Harrah’s Northern California Casino First in U.S. to Offer HotSeat Jackpot

Harrah’s Northern California in Ione has become the first casino in the U.S. to offer HotSeat Jackpot – a player-funded drawing where guests wager against one another with bets ranging from $1 to $100 for a chance to win a jackpot every hour.

Harrah’s Northern California patrons can wager from $1 to $100 for a chance to win the HotSeat Jackpot prize

HotSeat Jackpot allows gamblers to play their favorite table game while entering an hourly player-funded hot seat drawing across all action-packed live table games.

“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,” said Jeff Cutri, SVP and General Manager at Harrah’s Northern California, during an interview with Indian Gaming.

“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.”

HotSeat Jackpot is also known as HotSeat Lotto. It’s essentially a universally connected jackpot. Each gaming table has a tablet linked with all the other tables throughout the casino floor.

Once an hour, the tablet chimes signaling that a four-minute betting window will open. Players may wager from $1 to $100, and each dollar represents an entry into the drawing.

Players are required to submit entry fees on their primary game during the four-minute window

During the four-minute period, players submit entry fees on their primary game through a table games dealer. This could be for Blackjack, Baccarat, or Three Card Poker. Players can see the jackpot grow during the betting window.

To reiterate, for every $1 wagered, the player will gain one entry into the drawing. In other words, the more a player bets, the greater their chances are to win the pool.

Note that the HotSeat Jackpot prize is based on how much was wagered into the pool.

When the betting window closes, the game randomly selects a winner. The screen flashes across all tables announcing the lucky winner and the size of the jackpot.

However, patrons must play at least one hand of the primary game before becoming eligible to participate. Player entry fees are communicated wirelessly to a HotSeat server.

HotSeat Lotto placed third for best new table game at the 2022 Global Protection and New Table Game Conference in Las Vegas

“We couldn’t imagine a better partner than Harrah’s Northern California to debut our cutting-edge community-based hot seat gaming product here in the United States,” said Lance Lietzau, CEO of HotSeat Lotto.

“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.”

In 2022, HotSeat Lotto placed third for best new table game at the Global Protection and New Table Game Conference in Las Vegas. Other U.S.-based casinos could soon join Harrah’s in offering the popular table game.

First opened in May 2019, Harrah’s Northern California is operated by Caesars Entertainment, Inc. The casino features four restaurants, a 25,000-square-foot casino, 950 real-money slots, and 20 gaming tables.

The Caesars Rewards-affiliated venue is owned by the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians. The facility is located at 4640 Coal Mine Rd. in Ione, California.