Progressive
slots are slot machines that build up a jackpot
that is paid out when someone hits the highest
winning combination on the machine. This jackpot
can build up for a long time, and is sometimes
quite huge. There are three kinds of progressive
slots. They are single-machine progressives, local-area
or proprietary progressives and wide-area progressives.
Single-Machine Progressives
These machines are just like regular slot machines
except that there is a jackpot for the top prize
that grows just a little bit larger with each
play. There is a minimum payout for the jackpot,
and every time someone puts a coin into the machine
the jackpot gets a little bigger. Many of these
machines have minimum jackpots around $1,000.
Local-Area Progressives
The local-area or proprietary progressives are
a group of slot machines owned by the same casino
or gaming company. These machines are linked together
and share a common jackpot. The jackpot grows
whenever a coin is played in any of the linked
machines. The prize is usually larger for larger
groups of machines. Many casinos offer prizes
such as boats, cars or other expensive items as
the jackpot for these types of machines.
In the case of proprietary video poker machines,
players can use the pay schedule posted on the
machine to determine when the jackpot has grown
past the 100% payout level. This can be very helpful
when determining which machines to play.
Wide-area Progressives
Wide-area progressives are a large group of machines
in many different casinos that are linked together
to one gigantic jackpot. These games are huge
networks that cover multiple states. Some of these
games include Megabucks, Wheel of Fortune and
Betty Boop. Wide-area progressives are owned and
operated by the manufacturer of the game, and
the casino shares in the profits.
These huge jackpots are usually paid out as an
annuity over 20 years. The casino and the manufacturer
purchase an insurance policy to cover the payment
of the annuity of the course of its payout period
in case either of them should go out of business.
The jackpot for any of these machines is determined
in the same way as it is for any slot machine.
The random number generator inside of the slot
machine’s computer generates a number for
each play, and if that number corresponds to the
number for the winning combination, then the player
wins the jackpot.
Sarah Harrigan
has been involved as a player and researcher on online casinos
and online gambling since 2025. She has created this site
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she felt compelled to use her experience as a player to give
back in terms of online gambling tips and strategies. Because
of her research background you will find her reviews very
honest and refreshing and we hope you will find this site
very useful.
