33. Progressive Jackpot (Pro)

The progressive jackpot is a prize pool that grows over the course of an evening and is paid out to a winner. CTM maintains the amount, displays it on the game dashboard and the digital signage, and passes it on to your Bonus Wheel presentation. The jackpot belongs to the Pro edition; the Basic edition hides all jackpot elements.

Players place jackpot bets with chips at the table. CTM neither books the jackpot in Finance nor records individual bets.

Jackpot Modes#

CTM offers three jackpot modes. You switch between them on INIT page 2: each press of the LSK next to the jackpot switch advances to the next mode.

CTM stores the selected mode and restores it at the next start. Changing the mode clears all check-ins.

Which mode? Choose Wheel Jackpot if the prize is awarded by the Bonus Wheel and your guests wager on it collectively. Choose Side Bet Jackpot if individual players buy into the jackpot and CTM is to draw the winner.

Setting Up the Jackpot for an Event#

Follow these steps before the event. After the first setup, steps 1 to 3 usually need only a quick review.

1. On INIT page 2, press the LSK next to the jackpot configuration entry. Review the amounts in the file, in particular StartValue, SideBetStake, and the growth amounts you want, and save the file.
2. Press the LSK next to the jackpot switch until the mode you want appears.
3. Optional: place jackpotlogo in your media folder for the winner screen, and make sure that your Bonus Wheel presentation contains the jackpot text fields.
4. Create the event as usual. For a Side Bet Jackpot, assign a position to every player who may take part: only players with a position appear in the check-in window.
5. Activate the event and open the game dashboard. The jackpot group appears and shows the starting amount.

The jackpot has no checklist of its own. So that nothing is forgotten, add tasks such as Set jackpot mode and review JackpotConfig.txt, Check jackpot start value, and Place jackpot logo in media folder to your standard checklist; every new event then starts with them.

→ See The Standard Checklist; Assigning Positions; Activating an Event.

The Configuration File#

Jackpot values are not set on a settings page but in a text file. Press the LSK next to the jackpot configuration entry on INIT page 2: CTM creates the file with default values if it does not yet exist and opens it in Notepad. By default, it is located at Documents\Hummel Gaming Files\JackpotConfig.txt.

• Every setting occupies one line in the form Key = Value. Lines beginning with # are comments.
• Switches take the values true or false. Amounts use a period as decimal separator and no thousands separator, for example 1250.50.
• CTM detects a saved change and applies it immediately; no restart is required.

→ See Jackpot Configuration Keys.

How the Jackpot Grows#

The jackpot starts at StartValue (default: 1000) and grows whenever one of the events below occurs. An amount of 0 disables the respective event; all amounts default to 0 except the stake.

If several events coincide on one roll, CTM adds all applicable amounts. CORRECT reverses everything that the deleted roll contributed.

Example. With PerRollAmount = 1 and PointWonAmount = 5, a shooter who makes the point on the sixth roll adds 6 + 5 = 11 to the jackpot.

Wheel Jackpot#

In Wheel Jackpot mode, the jackpot is tied to the Bonus Wheel. Set WheelJackpotType in the configuration file:

• fixed: The amount stays at WheelJackpotFixedValue. The caption reads BONUS WHEEL JACKPOT. At 0, CTM displays *** instead of an amount.
• progressive: The jackpot grows as described above. The caption reads PROGRESSIVE JACKPOT.

Recording jackpot bets. Players place jackpot bets with chips. Count new bets with the plus and minus buttons beside the bet counter on the game dashboard, then press ADD. CTM adds the number of bets multiplied by SideBetStake and SideBetMultiplier to the jackpot and resets the counter to 0. The display beside the counter shows the total amount wagered. With SideBetStake = 5 and SideBetMultiplier = 1, five new bets add 25 to the jackpot.

Your Bonus Wheel presentation displays the amount: CTM updates the text fields JackpotValue, JackpotHitValue, and JackpotCaption whenever the amount or the mode changes.

→ See Bonus Wheel.

Side Bet Jackpot#

In Side Bet Jackpot mode, players join individually, and CTM draws the winner from among them. An active event is required, and players take part only if they have a position at the table.

→ See Assigning Positions.

Checking players in. The CHECK-IN window shows the twelve table positions with the players’ initials. Tap a player to select or deselect them. Press EXE to confirm, or RETURN to close the window without changes.

• Newly selected players contribute their stake to the jackpot: SideBetStake multiplied by SideBetMultiplier.
• Deselected players drop out of the draw; their stake is not refunded.
• At every new come-out roll, all earlier check-ins expire, and the window opens automatically with nobody preselected, so you can take bets for the next round. You can also open it at any time with CHECK-IN; this keeps the current selection.
• A check-in is valid for the next roll only, unless SideBetUntilSevenOut is true: it then remains valid until the next seven out.

The draw. After every roll, as long as at least one player is checked in, CTM draws with a probability of 1 in SideBetHitOdds (default: 200). Every roll carries the same probability.

A hit. Once the sound of the roll has ended, plus SideBetPopupDelaySeconds (default: 1), the JACKPOT HIT! window opens and shows winners and amount. CTM plays sfx_jackpothit, sends the light scene on MIDI note 86, and brings up the winner screen on the digital signage.

• By default, one checked-in player, chosen at random, wins the entire jackpot. If SideBetPayToAll is true, all checked-in players share it equally; CTM rounds each share down to the cent, and the window shows the amount per player followed by EACH.
• Confirm the payout with the payout button. CTM pays out the jackpot and closes the window. If ResetToStartAfterPayout is true (default), the jackpot returns to StartValue; otherwise, it retains its value.
• Press RETURN to close the window without paying out. CTM asks for confirmation: CLOSE WITHOUT PAYING OUT? The jackpot retains its current value, and you can still pay it out later with PAYOUT on the game dashboard.

No hit. The JACKPOT NOT HIT window closes on its own after SideBetMissSeconds (default: 3). At 0, it stays open until you press RETURN.

→ See Lighting Scenes; Game Show Controller and Sound Effects.

Paying Out and Adjusting#

Both functions are available in every jackpot mode:

• PAYOUT: Pays out the displayed amount after confirmation. The confirmation states whether the jackpot returns to its start value or continues to run. A fixed Wheel Jackpot never changes.
• ADJUST: Sets the jackpot to an amount that you enter on the number pad (up to two decimal places) and confirm with EXE. CLR erases your entry, and CANCEL closes the pad without changes. Use ADJUST to correct the amount, for example after an uncounted bet.

CTM manages the amount only. Collect stakes and pay out prizes in chips at the table.

By default, every new event starts at StartValue. With PersistAcrossEvents set to true, the jackpot carries over from event to event.

The Jackpot and Your Events#

CTM keeps a single jackpot, not one per event. Its amount is saved in jackpot.json, so it survives closing the table, restarting CTM, and finalizing an event.

• New event: When you open the game dashboard of a different event than before, the jackpot returns to StartValue and its history is cleared. With PersistAcrossEvents set to true, it keeps its amount instead.
• Finance: CTM neither books jackpot stakes nor payouts in the play-money bankroll.
• Reports: The jackpot does not appear in statistics, fact sheets, or other printouts.

Jackpot on the Digital Signage#

The digital signage displays the jackpot amount and its caption in a frame of its own. A rising amount counts up over SignageCountUpSeconds (default: 3); at 0, it jumps straight to the new value. ShowCurrencySign controls whether amounts carry a dollar sign (default: true).

When a Side Bet Jackpot hits, a winner screen covers the digital signage for as long as the JACKPOT HIT! window stays open. It shows WINNER or WINNERS, the jackpot amount, and the names; with several winners, it also shows each player’s share.

To add your own logo to the winner screen, place an image file named jackpotlogo in your media folder (JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, or TIF). Without the file, the winner screen appears without a logo.

→ See Digital Signage; Setting Up the Second Screen.