Imagine yourself sitting in the comfort of your favourite slot machine, with a cocktail or a cool Martini. All the worries and responsibilities that may be weighing you down are left behind. It’s your time to decompress, to let loose. You choose your bet, you hesitate to put a little more on it, but you do it anyway. In the casino, as in life, winnings and achievements are proportional to the risks you are willing to take. This is no time for hesitation. So you hit the “spin” button and the reels of the slot machine begin to rotate. Through the slot’s network, small percentages of other players’ bets are added up as players gradually build up the mega prize.
For a moment, nothing happens as the reel slows down and one by one, the symbols appear, line up and invoke your luck. Your heart seems to leap in your chest, your palms break out in a cold sweat. Suddenly and out of nowhere, the word “JACKPOT” appears on the screen and the victory bells start ringing. The machine seems to have gone berserk, flashing thousands of lights announcing the fortune – you’ve hit the Jackpot, you’ve won the Jackpot!
Types of Jackpot Slots
In the United States, jackpot slot games can have different features according to their configuration and operation based on the laws of some states. There are three different forms of progressive machines:
Class II slots, which are composed of a video lottery terminal, connected to a central computerised system and networked together, but which are owned by the same casino or are part of the same operator, whether or not they are in the same casino. Such a system decides the outcome of bets in a game based on total randomness. This process is very similar to the chances in a normal lottery, where all players have an equal chance of winning. In other words, all players are active participants and compete against each other for the common prize, or jackpot. The game continues until there is a winner. The prizes in this case are quite high, but without reaching the million-dollar prizes that are awarded by the linked slots of many different casinos. In general, jackpots on these machines tend to occur more frequently than on the larger networks.
Traditional (or Class III) progressive slots are not connected to any computerised system, so they operate independently of other slots. These machines have a meter on the front indicating the amount of the jackpot; the amount of the jackpot is generally lower than those of the linked machines, as the prize amount comes from the bets played exclusively on that machine.
And finally, it is worth mentioning the progressive slots that form the big circuit of many slot casinos that are not directly related to each other. Typically, this type of machine is operated by an independent organisation, rather than a single gaming company or casino. The casinos where these machines are located receive a small percentage of the winnings. The jackpots are usually spectacularly large, but the probability of winning them is lower than other types of progressive slots.
Most popular jackpot slots
The best progressive slots, and the most sought after, are the ones with the biggest jackpots. As the amount accumulated grows, so does the anticipation, and the stakes. All with a view to being the next millionaire jackpot winner. Some progressive slots offer free spins as small prizes.
Generally the top jackpot slots are found in land-based casinos in Las Vegas or other world-famous gaming centres. However, there are some online progressive games and free slots casinos with the same gambling thrill.
Some names that stand out as favourites are:
- NetEnt’s Arabian Nights.
- 40 SuperHot Slots and 5 Dazziling Hot Slots from $ Games Technology.
- Dolphin Gold Stellar Slots from Microgaming, among many others.
Jackpot Slots Providers
In the wide and vast world of slots, perhaps the most important creator of Progressive Jackpot slots is a company called Microgaming. It was born in 1990 and its first online casino game was launched in 1994. They claim that, from that moment on, they have never looked back. Microgaming seems to be bottomless in the creativity and advancement of its software, which is why it is constantly expanding. It is one of the leaders in the field of online slots, and especially jackpot slots, with hundreds of online casinos around the world using its software. Their superiority over their competitors is based on creating games that were initially the domain of land-based casinos and bringing them into cyberspace, thus offering a solution to a need that was not yet known: playing from the comfort of your own home. Their titles amount to more than 850 table and slot games with 1,200 variants. Its high quality services and its portfolio of new games every month are its most famous weapons.
Another important firm in the realm of jackpot games is RTG. They are an American company that offers casino gambling software all over the world. They are renowned for their game designs and the characters that star in them. All RTG games offer substantial bonuses, and huge prizes, which is why their fan base is growing every day, as is their range of games.