EZ Pai Gow progressive payout
January 6th, 2014 at 5:06:28 PM
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Long story about a big payout I witnessed this weekend.
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I ended up near a casino with an extra couple hundred dollars in my pocket on Saturday night, so I decided to do some gamblin'. I don't normally gamble outside of Nevada (don't trust the casinos that aren't regulated by the NGC and think they can always find a way to stiff you if you win big). I prefer traditional Pai Gow as I like to bank often - but the casino I happened into only had EZ Pai Gow. I didn't want to play and indirectly send royalties to the wrong people, but that was the only choice I had - and my SHFL shares got bought out so I wasn't depriving myself of royalties and it was either play EZ or leave.
I sat down and the EZ layout was actually complicated with all kinds of side bets and multiple betting slots for the main bet. They had the dealer Queen high bet @ 50 to 1. They also had the progressive bonus bet ($1 to $5) that paid only on 4 of a kind or better. I thought it was a waste to play something that needed 4oaK or better, but I said to myself, "what the heck, I ain't paying commission, so might as well throw a dollar down each time for a chance at the progressive." The dealer explained that I could bet on my hand and/or the dealer's hand for the progressive. I retorted, "I'm here to get the good hands. That's bad karma to bet against myself on your hand..."
I was having a pretty decent session betting ~$50 average and winning more than I was losing. Then, all of sudden, there was a big, collective groan from the next table. The dealer flipped over her cards and put 4 aces and a star on the board. Everyone was bummed. Except one guy at the end. He casually says, "I got it. I got that." And he had this big smile on his face. He had the look on his face just like Trotter in Let it Ride when Hot to Trot photo-finished and he just knew he had it.
The progressive meter was at $157,7xx.x and counting when those 5 aces hit the felt. The whole pit just kinda' went into slow motion and everyone came over to see that the guy at first base had indeed bet $1 on the dealer's hand. The total jackpot was his. While everyone was in shock, the meter kept running.
The floor was all aflutter figuring out what they had to do to pay the guy off.
-They ordered a rush fill
-The dealer took the whole deck and organized it (2-k of spades, hearts, etc) leaving out her 7 card hand
-Interestingly, she lifted the deck up and did this in her hands behind the table - I woulda' freaked if my bonus was at stake and she handled cards like this
-All the pit bosses and bigger bosses were trying to decide who had to sign off to pay out
-The progressive meter eventually showed, "payout pending, $158,825.25"
-The progressive meter was then reset to $15,xxx
So the lucky fellow made an extra $1xxx waiting for the commotion to settle down and the payout to happen. My guess is the meter runs slow on purpose so it can keep moving when the tables are slow as I can't imagine $1xxx being added via bets during the commotion. Alternately, they might have thrown in an extra $1000 for 5 of a kind since that was one of the payouts and there were no rules nearby to discern if 5 aces counted as 5 of a Kind.
Several interesting (at least to me) things here:
At this casino, the progressive 100% payout went to 5 aces, not to a 7 card straight flush.
Also, this was for a fully wild joker, but I don't see that table here:
This is the second time I have seen 5 aces. Many years ago, I was dealt this and it paid 400 to 1 in Vegas (on $15 bet). I do about 1.5 Vegas trips per year so I think I am way ahead on witnessing 5 aces.
They paid the winner out in chips. I saw them getting the chips ready, but did not see the actual payoff. Nor did I see what % they withheld (the winner did fill out paperwork, but I wasn't close enough to see it).
They were low key and did not make any announcements or take any photos but they were making announcements on the loudspeaker when people hit slot jackpots - I heard at least one $3k jackpot announcement. The winner was pretty mellow and seemed like a good guy who would spend the money wisely.
After it was over, I began to wonder what the progressive +EV point is for this payout table that was in use:
5 aces = 100%
7 card straight flush = 10% (I think this was the hand for 10%, it really couldn't be anything else)
5 of a Kind = 1000 to 1
Royal flush = 500 to 1
Mystery Card = 250 to 1 (no idea what this was, dealer said, "it randomly picks a card" but never saw it happen)
9 high pai gow, no 6 = 250 to 1
Straight flush = 100 to 1
4 of a Kind = 20 to 1
--
I ended up near a casino with an extra couple hundred dollars in my pocket on Saturday night, so I decided to do some gamblin'. I don't normally gamble outside of Nevada (don't trust the casinos that aren't regulated by the NGC and think they can always find a way to stiff you if you win big). I prefer traditional Pai Gow as I like to bank often - but the casino I happened into only had EZ Pai Gow. I didn't want to play and indirectly send royalties to the wrong people, but that was the only choice I had - and my SHFL shares got bought out so I wasn't depriving myself of royalties and it was either play EZ or leave.
I sat down and the EZ layout was actually complicated with all kinds of side bets and multiple betting slots for the main bet. They had the dealer Queen high bet @ 50 to 1. They also had the progressive bonus bet ($1 to $5) that paid only on 4 of a kind or better. I thought it was a waste to play something that needed 4oaK or better, but I said to myself, "what the heck, I ain't paying commission, so might as well throw a dollar down each time for a chance at the progressive." The dealer explained that I could bet on my hand and/or the dealer's hand for the progressive. I retorted, "I'm here to get the good hands. That's bad karma to bet against myself on your hand..."
I was having a pretty decent session betting ~$50 average and winning more than I was losing. Then, all of sudden, there was a big, collective groan from the next table. The dealer flipped over her cards and put 4 aces and a star on the board. Everyone was bummed. Except one guy at the end. He casually says, "I got it. I got that." And he had this big smile on his face. He had the look on his face just like Trotter in Let it Ride when Hot to Trot photo-finished and he just knew he had it.
The progressive meter was at $157,7xx.x and counting when those 5 aces hit the felt. The whole pit just kinda' went into slow motion and everyone came over to see that the guy at first base had indeed bet $1 on the dealer's hand. The total jackpot was his. While everyone was in shock, the meter kept running.
The floor was all aflutter figuring out what they had to do to pay the guy off.
-They ordered a rush fill
-The dealer took the whole deck and organized it (2-k of spades, hearts, etc) leaving out her 7 card hand
-Interestingly, she lifted the deck up and did this in her hands behind the table - I woulda' freaked if my bonus was at stake and she handled cards like this
-All the pit bosses and bigger bosses were trying to decide who had to sign off to pay out
-The progressive meter eventually showed, "payout pending, $158,825.25"
-The progressive meter was then reset to $15,xxx
So the lucky fellow made an extra $1xxx waiting for the commotion to settle down and the payout to happen. My guess is the meter runs slow on purpose so it can keep moving when the tables are slow as I can't imagine $1xxx being added via bets during the commotion. Alternately, they might have thrown in an extra $1000 for 5 of a kind since that was one of the payouts and there were no rules nearby to discern if 5 aces counted as 5 of a Kind.
Several interesting (at least to me) things here:
At this casino, the progressive 100% payout went to 5 aces, not to a 7 card straight flush.
Also, this was for a fully wild joker, but I don't see that table here:
This is the second time I have seen 5 aces. Many years ago, I was dealt this and it paid 400 to 1 in Vegas (on $15 bet). I do about 1.5 Vegas trips per year so I think I am way ahead on witnessing 5 aces.
They paid the winner out in chips. I saw them getting the chips ready, but did not see the actual payoff. Nor did I see what % they withheld (the winner did fill out paperwork, but I wasn't close enough to see it).
They were low key and did not make any announcements or take any photos but they were making announcements on the loudspeaker when people hit slot jackpots - I heard at least one $3k jackpot announcement. The winner was pretty mellow and seemed like a good guy who would spend the money wisely.
After it was over, I began to wonder what the progressive +EV point is for this payout table that was in use:
5 aces = 100%
7 card straight flush = 10% (I think this was the hand for 10%, it really couldn't be anything else)
5 of a Kind = 1000 to 1
Royal flush = 500 to 1
Mystery Card = 250 to 1 (no idea what this was, dealer said, "it randomly picks a card" but never saw it happen)
9 high pai gow, no 6 = 250 to 1
Straight flush = 100 to 1
4 of a Kind = 20 to 1
January 6th, 2014 at 5:20:01 PM
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Nice. I rarely bet side bets, but I was betting $1 on 4 card poker one time and hit 4 Queens. The jackpot was at ~$18,xxx for 4 Aces. Since I had 4 Queens, it was 10% of the jackpot. After about 10minutes, one of the bosses took me to the cage and it was a hand pay. They said that the actual Jackpot was $20,xxx so I got an extra 200 dollars which was nice. This was at an Indian Casino, and all they required was a Valid ID. No SSN which was odd since it was a ~$2000 pay with a $1 bet.
I've seen people win $30,000 jackpot and was never announced over the loudspeakers.
But, I do find it odd if they didn't announce a winning of a 6-figure payout.
I've seen people win $30,000 jackpot and was never announced over the loudspeakers.
But, I do find it odd if they didn't announce a winning of a 6-figure payout.
January 6th, 2014 at 5:54:37 PM
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What casino is this?
January 6th, 2014 at 5:58:36 PM
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Barona
January 6th, 2014 at 6:03:58 PM
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Ah ok. They have a progressive in AZ but 5 aces only pays 10%.
January 6th, 2014 at 6:38:30 PM
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Quote: BeardgoatAh ok. They have a progressive in AZ but 5 aces only pays 10%.
I'm confused by that. I've never seen the big hand be anything other than the 7 card straight flush. 5 aces happens too frequently. Also, if you can bet $1-$5 on the bonus, why would $1 pay the full amount?
"So as the clock ticked and the day passed, opportunity met preparation, and luck happened." - Maurice Clarett
