Primary Jackpot

The large prize a player can win on a particular slot machine on any given turn.

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The primary jackpot is the largest prize amount listed on a slot machine's pay out schedule. The term "primary jackpot" and jackpot are generally synonymous, since when players are talking about winning a slot machine jackpot, they are generally talking about winning the biggest prize offered.

Many slots players determine which machines they are going to play at a casino based almost entirely on the primary jackpot size. This is certainly the case with progressive slot machines, where the main selling point is the chance to win the largest cash prizes in the casino. Players will search through the casino for the largest progressive jackpot. In this way, progressive slot machines are the lottery game of the casino.

Even when players are playing Classic 3-reel slot machines, they tend to take a peak at the primary jackpot before playing. On reel slots, players usually need to play the 5-coin version of the game to activate the maximum primary jackpot. On video slots, players usually need to play the maximum pay lines to activate the primary jackpot. Keep this in mind when playing either major type of slot machines, since primary jackpots are always nice to win.