A $5 wager just turned into a life-changing payday on the Las Vegas Strip. An anonymous guest at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas won a $630,865 Pai Gow jackpot after placing a $5 side bet that triggered the resort's progressive prize.
The winning guest was playing Face Up Pai Gow when the hand came together, according to FOX5 Vegas. The resort said the guest was dealt a seven-card straight flush, the hand that unlocked the six-figure prize.
How the Winning Hand Works
Face Up Pai Gow differs from traditional Pai Gow in several ways, including exposed dealer cards, no commission, an ace-high automatic push rule and no player banking, according to Wizard of Odds. Both the player and the dealer are dealt seven cards each, but the dealer's hand is exposed face up for the entire table to see. The side bet pays out based on a tiered system of hand rankings. Per the same source, a seven-card straight flush sits at the very top of that ladder, designated as the game's Mega jackpot.
Not the First Big Pai Gow Score This Year
The Venetian win is the latest in a string of hefty Pai Gow jackpots reported across Nevada and California casinos this year. In July, a visitor from Hawaii won a $446,083 progressive jackpot while playing Fortune Pai-Gow Poker at Fremont Hotel and Casino, the station's report noted, after placing just a $1 progressive side bet and landing a seven-card straight flush in clubs.
Cache Creek Casino Resort saw a similar windfall when a guest from North Highlands, California, hit a $447,810 jackpot playing Face-Up Pai Gow, according to Cache Creek Casino Resort. That player wagered just $2 on the special side bet before landing the same seven-card straight flush that paid out at The Venetian.
Even those totals pale next to what happened at Caesars Palace last year. A player there reportedly hit a jackpot meter reading $2,873,092 after landing a seven-card straight flush while playing Face Up Pai Gow, as reported by PokerNews. Together, the run of wins underscores just how often that rare card combination has been paying off on Nevada and California casino floors this year.
