West Virginia man wins nearly $500,000 at Rivers Casino when four aces are beat by royal flush, triggering the 'Bad Beat Jackpot'
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) --A West Virginia man playing Texas hold'em suffered one of the worst bad beats you can imagine -- and came away as a big winner as a result.
On Thursday afternoon at the Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore, Benjamin Flanagan, of West Virginia took home nearly $500,000 when his four aces were beaten by a royal flush in a game of no-limit Texas hold'em.
When his four aces were beat by the royal flush played by Raymond Broderson, of Wexford, the Rivers' 'Bad Beat Jackpot' was triggered. Broderson won over $368,000 with the winning hand.
When the 'Bad Beat Jackpot' is triggered, the progressive jackpot, which had reached a total of $1.22 million, is split between all players at the table by varying percentages.
The breakdown of payouts is as follows:
- The player who suffers the bad beat receives 40% of the jackpot
- The player with the winning hand receives 30% of the jackpot
- The remaining jackpot money is split equally between the remaining players at the table
The six remaining players at the table each received approximately $61,000.
The $1.2 million in prize money set a new record, surpassing the previous high of $480,000, which was set in 2017.
"It's absolutely thrilling and potentially life-changing for a poker game to payout at this level," said Andre Barnabei, assistant general manager from the Rivers.
The Rivers says that the 'Bad Beat Jackpot' has already restarted and will continue to grow and accumulate until another qualifying bad beat occurs.