Recent casino closures in Las Vegas have certainly gathered the attention of players. With both the closing of the Tropicana in April, and now of the Mirage, one question has come in a few times now – what happens to all those progressives that have built up on slots:
When a casino closes such as Tropicana and Mirage, what happens to the progressive jackpots that are still active? Is the casino obligated to pay out that money?
Mike H.
Regulations are our guide here, and Nevada’s is quite clear:
Except as otherwise provided by this section, the incremental amount of a progressive payoff schedule is an obligation to the licensee’s patrons and it shall be the responsibility of the licensee if he ceases operation of the progressive game or slot machine for any reason, including a transfer of ownership of the licensed gaming establishment, to arrange for satisfaction of that obligation in a manner approved by the chairman.
Nevada Gaming Commission
So basically, the amount collected by slots to award a progressive need to be paid out to players in some form. This could be through a transfer to another slot machine (an option if the casino has other properties they can award them, or to another local casino they partner with to do the transfer), or through some other approach like a massive giveaway.
The latter, in the case of Mirage, is what they opted to do:
Mirage put $1.6 million up for grabs in their Progressive Finale Cash Giveaway, basically paying out all the money that had accrued as one final bang. Those in Vegas through July 16, 2024 can take advantage of the opportunity before the casino closes for its transformation into the Hard Rock on July 17.
The Review-Journal reports that roughly $1.2 million of the money comes from slots, and $400,000 comes from table games. Separate giveaways are being run for each pool of money.
So yes, casinos are obligated to pay them out, and how they do it isn’t set in stone. Tropicana opted to transfer them to other casinos, while Mirage opted to do a big blowout giveaway. In both cases, players will ultimately be the beneficiaries of that money.
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Do you ever come to mass or those island casinos
Hi Rosemary – to date the closest we’ve come is Connecticut, with visits to both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. We focus on smokefree casinos so Massachusetts is always a possibility!
Be sure to let your favorite smokefree casinos know you’d like to see Brian visit, and keep an eye on Brian’s events page for any confirmed travel!