DETROIT, MI - Talk about a record high and then some. The poker bad beat jackpot finally hit at the Motor City Casino. Turns out, it was also the largest bad beat jackpot in U.S. history.
Just six players were involved in a hand on January 16, 2018 when the record $1,068,590.80 million bad beat jackpot hit.
Scott of Oxford, MI had the losing hand and took home the biggest share of the jackpot at $427,452.52. He had four 3's in his hand which was beaten by Kenneth who had four queens. He won $213,712.76. The other four players at the table won $106,856.28 each. Poker tables hold 10 people and are usually full.
To put this into perspective, the bad beat jackpot generates mild buzz from players in the poker room when it reaches over $200,000. You can imagine the excitement of this record jackpot, which wasn't in Vegas. Nope. It was in Detroit.
"There are winners every day on the floor, but it's not every day that a jackpot that big hits," said Phil Trofibio, Senior Vice President of Casino Operations. "Congratulations to all the players at the table."
How to win the jackpot:
At the Motor City Casino, in Texas Hold 'em poker, if a player hits any four of a kind and is beaten by another player's four of a kind, they hit the bad beat jackpot. Both players must have pocket pairs. The four of a kind must only be beaten by another four of a kind. A straight flush only wins them the much smaller bad beat jackpot. The rules are slightly different at the MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown. The bad beat jackpot can be hit if a player's four of a kind loses to a straight flush. That makes it slightly easier to win. The odds of hitting either are astronomical, but it does happen.
What the winners receive:
The player with the losing hand involved in a "bad beat" receives 40 percent of the jackpot. The player with the winning hand receives 20 percent, and the remaining players at the table, up to eight of them, split the remaining 40 percent. The jackpot is so high, it's actually life-changing money.
The bad beat jackpot reserve now has it at close to $500,000 at Motor City Casino. The bad beat at MGM Grand Detroit is around $55,000. Greektown Casino's is around $41,000.