Where Did the Term "Jackpot" Originate

Everyone wants to "hit the jackpot." My question is, where did the term jackpot come from? Does it have anything to do with the jack playing card? And if so, what did it have to do with a pot?

According to our research, the concept of a jackpot was first articulated around 1879, when a gambler explained to a court in Indiana the workings of the betting pool in a version of draw poker that requires a pair of jacks or better to "open the pot" and start the betting.

"The money up is called the pot," explained the gambler, "and the man who holds jacks can require the others to bet him or to drop him out."

If no one has a pair of jacks or better, the players add to the ante and the cards are reshuffled and redealt, resulting in an increasingly bigger pot to play for. Somewhere down the line, this pot became known as a "jacks pot," which in turn morphed into the single word "jackpot" and became a generic term for a big prize pool, even though it no longer has any relationship with a jack.

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gaattc2001 Nov-12-2019

Another story comes from John Scarne...

in his book, "The Complete Guide to Gambling" (1960). It was in the chapter on slot machines; I can't find the boor right now, so I can't page numbers.
In the 1940's and 50's, many slot machines had a separate hopper on the front, and one coin in ten or twenty (or whatever) put into the machine went into it. This was the "jack" (money) pot; and whoever hit the topmost combination got it as a bonus. This was very similar to progressive Video Poker payouts today, but it was entirely mechanical.
I seem to remember seeing some of these machines in Reno as late as 1968.

Question of the Day - 09 November 2019

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