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What Happens When You Hit a Slots Jackpot?
Many a slots player dream of hitting that life-changing jackpot but never ask themselves what if the unthinkable really happens - what happens if they really hit the slots jackpot, that is aside of course, from becoming filthy rich slots players overnight? The game of slots is actually a game between man and machine. It is a game between the house edge and the player's skill in managing his bankroll. The odds are usually in favor of the machine, but if man wins, his winnings would compensate him many, many times over for all the time, money and effort that he had invested over the years patiently pulling on that slots lever.
But before proceeding any further, is it possible for you to win against a slot machine? The answer is "yes, you can" because slots are set to pay back the player a certain percentage depending on the jurisdiction. Nevada law prescribes at least 75 percent while in New Jersey the minimum is 83 percent. But even at a minimum payout percentage prescribed in Nevada, a slots player invariably gets lucky and wins the jackpot against all odds. So, what happens then when a player hits the Slots jackpot?
Unbeknownst to the lucky player, some states require that the machine that gave him the lucky windfall will have to be shut down for a while. This is not to penalize the slot machine for losing against the player, but to allow the casino to examine that the jackpot hit was a fair and honest win and not due to some tampering by slots cheats. The government regulatory requirement of a shutdown after even a small hand-paid win is to assure that the casino gets the profit it deserves, which in turn filters down to government coffers in the form of income taxes.
The majority of progressive slots systems like Quartermania, Pokermania and Megabucks do not pay their jackpots in lump sum, but rather over a 20-year period. So, the 60-dollar question is what happens to the player's winnings if the casino folds up during that time? In the case of multi-casino linked slots systems like Quartermania, Megabucks, High Rollers and Fabulous 50s the supplier of the system, which is International Game Technologies or IGT, maintains a trust account. If, for instance, a slots player wins a one million dollar jackpot, IGT and the participating casinos will deposit in a bank a discounted amount that is expected to grow to one million dollars compounded over the 20-year period computed at the prevailing interest rate. Because of this trust account, even in the unlikely event that one or more of the participating casinos shuts down, the jackpot winner is still assured to receive his winning in the course of this period.
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