Harrah’s Northern California Casino Unveils Nation’s First HotSeat Jackpot

Harrah’s Northern California entered uncharted territory with the HotSeat Jackpot, making it the first US casino to offer a player-funded drawing game. The feature lets guests play their favorite table games in addition to competing in an hourly jackpot drawing, with bets ranging from $1 to $100.

Harrah’s Brings Interactive Gaming to Northern California

Some regions call it HotSeat Lotto, others know it as HotSeat Jackpot. Whatever the name, the concept takes traditional hot-seat games and enhances them through digital technology and a community-based approach. Each table on the gaming floor is equipped with a tablet that connects to all other tables within the casino. Once every hour, a four-minute betting window opens when the tablet signals for wagers to be placed. Each dollar bet represents an entry into the drawing, which means that as more people play, the pot grows.

Harrah’s Northern California senior vice president and general manager Jeff Cutri said: “We are excited to be the first to offer HotSeat Jackpot, which provides our guests with a convenient digital hot seat drawing experience every hour. At Harrah’s, we are always focused on elevating our guests’ experience by providing unique and fun gaming opportunities they can’t find anywhere else.”

During the four-minute betting windows, participants can see how much money has been bet across all players’ accounts in real-time and watch the amount climb higher and higher toward what will eventually become someone’s life-altering payday before their eyes.

After those four minutes are up, there will be no more bets taken. Instead, one lucky winner will be chosen at random by computer software designed specifically for this purpose — ensuring fairness for each round — then displayed prominently throughout all screens positioned above every table scattered throughout Harrah’s Northern California floor space so that everyone playing within its walls knows exactly when somebody scores the big bucks.

HotSeat Jackpot Brings its Winning Formula to the US After Success in Mexico

HotSeat Jackpot CEO Lance Lietzau spoke highly about partnering with Harrah’s Northern California for the US debut of this new product. Lietzau commented: “We’ve realized international success with a dozen properties in Mexico currently offering our revolutionary HotSeat game. The experience gained in rolling out both our single casino, as well as wide area progressive system, which allows multiple casinos under the same brand to link players across multiple properties, has ensured a seamless launch for guests at Harrah’s.”

HotSeat Jackpot was created in response to common player complaints about hot seat promotions being too few and far between or only happening during certain hours of the day when most people cannot participate because they are at work or school. 

By turning what used to be an intermittent event into something that takes place hourly and is available at all tables simultaneously throughout Harrah’s Northern California gaming floor space, HotSeat Jackpot revolutionizes this type of promotion while also maximizing player engagement levels.