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Not one, but two Pai Gow Poker players hit six-figure jackpots within minutes of each other Friday June 26 at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort a half hour outside of Sacramento, California.
Both players, who chose to remain anonymous, drew five aces in a game of Face Up Pai Gow Poker to win a combined $261,000.
Face Up Pai Gow Poker is a fast-paced casino table game derived from traditional Pai Gow. Played with a standard 52-card deck plus one Joker, players receive seven cards and must divide them into a five-card "high" hand and a two-card "low" hand. The game is most popular in North America.
The first player drew the lucky hand, the best possible in the game, winning $135,440, including a $4,000 “Fortune Bonus.”
Within just a few minutes of that big win, the second player drew a similar hand and won $126,000, including a $4,000 “Fortune Bonus.”
One hand would be considered a rare occurrence. Two is practically unheard of, especially within such a short time frame.
“It’s not every day we celebrate a Five Aces jackpot, let alone two,” Dawn Clayton, General Manager of Thunder Valley Casino Resort, said in a press release. “We are thrilled for our two lucky winners. What a great start to their weekend.”
The Thunder Valley Casino Resort features 400 hotel rooms and 3,500 slot machines.
A different player won a $140,000 jackpot playing Pai Gow at this same casino on June 13.
Another customer turned a $8.80 spin into a $381,009 payday on a 10-cent slot machine last month at the resort.
And the lucky spell appears to be spreading to other nearby casinos.
A player hit a $116,665 progressive jackpot betting $12.50 on a 5-cent machine just two days ago at the nearby Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at Fire Mountain in Wheatland.
- Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com
