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25-year-old man from Los Angeles won a record $39 million on the
Nevada Megabucks on March 21. Let's look at how Megabucks works
and some of the myths of the system.
Megabucks links slot machines in multiple casinos
into one network. Unlike multi-state lotteries, Megabucks does not
cross state lines. Each state with Megabucks has a separate system
with separate progressive meters and separate winners. What happens
in one state does not affect another.
Why
did IGT create the Megabucks system? To compete
with state lotteries. A $10,000 jackpot for a $3 bet looks pretty
stingy when compared with a multi-million-dollar jackpot for a $1
bet. Never mind the fact that you're much more likely to win the
$10,000 jackpot, unlikely as that is.
Just
what are the odds of hitting the Megabucks? According
to a PC sheet I have for a Megabucks machine--the PC sheet gives
the percentages of a machine and the probabilities of hitting the
winning combinations--the odds of hitting the Megabucks is about
1 out of 50,000,000.
How
are winners chosen? Each machine has its own Random
Number Generator and each machine chooses its own outcomes. Each
machine reports its outcomes to a central station so when the jackpot
is hit, the central station can send a signal to the other machines
on the system to reset their progressive meters. Contrary to the
myth, the central station does not choose the winner.
Has
anyone underage ever hit the Megabucks? Notice that
I didn't say has anyone underage ever WON the Megabucks. If you're
underage, you don't win. Period. Underage persons have hit big jackpots--Quartermania
once, Million Dollar Babies at Caesars--but not the Megabucks.
Did
IGT change the programming of the system to make the Megabucks hit
less frequently but for more money? IGT claims they
didn't, but I think the truth is somewhere in between. I believe
this is actually the second incarnation of the Megabucks system.
If you look at the first winner, he won a little under $5,000,000.
The current reset value is $7,000,000. So the system was changed.
I think it is correct to say that IGT has not changed the system
after any changes they made when they changed the reset value.
Who
owns the Megabucks machines? IGT does. The casino
gets a cut of the money each machine wins from its players.
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