The Playground Poker Club in Montreal has been a hub for enormous bad beat jackpots in recent years, and once again, the venue witnessed another seven-figure payout at the end of last month. This time, the bad beat involved a player with four of a kind (Quad Jacks) losing to a winning hand with a straight flush.
Fortunately for the opponents facing off at the showdown, the losing player still gets a substantial cut from a bad beat jackpot. They shared a sizable pot that had risen to over CAD 1.8 million (USD 1.3 million).
The lucky hand was 8♠7♠, winning over the even more fortunate loser holding J♦J♥, on a full board of J♠10♠10♣J♣9♠. It goes into the books as one of the biggest jackpots won at a Canadian casino. However, the bad beat payout pales compared to the CAD 7.5 million by a lucky player in 2015 while playing Microgaming’s highly popular progressive jackpot, Mega Moolah.
The Lucky “Bad Hand”
While full details are still forthcoming, photographic evidence from the Montreal casino captured the fateful board run-out that triggered the bad beat jackpot. The two hands at showdown held Eight/Seven of Spades and Pair of Red Jacks, respectively.
The flop fell an unassuming Nine of Spades, Jack of Clubs, and Ten of Clubs. The 8♠7♠ was in potential danger from quad jacks.
However, the successive turn and river of Ten of Spades and Jack of Spades completed a heart-stopping straight flush. This saw the hand run out the lucky ‘loser’ with four of a kind, resulting in a mathematically improbable bad beat.
One player’s visible disappointment, a lone Seven of Spades, was pitted against their opponent’s Jack of Diamonds hole cards. This confirmed a runner-up outcome: Seven-Eight of suited Spades scooped the pot against the stone-cold nuts of quad jacks.
Thankfully, as explained by Fandom.com, the losing player is still awarded a share of the pot. While the precise stakes at which this hand occurred remain undisclosed, the massive payout of CAD 1,817,990 speaks for itself.
How Bad Beat Jackpots Work
The bad beat jackpot is given to a cash game participant who loses a hand with a premium hand to an even better premium hand, which is why it is one of the most sought-after poker hands and strategies. The casino deducts a dollar from each hand, and the bad beat prize pool grows until it is awarded, similar to a progressive slot machine.
The qualifying hands differ depending on the poker room and casino. The Playground press release did not specify the exact payouts for each player.
However, judging from past payouts at the venue, 40% of the bad beat jackpot is awarded to the losing player, approximately CAD 720,000 (USD 530,113). Another 20% is given to the winner (USD 265,056).
An additional 20% is distributed among the other players at the final table. If nine players were at the table, the remaining seven would receive slightly over CAD 51,000 (USD 37,550) each. The poker room also allocates the final 20% among all other cash game participants who were at a table during the time of the jackpot.
Playground Poker Club Continues to Set the Standard for Bad Beat Jackpots
This latest jackpot eclipses even Playground Poker Club’s own previous record for bad beat payouts. Less than a year ago, the Montreal casino gained global attention by awarding a CAD 2,590,185 (roughly USD 1.9 million) bad beat payoff to two lucky players.
The August 2023 faceoff set the record for the largest bad beat jackpot in history during a $1/$2 no-limit Hold’em game. The biggest share of the jackpot went to Hoan Truong, who walked away with CAD 984,270, and Marc Andre Ouellon, who bagged CAD 492,135.
The same Canadian poker room triggered the previous biggest bad beat jackpot of CAD 2.2 million (about USD 1.4 million) in 2017. The loser took home over $522,000, while the winning player secured more than $260,000 in a $2/$5 No-Limit Hold’em game.
Poker Hotspot Prestige
The recent $1.8 million bad beat jackpot win places Playground Poker Club firmly on the map as a top poker destination in Canada. Since its establishment in 2010, the luxurious casino has grown to accommodate 92 gaming tables that are open 24/7.
Alongside its main location in Montreal, Playground also launched a branch in Toronto in 2017 to cater to the country’s biggest metropolitan area. Known for their substantial bad beat prizes and hosting prestigious events such as the Canadian Poker Championships, both venues have gained widespread recognition.
Awaiting Winner Reactions
At the time of writing, Playground Poker Club had not publicly released the identities or personal testimonies of the players involved in the record-breaking bad beat jackpot. However, the club confirmed plans to interview the fortunate winners about their massive stroke of luck once the requisite procedures were completed.
The promise of a firsthand winner’s account will surely add compelling human interest to the extraordinary mathematical circumstances behind this multimillion-dollar bad beat. Fans, including the 103-year-old Calgarian Dong Nguyen, and media outlets alike keenly await the release of those personal reactions, payout distributions, and any other insights the winners may opt to share from their life-altering experience.
Wrapping Up
Only time will tell if Playground Poker Club’s $1.8 million bad beat jackpot record will remain untouched in the months and years ahead. But the club’s proven commitment to fostering lucrative jackpot environments means its facilities – in Montreal and Toronto alike – will remain under the gambling world’s watchful eye for the potential next record-breaking score.
As the winners from this latest windfall come forward to share their stories, that human element will help sustain widespread interest and highlight precisely what makes Playground’s events so unique and compelling. Tales of life-changing sums and casino lore have a way of captivating audiences, ensuring continued spotlights and coverage.
