Losing-hand progressive poker jackpot hits, paying out $600,000

Thursday, March 14, 2013 | 6:15 p.m.

Nearly two months to the day after starting a progressive poker promotion that rewards losing hands, Caesars Entertainment paid its first big pot of more than $600,000.

The first Mega Beat Progressive hit just after 7 p.m. Saturday, when Alex Adams drew a queen-high straight flush to beat Scott Rosen's four queens at the Planet Hollywood poker room. As a result, Rosen took home a six-figure payout for losing, Adams won nearly $70,000 and everyone playing poker at a Caesars casino in Las Vegas won more than $2,000 each.

Yes, in Mega Beat, the losing hand wins the most. Caesars began the promotion Jan. 10 to reward players holding high-losing hands of four of a kind or better. Company officials said they hoped the promotion would help draw players of all skill levels to its tables.

Here's how it works:

The progressive starts at $200,000, with four aces as the minimum losing hand required to hit the jackpot. For every $100,000 the jackpot grows, the hand needed decreases by one card. For example, at $300,000, the lowest eligible losing hand is four kings. At $400,000 — four queens. When the total surpasses $1.4 million, a losing hand of four deuces triggers the jackpot. The winning and losing hands have to consist of the best five cards, including both players' hole cards, so a four-of-a-kind needs a pocket pair.

The loser wins 20 percent, the winner 10 percent, and everyone engaged in an active poker game at a Caesars casino splits the rest. A player who has folded is even eligible if he or she has paid the blind.

Mega Beat had reached $672,420.25 by Saturday, when Rosen drew the losing quad queens to Adams' heart straight flush. Rosen won $136,675, and Adams collected $69,401. There were 218 players at Planet Hollywood and poker rooms at Harrah's, the Quad, the Flamingo, Bally's, Caesars