is not true. It’s the game’s developer who will pay out both the seed value and the progressive jackpot slots prize. In other words, the casinos only host the games. You should look at the jackpot prizes coming from progressive jackpot slots as simply means of encouraging players to come into the casino. Provided they play other games, then the casino can turn a nice profit.

The RTP Rates Of The Progressive Jackpot Slot

If you’re a regular casino player, then you’ll know that the RTP stands for “return to player.” This is the theoretical percentage of cash that goes back to the player from the total of his bets. And this comes back in the form of payouts or prizes. Knowing this number will help you to understand the actual volatility of a slot machine. For example, an RTP of 98% will see $0.98 returned to you from each dollar you’re spending.

Now we can’t really talk about the RTP without discussing the “house edge.” Essentially this is the way that the casino turns a profit. If, for example, the casino has a house edge of 1%, it means that the RTP is 99%. Thus allowing the casino to pocket 1% for itself. By looking at this number you can see that the higher the RTP, the lower the house edge. Simply put, this means that the slot is more playable thanks to being less volatile. Keep in mind though, that when it comes to these progressive jackpot slots, then the RTP becomes almost irrelevant.

This is simply because there’s such a huge number of players constantly betting. Therefore the machines tend to have low RTP. But remember the progressive slots machines are funnelling around 10%of the wagers towards the progressive jackpot prize. As such, this gives them high volatility. For some of the best odds and RTP% rates, why not head over to Bodog Casino. Not only do they offer the world’s most lucrative progressive jackpots, but they also give all new players a fantastic welcome bonus of 100% up to $600. This is a great way of increasing your bankroll.

Odds

There is one unfortunate aspect of playing the slots. It’s that the slots developers don’t publish the odds for the progressive jackpot slots. The reason for this is that if they did, then the numbers would be so astronomical. In fact, it may put off some players from even trying their luck. You can look upon the progressive jackpot slots odds in the same manner as you might consider the odds for a national lottery. On the whole, we can say that the higher the initial expected value, the more difficult it’s going to be to win the jackpot online.

Progressive Jackpot Slot Strategy

There are no real jackpot winning strategies for playing and winning the progressive jackpot slot machine. But one thing you should be wary of is that many of them require maximum bets. When you see just how quickly it’s possible to put in bets and spin the reels, then the amount you’re spending can add up very quickly. To that end, it’s very important that you have a predetermined budget before you even begin to play. Just because we all know that other people have walked away with millions in the past doesn’t mean it’s going to be you. Try and keep in mind that the money is not manna that falls from heaven, but rather the prize is cash from the gamblers themselves.