When you play casino games, you’re betting on the fact that you have a good shot at winning. But there are many different ways to win money, and not all of them are created equal. Some, like blackjack and slot machines, offer the best odds of winning, while others are more difficult to hit and have a lower return-to-player (RTP) rate.

A jackpot is a fund that is accumulated over time from players’ bets, with a small percentage of each wager being transferred to the jackpot. These jackpots can be connected to only one game or a wide range of machines. A casino can set a minimum jackpot amount that must be met, or it can simply allow the jackpot to grow until someone wins it.

If you’re lucky enough to hit a jackpot, you will typically receive your prize in cash. Casinos will generally try to process the payout as quickly as possible, but they’re a business after all and must verify your identity, inform managers, collect tax forms, check that you’re not on the state’s restricted list, and handle any other paperwork associated with the jackpot.

The term jackpot entered the gambling lexicon via a 19th-century variant of poker in which a player needed to declare a pair of jacks or better to open bidding. From there, the meaning expanded to encompass any situation in which a pot builds up over a period of time before paying out, such as with slot machines and lottery games.