In a recent short we discussed about how handpay jackpots differ from progressives:
Brian noted that progressive jackpots keep growing and growing. One viewer felt that wasn’t enough information:
Please explain how a progressive just keeps going and going? Come on man.
Tyler T.
The idea behind a progressive began that as a player plays a slot, a small portion of their wager is contributed to the progressive or progressives on a machine. Over time, the progressive grows, until it’s ultimately won, at which time it resets to its starting amount.
Over time, some variations on progressives have popped up, such as the fabled maxed out progressives. Those don’t stop growing, but what happens is the one currently on screen caps at a certain number, and the machine keeps track of what’s left under the hood, and adds it to the reset.
The thinking goes players may be more enticed to play if it’s not all the way back to its starting number, because players know it’s been recently won. This is no different than why some casinos want players to spin off their jackpot.
Other scenarios now occur such as casinos capping progressives to avoid them getting too big (as they are liable for those progressives in most cases), or simply wanting to hold back some money for themselves. But the initial concept was a jackpot that just keeps growing if won, and when they grow long past their average expected hit point, it can lead many to want to play given the higher than average potential if hit.
But ultimately, the reason progressives keep growing is that element of excitement – players will look around and be drawn to progressives that look like they’ve built up. Not every player will react similarly, but they’ve cemented their place in slot tradition due to their popularity.
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