One of the topics we get regular inquiries about are Wide-Area Progressives. Many times they don’t have enough to discuss on their own, so we have rolled them into this post to cover some of your questions!
I’ve heard that if you win a million dollar plus jackpot that the casino will pay a lesser one-time lump sum amount or a smaller dollar amount over several (like 20) years. Is that true? I should be so lucky as to have some experience with winning a jackpot that big!
Karen T.
Most million-dollar prizes in a casino aren’t actually offered by the casino, but are instead offered by the slot manufacturer. The prizes are linked across multiple casinos, and some companies, like IGT, even share with you which jackpots are found where.
The rules around the payouts can differ by prize, and usually are indicated somewhere on the machine. For instance, we’ve seen messaging on Wheel of Fortune slots that explain how the payout works on them – in some cases, similar to a lottery, the advertised prize is awarded over some number of years instead of one lump sum.
That said, more recently some casinos have deployed games like Million Dollar Dragon Link. Those games are banked by the casino. If you win that prize, you’re going to be eligible to be paid out all at once, because it works just like any other casino-banked Grand jackpot.
So in that way you actually have a choice of what you wish to play for, although those Dragon Links have much bigger bet levels to play to begin with.
On the Dollar Storm games with the Super Grand Chance. How many machines are linked . Is it statewide? Nationwide? Or just for one particular casino?
Daniel
Dollar Storm Super Grand jackpots are definitely not nationwide. And it’s usually more than one casino, but if you see versions with smaller Super Grand prizes (think $25,000 range), those are probably more isolated to a single casino or bank.
But there’s definitely plenty of examples where the prize goes well beyond a casino or two. Generally casinos in a similar situation can be linked, like commercial casinos in Nevada or tribal gaming casinos in California. Sometimes prizes can go beyond a single state when regulations and circumstances allow, but it will vary, and it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer.
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