After months and months of growth, the jackpot for the bad win hit $1,226,765.80 at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.
The jackpot is the biggest ever in the US, with the previous record set at the Motor City Hotel in Detroit being a $1,068,590 jackpot in 2018.
In the hand of a lifetime, one of the players had four aces and was lost by another player with a royal flush. The loser gets $490,708, which is the largest share of the jackpot.
This history-making win occurred in the $1-3 unlimited Texas Hold’em game. The winner of the hand received the second highest payout of $368,029 while the remaining six players at the table earned $61,338.
Benjamin Flanagan of Huttonsville, WV, took four aces for first prize, while Raymond Brodersen of Wexford, Pennsylvania, grabbed the royal flush in spades. The remaining six players were from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Maxis Rocks, Pennsylvania, Morrisdale, Pennsylvania, and Morgantown, WV.
The record-breaking jackpot has increased gradually since it was hit on April 14, 2021, for $149,417.
“It’s very exciting and potentially life-changing to push the game of poker at this level,” said Andre Barnabei, Assistant General Manager at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh. “When we launch a jackpot, we have no idea when or how big it will be. It’s almost as exciting for us as it is for the winners. Congratulations also to the members of the Rivers Pittsburgh Poker Room team for a great job.”
A bad poker stroke is when a high-ranking rare hand is defeated by a higher-ranked hand, so the losing hand causes the jackpot to win the jackpot and win the lion’s share of money. In Rivers, the losing hand wins 40% of the total amount, the highest ranked hand wins 30% of the jackpot, and the remaining players split the rest equally.
After a record payout, another jackpot has already started and continues to grow daily with the minimum qualifying hand of four of a kind, 10 seconds or higher.
The previous record for jackpot winnings at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh was over $480,000 in 2017.
Located in the city’s North Shore, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh has over 2,500 slot machines, 99 table games, 55 seat hybrids, and a poker room with 30 tables.
