Massive Progressive Slots Jackpot Hits in New Jersey

Online slots favor the house by about 5% regardless of the state and the online casino operator. That's why recreational slot players tend to play their favorite slots "for fun" with very little expectation of walking away as winners. In New Jersey, one lucky slot player defied the odds by taking down a massive progressive jackpot game while playing on the DraftKings online casino site.

On April 25th, an unnamed NJ slot player walked away with a $1.97 million jackpot while playing the Extra Chilli Megaways progressive slot being offered by DraftKings Casino. Extra Chilli Megaways is part of a "cross-game" offering that includes multiple slots tied together into one massive progressive jackpot opportunity.

According to DraftKings iGaming North America General Manager Thomas Winter, this is the single-largest slot payout in DraftKings history. He said in a press release:

Congratulations to our lucky player on winning DraftKings Casino’s largest jackpot to date. At DraftKings, we strive to offer players the most entertaining and rewarding online casino experience, and we are always thrilled when a customer wins big.”

He went on to add: “This record-breaking jackpot marks our second million-dollar winner in the last two months, and we can’t wait to celebrate our next millionaire with our exclusive jackpot currently over $1.3 million.”

By all indications, this would seem to be a record jackpot within the U.S. online casino community.

By law, DraftKings will be required to withhold 25%-30% of the winner's earnings. The full amount will be reported to the IRS via a form 1099G. The winner will have to claim said amount on their 2023 tax returns, something they will surely be happy to do.

The Genre-Linked Progressive Slots Concept

While DraftKings is currently offering limited access to its online casino in Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey, the operator's genre-linked progressive slots concept is only available in the latter state. The concept is built around the connection of common game titles whether they be slots, table games, or video poker games. It works as follows.

As players play online casino games connected to the progressive jackpot game, a small portion of each bet is siphoned from original bets and added to the progressive jackpot that continues to grow until a winner hits it.

Active players are chosen at random to play a specified bonus game for a chance to hit the big jackpot. Even if chosen players don't hit the big jackpot, they will be rewarded with minor jackpots until the "big one" falls. Once the big one falls, the progressive jackpot is reset to a minimum amount.

Bid for Online Casino Gambling in Rhode Island

In a surprise announcement, online casino gambling legislation has made its way to the RI General Assembly. HB 948 was introduced by President of the Senate Dominick J. Ruggerio and Rep. Gregory J. Costantino.

It's not currently clear if the bill has enough support to get through the assembly, but this is a major move in the right direction. The current legislative session is not scheduled to end until June 30, 2023.