Megabucks Slot
Megabucks Slots is a brand of linked progressive jackpot slot machines designed and distributed by International Game Technology. These games have a deceptively simple set-up. It is a 3-reel, $1-per-coin slots game. To activate the top payout, you’ll need to bet three coins. Megabucks by IGT Megabucks is a Dollar coin Slot Machine that must have 3 coins ($3.00) played to hit the jackpot. The jackpot is reset to $10,000,000.00 after a jackpot is hit. Current Megajackpot Totals Last Hit History of Jackpots Where to Play. Megabucks (R) is a 3- coin dollar progressive slot machine that was launched in Nevada casinos in March 1986. The Nevada progressive system connects 691 slot machines in 160 Nevada casinos to a top jackpot that builds from a base amount of $7 million. The top jackpot is paid in annual installments, upon verification of the win.
- Appendices
- Slots Analysis
- Miscellaneous
The Megabucks slot has a legendary status among players who frequent land-based casinos. It was not only the first game to introduce the “progressive jackpot” network system, but also the first slot to have paid out more than a billion dollars in winnings since it was first put on a land-based casino floor in 1986!The company behind the Mega Bucks slot – IGT (International Gaming.
Introduction
This page investigates the odds of the progressive jackpot slot machine, Megabucks, including the average jackpot and breakeven point.
For now, let's ignore the fact that a jackpot is paid by installments over 25 years and that the jackpot would be subject to income tax.
I don't know exactly how Megabucks is programmed. However, there is some information that is public knowledge. If we fit the pieces together, we can make a pretty good estimate of the point at which the return is 100%, known as the 'breakeven point.' Here is what we do know:
- According to John Robison, the probability of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 49,836,032. This figure comes from an article titled Megabucks closes in on record jackpot from the Las Vegas Sun, Dec. 24, 1999. That probability comes to (1/368)3, implying each reel has a 1 in 368 chance of stopping on the jackpot symbol.
- The Nevada Gaming Control Board indicates that the profit of Megabucks on both a percentage and dollar basis. The following is a summary for 1994 to 2009.
Megabucks Win — 1994 to 2009
Year Win ($) Win (%) 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 key piece of information from this table is that the overall profit of the game has been 11.39%. In other words, 88.61% is returned to the players.
- According to defunct source, starting in September 2005, Megabucks was reset to a jackpot of $10 million. Before that, the reset value was $7 million.
- According to a2zlasvegas.com, there have been 11 jackpots hit between September 2005 and the date of the last jackpot (Feb. 21, 2010). That same website shows a jackpot was hit on September 15, 2005. The number of days between then and the time of this writing is 1,619 days. We also see from that website that the total of the last 11 jackpots was $167,367,727. Of that, $110,000,000 was from the reset amounts and $57,367,727 was from the progressive contribution.
The portion of money returned to players in form of jackpots is thus $167,367,727/$1,644,589,056 = 10.18%. From the Nevada Gaming reports, we know a total of 88.61% is returned to players. That means that the portion returned to players in non-jackpots is 88.61% - 10.18% = 78.44% (The 0.01% apparent difference is due to rounding).
If there were no small wins, and no progressive contribution, then the return of the game would be $10 million/(3×(1/368)3) = 6.69%. As already shown, the total return from jackpots is 10.18%, leaving 3.49% coming from the jackpot meter. Here is a summary of where each $1 bet on Megabucks goes:
Megabucks Breakdown
| Item | Cents |
|---|---|
| Fixed wins | 78.44¢ |
| Meter reset | 6.69¢ |
| Progressive contribution | 3.49¢ |
| Profit | 11.39¢ |
| Total | 100.00¢ |
The average point at which the jackpot will hit is 10 million + [$3 × 0.0349 / (1/368)3] = $15,215,248. In 2006, when the jackpot was almost $16 million, IGT, Megabuck's creator, purchased ads in the local media stating that the jackpot was 'overdue' to hit. I'm quoted in a Las Vegas Sun article about it, titled 'Pennies ready to pop'. This would seem to indicate my $15.2 million figure is not far off.
If j is the jackpot at which the game becomes a fair bet, with a 100% return, then we can solve for j as follows:
1 = 0.7844 + j × (1/368)3/3
j × (1/368)3/3 = 1 - 0.7844
j = 3 × (1 - 0.7844) / (1/368)3
j = $32,238,319.
The probability of any given jackpot growing this big is 1.41%. At the current rate of play, a jackpot should get this big once every 29 years, on average.
At any given time the return can be estimated as 78.44% + 0.6689%×m, where m is the number in millions of the current jackpot. For example, at a jackpot of $15 million, the return would be 78.44% + 0.006689×15 = 88.47%.
Everything in this page should be taken as a ballpark estimate. Various factors could cause it to be off, including players not betting the full $3 and the fact that while 11 jackpots were hit in the study period, the expected number could be higher or lower.
It also bears repeating that the above does not factor in the annuity or taxes. Let's look at what happens if we do consider those factors. For the time value of money, let's use the return on long-term Treasury Bills. Megabucks jackpots are paid in a 25-year annuity. At the time of this writing a 20-year T-Bill paid 4.58% interest, and a 30-year one paid 4.74%. Let's split the difference at 4.66%. Using some actuarial math I won't get into, the value of the annuity is worth 61.07% of face value, based on that interest rate, and 25 annual installments, at the beginning of each year.
For taxes, let's assume close to the expected jackpot of $15 million. Under 2010 income tax rates, assuming the winner is filing jointly, and all other income exactly equals deductions, the taxes due will be 30.05% for 2010. Assuming no change in the tax law, that will drop over time, because the tax brackets will be adjusted upward, but the winning payments won't be. I tend to think the recent passage of health care will increase tax rates, especially on large incomes. Let's just assume those factors cancel each other out, to keep it simple.
So to keep things in round numbers, the winner will keep 61% after the annuity, and 70% of that after taxes. So the jackpot winner will see about 61% × 70% = 42.7% of his winnings in current dollars. Factoring the annuity and taxes, the breakeven point becomes $75.5 million. The probability of any given jackpot growing that big is about 1 in 283,000, and will happen once every 114,000 years. Again, I'm making lots of assumptions, so these estimates should be considered very rough.
After publishing this article, a reader quoted a page at slot-machine-resource.com, which states that after the first installment is made, the player is given the option to get 60% of the rest immediately, or stick with the installment plan. Tax implications aside, which favor the annuity, the interest rate at which the two options are equal is 4.581%.
External Links
- Megabucks Closes in on Record Jackpot from the Las Vegas Sun, Dec. 24, 1999.
- Nevada Gaming Control Board
- Slots Payout percentage, from Cassaon Casino.
- History of Megabucks Jackpots, from a2zlasvegas.com.
- Pennies Ready to Pop, from the Aug. 9, 2006 Las Vegas Sun.
- Megabucks, from slot-machine-resource.com.
Written by: Michael Shackleford
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Free to Play IGT Slots Online
Nearly every state in the US provides its residents (and visitors) an opportunity at a life-changing lottery jackpot. Notably absent from that list of states is one of the biggest gambling venues in the world: Nevada.
While residents might feel a twinge of jealousy from the frequent news stories of lucky multi-million-dollar-winning lottery players, Nevada doesn’t exactly have a shortage of methods for people to win their own big money jackpots. The most potentially lucrative one of all is Megabucksslot machines.
Responsible for most of Nevada’s biggest money jackpots of all time, Megabucks slot machines are perhaps the closest alternative Nevada has to a true lottery. Megabucks is a simple game with a massive progressive jackpot.
Megabucks: a simple game
It’s likely that most mental images of a slot machine conjure this game to mind. Megabucks slot machines have three reels and one payline going right through the middle of the reels. The game features many of the typical slot machine symbols — 7’s, cherries, and bars — that any slot player has seen numerous times before.
The goal of the game is to match these symbols along the lone payline. That’s it. There’s no intricate series of patterns. There’s no complicated bonus game to trigger. And there’s no underlying theme associated with the game.
It’s just a matter of whether the player matches three like symbols on the payline or not. Match the symbols, and get paid.
The Megabucks progressive jackpot
While true that Megabucks has a simple game design, that doesn’t mean the game lacks appeal. Rather, it might be one of the most appealing slot machine games available due to its substantial progressive jackpot.
With a minimum prize of $10 million, the Megabucks progressive jackpot can be an attractive gamble for anyone. Slot players are sure to become most intrigued when the jackpot climbs to its higher amounts.
Twenty or even $30 million jackpots are not unheard of for Megabucks. Each machine linked to the jackpot has the amount prominently posted just above the machine, large enough to see from the other side of a room. There will never be any confusion over a specific jackpot amount.
Megabucks Slot Win
Megabucks is a standard $1 slot machine. The caveat is that a player must bet the maximum ($3) on a spin to be eligible to win the progressive jackpot. Once the maximum bet is made and the reels are spun, landing “MEGABUCKS” symbols along the payline on each of the reels is what it takes to win the hefty prize. Similar to picking winning lottery numbers, it really is that simple to win the Megabucks jackpot.
If one does manage to win the jackpot, the similarities to lottery winnings don’t end there. Jackpot winners are given a 25-year annuity for their winnings rather than the entire sum all at once. At $3 per spin, going for the jackpot could also be a costly endeavor. As most lottery players can attest, just because a game is simple to play, doesn’t mean it’s easy to win.
Megabucks Slot Machine Payouts
So you’re telling me there’s a chance?
Since 2005, when the jackpot was set at a minimum of $10 million, 22 people have won the prize. That’s about two people per year on average in the state of Nevada who find themselves lucky enough to be referred to as Megabucks progressive jackpot winners.
Megabucks Slot Machine Locations
A number of sources seem to agree that the odds of any eligible spin hitting the jackpot is about 50 million to one. It’s a long shot to be sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying at all.
To put that into perspective, if it’s worth the time and energy to worry about the dangers of shark attacks when swimming in the ocean or plane crashes when flying in the air, then it’s statistically worth the effort to give Megabucks a few spins in hopes of becoming the next lucky winner. Somebody is going to win it, after all.
With the odds of hitting the jackpot so low and the relatively few ways for a player to win money, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Megabucks slot machines sports one of the highest levels of volatility in the slot world. Unlike many modern slot machine games, there aren’t an abundance of ways to win amounts close to the cost of a spin.
Essentially, this game amounts to most likely losing the entirety of the bet on a spin, but with a small percentage of spins leading to sizable wins.
Because of these qualities, Megabucks is not likely to attract slot enthusiasts, as they would be looking for a more valuable experience for their money. Since slot seekers would be more focused on the progressive jackpot opportunity, the higher volatility, and relatively low time investment, Megabucks is a popular choice for them.
No end in sight
Lotteries in the US have been popular for hundreds of years and remain popular to this day. It’s clear that the low risk/high reward game model is attractive to many. So long as people dream of the lavish lifestyle that only millions and millions of dollars can provide, they will always be willing to take their chances.
Serving as Nevada’s de facto lottery, there’s no reason to think Megabucks slot machines will be any different. Anybody with few dollars and a dream knows that an eight-figure payday could be waiting for them the next time they decide to spend a couple minutes playing the slots.
This fact alone will keep seasoned slot players, as well as casual casino-goers, sitting down and trying their luck with Megabucks.