Most slots players are not aware that there are two levels of progressive jackpots - primary and secondary. Nearly all are at least three coin machines where there are many graduated jackpots and pay symbol possibilites. A primary jackpot is the top prize offered when a player hits that specific combination which will pay the top jackpot. In the case of Megabucks, linked to participating casinos, these are the four Megabucks symbols all correctly lined up together on the pay line. This top jackpot, increasing with each coin played is the one showing the most money, and is usually displayed with the biggest sign and numbers above the carousel or bank of machines.

Secondary jackpots are displayed on smaller screens mounted below the big screen of the primary jackpot, and also increase apportionately to the number of coins played. These jackpots are hit more frequently and therefore do not always have a large sum of money on the progressive meter. Progressive slots are now a way of life in the casino industry, and from the smaller linked prizes to the mega-million-dollar payoffs, they are the subject of a continuous quest for knowledge by players: Which ones are the best to play? How is the jackpot decided? Who is responsible for the payoff? How much should I bet? What are the odds? Is there a way to tell when a progressive is about to hit? Due to the multitude of questions we receive about progressives, I thought a progressive primer would be helpful. In the next article I'll provide some facts behind all the big-money dreams

The big progressive jackpot is made by taking a percentage of all the money played into the machine. This means that the jackpot continues to grow as more people play the machine until somebody hits the winning symbols for the top award. Because a percentage of the coins played form the Progressive Jackpot, the actual payback percentage will be less on the other winning symbols and in some case the payback percentage on the Progressive machines will be less than other machines in the casino. This is true for the machines that offer the life changing jackpots. Not all progressive machines are the same. There are actually three different types of progressive machines.