Posted on: June 20, 2022, 10:15h. 

Last updated on: June 20, 2022, 11:27h.

The California Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas was the site of the latest life-changing win in Southern Nevada. Boyd Gaming, which owns and operates the Cal, said a lucky guest who wished to remain anonymous hit a table progressive jackpot that won more than $543,000.

Las Vegas jackpot win Face Up Pai Gow Poker
The anonymous winner of a $543,000 Face Up Pai Gow Poker progressive stands behind her winning check at the California Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas. The considerable fortune is just the latest headlining jackpot won in Las Vegas in recent months. (Image: Boyd Gaming)

The more than half-million-dollar hit came last Friday morning just before 8 am local time.

The anonymous woman, only identified as a Las Vegas resident, was playing Face Up Pai Gow Poker when she landed a seven-card straight flush of hearts. Fortunately, the woman had placed the $1 progressive add-on bet qualifying her for the progressive pool.

The woman had bet $25 on the hand, plus the $1 progressive wager. The guest additionally placed a $5 side wager that won her an additional $25,000. In total, the Cal patron’s straight flush won $543,619.32.

Players on Winning Streak

The California table progressive win is only the latest in a series of headline-worthy jackpots hit recently in Las Vegas.

Last week, Casino.org reported on a Harrah’s Las Vegas guest winning a $918,000 mega progressive jackpot playing Ultimate Texas Hold’em. That win came only days after a Las Vegas local won nearly $315,000 on a $5 bet playing video poker at the Aliante Casino in North Las Vegas.

The California Face Up Pai Gow Poker win came a little more than a month after another life-altering win happened in downtown Las Vegas. A guest in May at The D Casino won over $1.4 million on a progressive Wheel of Fortune slot.

Another Harrah’s Las Vegas guest won roughly $253,000 playing traditional Pai Gow Poker at the Strip casino in May.

Explainer: Face Up Pai Gow

Face Up Pai Gow Poker is a head-to-head game where players compete against the dealer or banker. In a progressive format, there is an optional add-on bet, typically $1, plus an Ace-High side bet.

Unlike traditional Pai Gow, Face Up is a commission-free game, meaning the house doesn’t take 5% of winnings. Here’s how the Face Up scheme is played.

Face Up Pai Gow Poker uses a single, standard 52-card deck, plus one joker. The dealer and player(s) each receive seven cards, with the dealer’s cards being dealt face up.

The goal is to assemble a five-card hand and a two-card hand that beats the dealer’s, or in the case of cardrooms, the player-designated banker. The five-card hand must always be of higher rank than the two-card hand.

Face Up Pai Gow is a relatively simple game to learn and play. It also comes with a small house edge of around just 1.8%.

But while many players assemble their best five-card hand and then simply use the two leftover cards as the two-card hand, that isn’t always the best strategy. Instead, it’s in the player’s best interest to consider how to make the best two-card hand that ranks just below the remaining five cards. The Face Up arrangement of the dealer’s cards makes it easier to decide how to build the two hands.

When the player wins both hands, they win even money on their bets. When the hands are split, it’s a push. If the dealer wins both, the player loses their bets.