Progressive slot machines are some of the most exciting games in any casino. The chance to win life-changing money with one spin of the reels is an undeniably enticing opportunity for many slot players.

The chance of winning one of the big prizes is quite low, of course. Though there’s a major statistical difference between the two, trying to win a progressive jackpot is effectively the same as attempting to win the lottery.

However, in both cases, your chances of winning are zero if you don’t play. So, below is all the latest about playing progressive slots online or at a live casino in Pennsylvania.

Should hit soon jackpots

Although a progressive jackpot is unpredictable, it is possible to get a sense of when one might be close to hitting. Whether through deliberate settings from the manufacturer or the simple fact of random chance balancing out, we can estimate when a progressive slot tends to cash out its big prize and reset. Below, you can find out the current status of each progressive slot offered in PA online casinos.

What is a progressive slot?

A progressive slot is, in many ways, a normal slot machine. They tend to come in three or five-reel varieties and pay out to the player when the reels align in certain patterns.

The key difference is that a progressive slot machine features an ever-increasing top prize. As more players contribute to the game, the machine or title kicks a portion of each player’s wager into the pool.

You can always determine if a slot is a progressive jackpot title if there is some sort of running tally in its display. Since the top prize is the main attraction for progressive slot games, the game developer is certain to place it in plain view.

The jackpot will continue to escalate until someone happens to win it. The frequency of these wins varies from machine to machine, and as a general rule, a lower jackpot means higher chances of winning.

Once the top prize is hit, it returns to a baseline amount and begins to grow again. This amount is rarely zero, as most slot developers recognize the need to provide seed money as an attraction.

Jackpot slots tend to pay out less frequently than their regular counterparts. The need to hold back money to fund the jackpot means that the odds of the entire game have to be a bit longer. So, a player looking to eke out a small profit can likely find greener pastures beyond these games.

However, if you have a hunch that you may be due for a big score, or if you’re looking more for a boom or bust kind of game with a big potential upside, then a progressive jackpot slot might be just the thing for you.

Types of progressive slot machines

There are three types of progressive slot machines that you may encounter in either live casinos or online. The difference between the three boils down to the method by which the machine aggregates its jackpot fund.

• Standalone progressives: A single-machine progressive slot is exactly what you imagine. The progressive jackpot is generated solely by the contributions of players who have come before you. Needless to say, these jackpots tend to be the lowest in value. However, they can also be some of the easiest jackpots to hit, too.
• Network linked progressives: A linked progressive slot combines its player contributions with those physically located nearby. So, the contributions from players on different machines at the same location are the source of the escalating jackpot. Some linked progressive slot jackpots can feature impressive amounts of cash, but one might rarely win retirement money from a linked progressive.
• Area-wide progressives: Finally, a wide-area progressive slot casts as large a net for its pool as it possibly can. Machines in multiple locations, including in different states, can feed the number projected on the slot’s screens. Wide area progressives are responsible for the largest jackpots in all of the slot machines, and lucky players can potentially change the course of their lives with a single spin.

What is the most you can win on a progressive slot?

You may be wondering what we mean by “life changing” amounts of money. After all, the amount that may change your life is pocket change to Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates.

Nevertheless, the progressive slots in Pennsylvania tend to feature jackpots worth more than $50,000. Some of them even promise to return six-figure scores if you hit them. While these figures are rarely sufficient to allow one to quit a job, they can certainly add a healthy dose of breathing room for most people.

The truly large-scale progressives, however, are reserved for the land-based casinos themselves. Furthermore, one particular type of slot — Megabucks — is renowned for its outsized payouts. The Megabucks jackpot begins at $10 million, and players have had wins that have totaled nearly $40 million in the past.

Pennsylvania’s jackpot slots simply don’t field enough business to warrant those kinds of payouts. However, there is still plenty of money available for a healthy payday.

How to play for a progressive jackpot in Pennsylvania

Slots are not a winning proposition for most people. There’s a reason that, no matter what, a casino will always have slot machines available for players to try.

Progressive jackpot slots are no different in this regard and are worse for the typical player than an average slot title. With that said, there are a few things to keep in mind if you’re planning on making a try for one of the big-money wins.

Find the right games

Though it may seem painfully obvious, you need to make sure that the slot you’ve chosen to play is, in fact, a progressive jackpot slot. While all slots have a top prize associated with them, you need to find games that have a rolling total for their top prize.

The good news is that this rolling amount is the chief advertisement for the game, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. As it happens, there are three different jackpot games that you may find in Pennsylvania online casinos. They are:

• Divine Fortune
  • Unibet Casino
  • Hollywood Casino
  • FOX Bet Casino
• Mercy of the Gods
  • Unibet Casino
  • BetRivers Casino
  • FOX Bet Casino
• Jackpot Shores
  • Unibet Casino

This list can change as casinos add to or change their lineups. However, the main point is that you should have no trouble finding a progressive slot in Pennsylvania if you’re looking to play on one.

Always bet the maximum number of coins

The dirty secret of playing for a progressive jackpot is that it requires you to bet the maximum amount on each bet. Otherwise, your spin will not be eligible for the progressive jackpot bonus feature, and you’re essentially playing a tighter-than-normal slot for no reason.

Now, to be clear, betting the maximum will not make you any more likely to win the jackpot. It’s simply the entrance fee to play yourself into the game, and it’s a game that you are, frankly, unlikely to win.

Truth be told, it is probably better to wager the maximum on any slot game in Pennsylvania that you decide to play. Players who choose to do so set themselves up for the maximum amount of upside that the game has to offer, progressive jackpot or not.

However, if you are looking to stretch your gambling money for as long as it will go, then a progressive jackpot slot is probably not the right choice. Find a standard slot that doesn’t punish you as harshly for nibbling around the edges.

Watch your bankroll

The flip side of the admonition to bet the maximum is to keep a close eye on your bankroll at all times. Because you are betting the absolute limit, you can rapidly burn through your set-aside funds if you’re not careful.

Progressive jackpots do require you to bet the max to be eligible. However, there is no time limit on your spin session, so take a breath, relax, and make sure that you’re not overextending yourself at a particular machine before each spin.

Don’t try to force the machine into a win

One of the biggest pitfalls for any gambler is his or her ego. It’s hard to accept that you’re playing a game in which you’ll ultimately lose. It’s so much more tempting to think that you’re going to get the better of the odds this time around.

Because of ego, some gamblers will try to force a slot machine to pay out through repeated play. Their thinking is that the machine has to “warm-up” at some point and that the consistent stream of losses cannot go on forever.

The truth of the matter is that no amount of priming or investment will make any difference to the machine. You’ll either win or you won’t, so don’t make the mistake of misunderstanding statistics and random chance as deliberate acts on the part of the game software or its developers.

Know when to walk

If you find that you are commonly spending more than you’d like, it is probably a good idea to establish a loss limit for yourself at the machine. Once you reach that limit, you walk away — no matter how lucky you may be feeling or whether you feel confident that things are going to turn around.

The truth of the matter is that it is usually not going to be your night, and you need to have the discipline to avoid disaster to play successfully. However, with progressive slots, it only takes a single spin to get into the black forever. So, as long as you are playing responsibly, you can go for the big win!