If you spend enough time in casinos, you’ll notice differences in how some games are set up vs. others. You might even notice how different casinos set up machines differently than others. Today’s question leans into some of that:
Can you explain the term “Linked?” I understand the progressives are linked (shared) with other machines of the same. But does that mean only the same in each individual casino. or shared across all casinos that have the same machine?
And why do some linked machines of the “same” game show all progressive tiers as the same, while others only show the Grand as the same but the rest of the lower progressives are different?
I know I’m not the only loyal slot player that doesn’t quite understand this aspect of the game.
Cindy D.
The term “Linked” generally refers to a bank, or occasionally multiple banks, of a game series within the same casino which shares one or more progressive jackpot prizes.
There’s often a different scenario at play (a “wide area progressive”) that will break out of a casino’s walls when a progressive is shared among multiple casinos within a geographic area.
Sometimes a Link game can share its prize across multiple banks, but often it’s limited to a single one – meaning if there’s multiple banks of a game in a casino, each one has its own shared prize(s) – and a smarter gambling trick can be to simply check which one is biggest (to ensure if you manage to win one, you win the biggest one available).
On occasion, linked machines can also be set up as standalone. Sometimes the games will indicate this with a subtle name tweak (hence Lightning Cash vs. Lightning Link).
In most cases the chance of winning the top prize will be the same, and in many (but not all) cases the top prize can even start at the same number. The big difference is that only one machine is fueling the prize so it will grow more slowly.
The general appeal of linked machines is that multiple players on multiple machines are fueling the prize(s), so it will grow more quickly, and become more tempting especially if time has passed since the last win. But more machines having access to it also means, on average, it will be won (and reset to its seed value) more often.
As far as why Lightning Link only links the Grand, whereas other games like Ultimate Fire Link link all the progressives within a denomination, that’s simply a game design choice. The top prize is generally the consistently linked one, but whether the others are linked are simply a matter of how the game is designed and what goals are being targeted with linking prizes.
Having not all the progressives linked can mean players being more particular as to which machine they play (again to target the best prizes they can), while having them all linked sort of takes that pressure off – each have their benefits but in the end it’s not a massive difference for an individual player.
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