Editorial

Wednesday, 09 December 2009 23:54 Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 December 2009 23:56

One of the biggest attractions of gambling in casinos both online and brick and mortar are the massive, life changing jackpot payouts.

Despite all of the professional and common sense gambling advice to the contrary, the astronomical odds against winning the top prize don't seem to deter the thrill seekers looking to be the next progressive jackpot millionaire. Here we look at this phenomenon and some of the reasons why these games are so enticing to so many customers. We also look at some of the games themselves and what it is that they have that makes them such a huge attraction.

By way of comparison, normal casino games that promise only moderate returns are the standard fare of the experienced gamblers. They know that by steady, exacting play they stand the best chance of coming out in front over the long haul. It can be a gruelling, often monotonous experience and a far cry from the glamorous image of the high rolling gambler throwing caution to the wind and betting huge amounts to win even greater rewards.

The reality is that to win big at the tables, you need to bet big. You have to gamble a sizeable fortune in order to win a relatively small one and even that is often difficult with most casinos placing restrictive table limits to prevent an overly lucky player walking away with too much of their money. These restrictions are often discouraging for anyone who has come to a casino with high hopes of striking it rich. So all too often the table games are forsaken for the flashing lights and pizzazz of the big jackpot slots machines. After all, most people reason that if they are going to blow a few hundred dollars in a casino, a portion of that might as well go on playing a game that at least provides the chance of a massive payout.

This is the draw of the big jackpot games and what keeps the customers flowing through the doors of live casinos or signing up with their online counterparts. It has little to do with calculating the odds or figuring out the best strategies. It has everything to do with the possibility, no matter how minute, of being the player who puts in the coin and watches the reels come to rest with the jackpot symbols all in a line. What follows will be the sirens and flashing lights to indicate they are the winner of a life changing sum of money to the envy of all around them. The thrill and excitement that the anticipation of this outcome produces is the adrenalin rush that makes people play these machines.

So where does that leave all the other ways of winning a life changing sum of money that a casino can provide? Well, there are other options available to players and one of the most popular is easily poker. This is a game that does not leave everything to chance. Fortunes are made and lost not solely on the turn of a card, but on a combination of that and the skill of the player to outplay the others at the table. Add to this the fact that there are now big poker tournaments that come with incredibly high prizes.

The biggest of these is the World Series of Poker, the most recent of which produced a first prize of a staggering $8.5 million with a runner up prize of over $5 million. Poker is so huge and so popular that over 6,000 players signed on to play, each putting up a massive $10,000 buy in to be able to take part. What other sport attracts that kind of commitment? With a prize of that magnitude to play for, is it any wonder that everyone who took part did so in the belief that they could be the one to walk away with that massive and life changing sum of money?

In the casinos, there are no games that can compete with that kind of payout, but there are still plenty of options. Blackjack can be a good source of winnings to a skilled player, but table limits often restrict their ability to win really big. The same goes for craps and roulette, although there are some casinos that allow high rollers to make substantial bets for the chance of greater wins. Baccarat too can attract high rollers with the chance to win or lose a lot of money.

Some of the best options for those who don't have such skills or patience come from progressive jackpot video poker games. These don't go anywhere near as high as the progressive slots but can still produce jackpots in excess of $50,000. Video poker also contains an element of skill in knowing which cards to hold or release for the chance of the high payout hands or the jackpot laden royal flush. It also has the narrowest house edge of all casino games, either live or online, making it attractive to experienced and novice players alike.

At the end of the day, winning a life changing jackpot is the magical element of attraction for casino goers. Whatever other games they may play while they're there, it's always worth taking a chance with a handful of coins just to see what might happen with the next pull of the handle on that big, brash and attractive progressive slot machine.