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Big progressive jackpot slots first hit the casinos of Las Vegas in the 1980s. In the decade of greed, it took the promise of a life-changing jackpot to reshape the gaming floor.
Why risk a dollar on a $200 jackpot, when you could risk the same dollar and win $2 million?
Don’t let the brutal reality of long odds put you off. Your chances of turning into a Rockefeller, on the spin of a reel, might be as long as 1 in 137 million.
But SOMEONE is going to win that jackpot, eventually… It’s just unlikely to be you.
- Show Full Guide
Allure of Progressive Slots in Las Vegas
Regardless of reality, in all its statistical starkness, progressive slots were, are, and will continue to be, at online casinos or on Fremont Street.
The promise of a total-life-reset-reboot-early-retirement is difficult for many of us to resist. Just. One. Spin.
To put the power of the progressive slot into perspective, we need to take a quick spin back through time.
Back to the end of the 19th century, when slot machines first appeared. Original and innovative from day one, these mechanical marvels moved with the times; always evolving.
The First Slot Machines
The first ever slot machine was the 100-pound Liberty Bell, created by mechanic Charles Fey, in 1895; a three-reel game, with a 50c jackpot.
Just line up three Liberty Bells, tell the bartender, and claim your winnings. Most of the early machines were purely for amusement, paying out in gum, mints or tokens, that you could redeem for drinks, cigars, and cash.
- By the 1920s, the machines had advanced significantly.
- They were made of metal, instead of wood.
- With jackpots paid in coins, directly from the machine.
- They were elegant works of mechanical engineering.
Arrival of Bally’s
In 1964, Bally Manufacturing (Bally’s) introduced the Money Honey slot to the world. The machine was designed with a large ‘handle’, framed glass, and a wide pay-out cup.
The game was a massive technological leap, using electrical components and processors. The new one-arm bandits would dominate the world of slot machines for years to come.
- By 1970, Bally’s claimed to have 90% of the market share.
- The old mechanical machines were consigned to history.
- The foundations for progressive slots were laid.
Bally’s adopted the philosophy of its Nevada distributor – William ‘Si’ Redd – that: ‘the product had to change – constantly change – in order to be successful’.
First Progressive Slots
Megabucks is always cited as the first progressive. That’s not strictly true, as Bally’s has a pretty solid claim to that. But, Megabucks is certainly was the first of what we now know as progressive jackpot slots.
Megabucks was the first ‘wide area progressive’, connecting the same slot in scores of different casinos. But, it was not the first progressive slot.
Now, if you’re looking for the best online slots with progressive jackpots or heading into a casino, you’re spoilt for choice.
What are Progressive Slot Machines?
Progressive jackpot machines are slots where a percentage of each wager contributes to a jackpot.
This is for either a single machine, bank of machines, all the specific machines in a casino, or every linked machine in multiple casinos, state-wide or across multiple states.
Today, online casinos make it possible to connect millions of slots, rapidly creating multi-million-dollar jackpot pools.
Essentially, there are five different types of progressive jackpot slots:
- The Standalone: these slots have a built-in progressive jackpot that increases every time someone plays the specific slot. These were the first types of progressive jackpot game to appear on the casino floor.
- The Local: these slots are linked to either a bank of machines or a group of machines in the same casino. Once again, every wager on a featured machine adds to the cumulative jackpot.
- The Wide Area Progressive: this is where the jackpot extends beyond the immediate area of machines, linking different casinos sharing the same games. The jackpot growth is rapid.
- The Online Progressive: this is the ultimate extrapolation of the concept; every linked online slot, either by game or jackpot format, is feeding into the same progressive pool.
- The Omnichannel Wide Area Progressive: this is a brand-new innovation that connects both online and offline slots.
Microprocessor Magic
The leap from mechanical to electromechanical machines was like jumping straight from the Stone Age to now. Instrumental in the history of progressive jackpot slots.
The new microprocessors were (literally!) game changers.
The slots could now:
- Use the microprocessor to communicate between more than one machine.
- Be adjusted to offer different in-game and bonus payouts, jackpots, and rewards.
- Enable electronic auditing; making the machines less prone to failure and fault.
- Have electronically stepped reels, making for an exponential jump in possible reel combinations.
- Have a credit meter, enabling players to accumulate winnings. Instead of a coin pay-out after every win.
- Be customized to suit the vendor.
- Offer higher denomination games, with a range of wager options, from $1, $5, $10 – even up to as much as $500.
None of this is possible with a purely mechanical slot. The initial point – communication between machines – is the critical factor that enabled the development of the progressive.
The First Real Progressive Jackpot Slot?
It’s not easy to exactly determine the very first progressive standalone slot. According to two different Bally’s Parts and Service Manuals (A and B), published in the late 1960s, the model 785A is listed as its first ‘progressive’ and the game featured an in-built accumulating jackpot.
According to several online sites (1, 2,) specializing in the history of slots, and a paper from the Center for Gaming Research, at the University of Nevada, the model 785A game was released in 1964, as the Progressive 777.
It didn’t take Bally’s long to realize that the promise of a big, potentially life-changing, jackpot was both an effective marketing tool and a draw for players.
Local Progressives
The microprocessors controlling the slots could be linked together; making banks of identical slots, sharing a common – accumulating – jackpot a possibility.
In 1971 and 1972, the Bally’s Model 922 (5-line progressive) and the Model 952 (5-Coin multiplier) were both released.
The multi-coin games enabled jackpots up to five times higher than usual; simply due to the mathematical upscaling (bet 10c, win a dollar; bet a dollar, win $10).
The winning numbers are determined by a random number generator; the slot uses virtual reel mapping to display the winning line. It is determined by a computer. It’s not just the random pattern and fall of the reels.
In 1973, the Model 984 Big Shot Continental had four, 25-stop, reels that dramatically increased odds of a jackpot to 1 in 390,625; compared to the standard 1 in 8,000.
Now: link together the machines and, by the late 1970s, casinos could offer jackpots of up to $250,000. The long odds make big jackpots financially viable.
Critical elements in the history of progressive jackpot slots:
- An increase in the number of reels.
- An increase in the number of stops per reel.
- An increase in the wager, thanks to multi-coin games.
- The ability to link multiple slots together; multiplying the odds and pooling the progressive take and – ergo – the jackpot.
- A much higher Return to Player (RTP) pay-out ratio – drawing players to the machines.
These different factors would be expanded, tweaked, and exploited in the coming decades.
Reinventing the Reel
It’s time to introduce you to one of the most critical players in the history of progressive jackpot slots. William Silas ‘Si’ Redd was a sharecropper’s son, from Mississippi who basically reinvented the slots.
After early business adventures in the distribution of coin-operated jukeboxes and vending machines, Si Redd ended up as the main slot machine distributor in Nevada, serving all the casinos in the state.
Redd ‘got it’. He worked hand-in-hand with the engineers at Bally to exploit what had become a stale market.
Bally had only fifty to seventy-five old machines in their inventory, at the start of the 1960s. Redd pushed for diversification of machine types, as well as all the critical elements listed above.
In the mid-1970s, Redd quit Bally’s, with a deal to retain the exclusive rights to his new invention: video poker. The new digital game was a sensation.
Video poker made Si Redd’s business – SIRCOMA – enough money to go private in 1981, under the new name of International Gaming Technology (IGT). Redd could now innovate, without barriers or compromise.
Redd had agreed, when he initially split with Bally’s, that he would not introduce any new slots from IGT, until the period of agreement was spent.
In 1986, IGT would launch the world’s first wide area progressive slot; heralding the birth of a new gaming giant and the beginning of the end for Bally’s. Last year, IGT recorded $4.5 billion in revenue.
Megabucks – the Wide Area Progressive
In March 1986, Si Redd and IGT launched the world’s first wide area-linked progressive jackpot slot.
The game was called Megabucks; the three-reel one-arm bandit cost $3 a spin, if you wanted to play for the jackpot. The slot made its debut appearance at the Stardust Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The WAP (wide area progressive) system used regular telephone lines to connect the slots. IGT had – in fact – been preparing for the launch of the video lottery in Nebraska.
It didn’t happen. The technology was instead adapted for wide area progressive use.
The slots are all connected to a central computer, at the IGT headquarters on Buffalo Drive, in Las Vegas. On launch, the initial jackpot was set at $1 million. By 2005, it had risen to $10 million.
First Megabucks Winner
The first Megabucks winner, a key moment in the history of progressive jackpot slots, was Terry Williams, from Los Gatos, in California. He won $4,988,842.14, in February 1987.
The win gave IGT a huge boost; popularizing the slots and giving IGT the opportunity to optimize its post-win marketing strategy.
“We need credibility. Credibility is something you have to earn and you earn it by making pay-outs. The theory is, we’d rather pay out ten $1 million jackpots than one $10 million jackpot,” said an IGT director.
Moving forward, the business would introduce ‘double progressive’ and ‘higher reset’ features. It would also establish the model for future progressive slots.
Megabucks Now
At the time of writing, there are 130 casinos in Nevada, hosting the Megabucks slots, according to IGT.
The jackpot is currently at $11.5 million and the total cumulative pay-out is $821,833,147.00. The last jackpot landed 290 days ago.
Over the years, Megabucks has made lots of millionaires. The chances of winning the jackpot are 1 in 49,836,032. The odds might be astronomical but there have been plenty of big winners.
Megabucks Progressive Jackpot Slots Winners
The odds might be astronomical but there have been plenty of big winners. Here is every Megabucks winner since the game slot was released.
| Amount Won | Location | Date |
| $12,185,766 | Excalibur | 10/18/23 |
| $10,159,321 | Aria | 8/9/23 |
| $10,488,726 | Cannery | 7/7/23 |
| $14,005,833 | Atlantis (Reno) | 4/3/23 |
| $10,453,269 | South Point | 4/26/21 |
| $15,491,103 | Suncoast | 12/24/20 |
| $13,154,723 | Sunset Station | 4/14/19 |
| $11,183,716 | Paris | 5/5/18 |
| $10,192,523 | Fiesta Henderson | 9/16/17 |
| $11,856,655 | Fremont | 8/8/17 |
| $10,777,271 | Wynn | 8/21/16 |
| $12,515,709 | Gold Dust West (Elko) | 3/22/16 |
| $10,744,293 | Westgate | 4/14/15 |
| $14,282,544 | Rampart | 11/30/14 |
| $10,337,638 | MGM Grand | 12/5/13 |
| $12,463,148 | MGM Grand | 11/4/13 |
| $11,798,515 | Bonanza (Reno) | 4/10/13 |
| $17,329,818 | M Resort (Henderson) | 12/14/12 |
| $10,379,295 | Grand Sierra (Reno) | 6/15/11 |
| $10,636,898 | Aria | 4/22/11 |
| $12,769,934 | Aria | 1/21/11 |
| $10,422,754 | Reno airport | 2/21/10 |
| $12,262,969 | Bellagio | 12/28/09 |
| $12,236,709 | Casino Royale | 7/29/09 |
| $33,000,563 | Terrible’s Rail City (Sparks) | 4/12/09 |
| $21,030,658 | Palms | 5/7/08 |
| $10,762,066 | Fremont | 5/19/07 |
| $12,076,530 | Orleans | 2/5/07 |
| $10,828,990 | Wynn | 9/2/06 |
| $12,317,718 | Wynn | 7/28/06 |
| $20,519,025 | Cannery | 6/5/06 |
| $11,909,745 | Aladdin | 10/16/05 |
| $21,147,947 | Cannery | 9/15/05 |
| $13,607,239 | Palms | 10/31/04 |
| $8,068,293 | Palms | 3/7/04 |
| $10,189,907 | MGM Grand | 2/13/04 |
| $8,918,163 | Fremont | 12/22/03 |
| $19,600,523 | Stardust | 11/14/03 |
| $39,713,892 | Excalibur | 3/21/03 |
| $22,621,229 | Bally’s | 5/27/02 |
| $7,986,899 | Orleans | 3/14/01 |
| $9,396,271 | Harrah’s | 1/12/01 |
| $8,736,647 | Las Vegas Hilton | 8/23/00 |
| $7,744,104 | Lake Tahoe Horizon (Stateline) | 5/19/00 |
| $9,634,286 | Oasis (Mesquite) | 4/19/00 |
| $7,783,158 | Bellagio | 2/14/00 |
| $7,671,788 | MGM Grand | 2/4/00 |
| $34,955,490 | Desert Inn | 1/26/00 |
| $21,346,937 | Caesars Palace | 6/1/99 |
| $27,580,878 | Palace Station | 11/15/98 |
| $8,306,511 | Tahoe Biltmore (Lake Tahoe) | 7/13/97 |
| $12,510,559 | New York New York | 4/14/97 |
| $6,270,747 | Rio | 10/26/96 |
| $6,341,415 | Ramada Express (Laughlin) | 9/7/96 |
| $11,290,521 | Monte Carlo | 8/13/96 |
| $11,967,142 | Las Vegas Hilton | 1/27/96 |
| $10,918,895 | Gold Coast | 10/18/95 |
Megabucks’ overall profit is about 11.39%. This is an RTP of 88.61%; not that great compared to online slots.
Megabucks: Amoutn Wagered — 1994 to 2009
| Year | Amount Wagered | Percentage Hold for Megabucks |
| 2009 | $53,352,000 | 10.43% |
| 2008 | $83,981,000 | 11.85% |
| 2007 | $88,858,000 | 12.72% |
| 2006 | $100,923,000 | 12.39% |
| 2005 | $100,923,000 | 12.39% |
| 2004 | $67,326,000 | 10.54% |
| 2003 | $83,069,000 | 10.41% |
| 2002 | $76,842,000 | 11.98% |
| 2001 | $69,821,000 | 11.50% |
| 2000 | $69,103,000 | 9.75% |
| 1999 | $74,921,000 | 12.28% |
| 1998 | $134,943,000 | 12.25% |
| 1997 | $66,166,000 | 12.18% |
| 1996 | $57,619,000 | 10.03% |
| 1995 | $65,223,000 | 10.48% |
| 1994 | $46,760,000 | 9.44% |
| Total | $1,239,830,000 | 11.39% |
The jackpots are paid in a 25-year annuity and subject to income tax. Still, a win would be a good day at the office.
The Megabucks progressive jackpot slot was the first of many.
In the following years, the casinos of Reno and the world would welcome WAP games including Quartermania, Nevada Nickels, Nevada Fabulous 50, and the game that is still the IGT favorite: Wheel of Fortune.
Online Progressive Jackpot Slots
If interlinked state-wide slots led to bigger progressive jackpots, the Internet simply said: ‘hold my beer’.
Online casinos, sharing the same slots, could increase jackpot gain exponentially, offering insane progressive jackpots that could refuel in weeks, instead of years.
IGT were late off the blocks, when it came to online gaming. Less agile than its competition; IGT had become used to innovating by acquisition.
When online casinos first arrived, in the late 1990s, Microgaming were pioneers, with the very first online progressive slot Cash Splash.
Over the years, Cash Splash has evolved from a three-reel, single payline game, into a 5-reel game with 15 paylines.
Mega Moolah
However, one slot stands above the rest and dominates the online slot space, Mega Moolah. The work of Microgaming, it was released in 2006.
- The Safari-themed game has five reels, 25 pay lines, and a track record of jaw-droppingly big wins.
- Up until this year, Mega Moolah held the record for the biggest online jackpot at €19,430,723.69.
- In the top 20 progressive slot jackpot wins of all time, Mega Moolah has paid out 16; the smallest is a paltry $12,539,309.67.
- Mega Moolah remains one of the best online slots for real money.
The jackpot top spot – at the time of writing – goes to the Egyptian-themed, five-reeler, WowPot Mega; another Microgaming subsidiary slot. The amount of money won… are you sitting down… $42,149,180.00. It was won on December 20th, 2023. Happy Christmas, indeed…
Future of Progressive Slots
IGT may have been slow off the online blocks, and late to the online party, but the pioneers of the progressive get to have the last spin of the reels.
In May 2023, IGT announced the launch of its first US-based Omnichannel Wide Area Progressive.
The Wheel of Fortune is one of the most popular land-based casino slots in the US; leveraging the popular television quiz show.
- It’s always been a progressive game, both online and at the casino.
- Now IGT has linked the jackpot between land-based, mobile, and online versions of the game.
- Wherever you play Wheel of Fortune, you are pushing that progressive jackpot a little higher.
- The linked games are all a dollar to play and include all the various different iterations of the Wheel of Fortune franchise.
It all started with IGT. It seems apt that this gaming giant should now look to lead the market. Where next? Interplanetary progressives? Transglobal gaming? Just one gigantic, interlinked, uber-pot? Who knows… but you can bet – for just a dollar a spin – that it’s coming!
References
- https://patents.google.com/patent/US8579704B2/en (Google Patents)
- https://patents.google.com/patent/US20030027625A1/en (Google Patents)
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263614321_Segmenting_slot_machine_players_A_factor-cluster_analysis (ResearchGate)
- https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/circuits/articles/17gamb.html (New York Times)
- https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=occ_papers (University of Nevada)
- https://cdspress.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Nigel-Turner-Roger-Horbay-.pdf (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
- https://www.sigcis.org/files/Turdean%20–%20Betting%20on%20Computers.pdf (Hagley Program – Department of History, University of Delaware)
- https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/library/2013/02/26/Rincon_slots.pdf (IGT)
- https://bingo.cdyn.com/slots/bally_manuals/bally%20400%20supplement.pdf (Bally)
- https://rwatts.cdyn.com/download/bally_em_manual/bally%20em%20manual.pdf (Bally)
