It’s increasingly common for progressive jackpots, especially the Grand jackpot, to be linked on a bank of machines or beyond. Players often wonder how a jackpot is awarded.
If there is a Bank of machines that all share the Grand, is the Random Number Generator by each machine for it to go off, or is the RNG determined by the amount the jackpot reaches giving all machines equal opportunity to hit it?
Nancy S.
Both of the scenarios you outline is possible. But predominantly, the chances of winning a Grand jackpot are the same for each machine, and the way it’s won is the machine’s individual RNG.
The basic difference between an individual machine and a banked set of machines is multiple machines contribute to the growth of a jackpot, and it’s won more often, vs. an individual machine.
In some cases, like Lightning Link (which becomes Lightning Cash when standing on its own), the Grand may start at a lower number than a linked bank of machines – some of those choices are up to the casino. This may put the thumb on the scale for players to seek out the banked variations, since the top prize is higher.
Within a bank, the winning amount is not determined in advance, so it will grow until it either hits the top amount that progressive can reach (as set by the casino), or until it’s won.
The exception is a Must Hit By progressive. There are machines out there, such as games by Ainsworth with the Minor/Major jackpots, or Gaming Arts’ Rocket Rollup feature, where that prize could be linked.
In those situations, the winning amount is set at the time the jackpot is reset, and whatever wager pushes it to or past the number it’s set to go off, will award that prize. Because those progressives increase based on amount wagered, betting more increases the increments faster, and can help improve your chances because you’re moving the meter faster and more aggressively. But it’s worth noting other players could be the ones to set them off in those cases, so it’s a trade-off.
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