Of all the games you can play in a casino, slots outnumber all the rest put together. In fact, in an online casino, where the number of games is not limited by floor space, there might be hundreds of different slot titles.
Slots come in different types, from the traditional retro-style fruit machines to more complex games with hundreds of ways to win and various themes such as Ancient Egypt or the latest movie or TV series. But a category of slots that stands apart from the rest is jackpot slots.
What are jackpot slots?
The name looks confusing at first glance. After all, every slot game has a jackpot, meaning a top prize that is triggered by spinning a row of the highest value symbol. The point about those is the jackpot is fixed, let’s say at 500x the stake.
With jackpot slots, there is also a progressive jackpot. In a physical casino, this is shared across multiple machines and every time someone plays, a percentage of the stake goes into this shared pot. Sooner or later, the progressive jackpot pays out, but you never know when. Some progressive jackpots have run into the tens of millions of dollars before someone got very lucky indeed!
At online casinos, you will also find jackpot slots. Scan through the different sites at Gamble Online (https://www.gambleonline.co/en-ca/casino/real-money/ ) to see the latest bonuses and promotions. The progressive jackpots work the same way as in a physical casino, but the prize fund goes up every time someone plays that particular game.
Pros and cons
The advantage of playing a jackpot slot game is an obvious one. Unless you bump up against Messrs Bond and Le Chiffre at the poker table, there is no other game in the casino that could turn you into an instant millionaire. That in itself is reason enough for many to try their luck with a jackpot slot game.
But – there has to be a but, and you can probably guess what it is. People buy lotto tickets for the same reason as they play jackpot slots, and the actual probability of winning a life-changing reward is similarly astronomical.
Furthermore, while every jackpot slot game is different, in most, you have to wager the maximum stake to have a chance of winning. In Mega Moolah, one of the most popular jackpot slots, that means wagering $6.25 on a single spin. Clearly, you would not want to spend a whole evening trying to land the jackpot.
Are jackpot slots worth it?
From a pragmatic and mathematical point of view, jackpot slots are a terrible idea. You’ll almost certainly blow your bankroll in no time for no return. However, we are only human and that little voice that says “maybe, just maybe,” can be irresistible.
A strategy that many casino regulars adopt is this. They spend most of their time playing regular low-volatility slots or table games like blackjack and baccarat. On the occasions when they have a winning night, they then spend some of their winnings on a few spins of the jackpot slot game – after all, you never know.
