What do you see when you close your eyes and imagine the glitz and excitement of a Las Vegas casino? Is it the excitement of watching the roulette wheel spin while everyone waits to see where the ball will land? Alternatively, imagine a card shark in a slick suit winning big while faking it to the max with his poker face.
While it is true that these games, along with blackjack and craps, account for some of the most popular casino games, you may be surprised to learn that there is one other game that easily outnumbers the others in terms of the number of people who play it. The game in question is called poker. The slot machine deserves all of the credit for its accomplishment.
I must admit that I never understood the allure of playing slots. However, it turns out that slot machines have always been one of the best bets to win big-league in a casino, and this was true even when I was playing them. This is due to the existence of progressive jackpots, which first appeared in the 1980s and have since been responsible for some of the most significant wins in gaming history. When casino operators like Royal Vegas had the brilliant idea of connecting the machines and combining all of the slot players’ stakes, the potential rewards skyrocketed to unprecedentedly high levels.
With the exception of doing so occasionally as a novelty treat, the proliferation of online casino games has made a world of opportunities available to those of us who do not have the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas or even our own local casino. While a few rounds of poker or a spin of the roulette wheel can be entertaining, the world of the internet is where slot games truly shine. Indeed, slot machines and progressive jackpots didn’t really come into their own until we started playing them online.
What does the term “progressive jackpot” mean?
The question now is how progressive jackpot slots work and why online gambling sites are the best places to play these games. The first and most important aspect is the potentially enormous profits that can be made with even the smallest of sums. This aspect is what makes the game so enjoyable. The story of the Finnish player who wagered only twenty-five cents on NetEnt’s Mega Fortune in 2013 and walked away with a record-breaking €17.8 million is almost too unbelievable to believe (except that it happened, look it up!). Because it happened, the story is almost too unbelievable to believe.
What makes this even possible? As it turns out, it’s not too difficult. Online casinos are ideal for the operation of progressive jackpots because the money from all of the players’ bets is combined into a single jackpot fund. Players can choose between playing a local or networked progressive slot, and the potential jackpot grows in proportion to the number of people who participate in the game.
The stakes for local progressive slots are shared by all slot players at a single online casino. This results in smaller jackpots (though they can still be life-changing sums of money) but a higher overall probability of winning the game. Remember our fortunate Finn? The networked progressive jackpots offer the most lucrative chances to win money. The stakes from a single slot game of any kind played on a number of different online casino sites are pooled together in this scenario.
Although the odds are not entirely in your favor, who could refuse a chance at a payment in the millions of dollars when it comes with the possibility of winning.
The most well-known names
The shift to online platforms has undoubtedly resulted in many positive changes, one of which is the first-ever realization of slot games’ latent potential. Video game creators have truly gone all out, allowing their creative abilities and imaginations to run wild. On the market today, there is a truly mind-boggling variety of themed slot machines. There is truly something for everyone, whether you prefer a traditional-style slot machine or something a little more unusual. The graphics in the majority of these games are also truly spectacular, and given how quickly technology advances and competing game creators are always trying to outdo each other, the graphics are advancing at a rapid rate.
A new generation of 3D slots has recently appeared on the market. These slots have images and sound effects that make the gaming experience more realistic than in a “real” casino. If you’re not sure where to start, look into Microgaming’s Mega Moolah series of slots or NetEnt’s Mega Fortune slot machine. Both Microgaming and NetEnt offer progressive jackpot slots with a variety of themes, ranging from the medieval to the fantastical, with Microgaming’s King Cashalot and NetEnt’s Geisha Wonders.