A rare top jackpot recently landed on PokerStars on FanDuel, where a $250,000 prize pool was triggered in a $50 Spin & Go. The odds of hitting that multiplier were just 45 in 10 million, or roughly 4.5 in a million, making it one of the rarest outcomes possible in the lottery sit and go format.
What made the result particularly interesting, however, was the way the $250,000 prize was distributed. The winner received the entire payout, while the second- and third-place finishers walked away with nothing.
Spin & Go tournaments — or Spins, as they are commonly known across the industry — are usually winner-takes-all when standard prize multipliers are generated. However, that almost always changes once a large multiplier or jackpot is hit.
- Special Launch Welcome Offer: up to $1000 deposit bonus for all players!
- Free $30 in Spin and Goal tickets at signup for a chance to win $1M
- All new software and three-state online poker network
Different poker operators use different payout models. Some award 50% of the prize pool to the winner, while others pay 80% to first place with the remaining 20% split between the other two players, often as 10%/10% or 30%/20%. The exact percentages vary, but the principle is largely the same: when an exceptionally rare prize is generated, all three players receive a share.
The reasoning is straightforward. Jackpot multipliers are incredibly uncommon, so spreading part of the payout helps reduce variance while ensuring everyone who reached that once-in-a-lifetime game benefits. On many sites, this does not apply only to the top jackpot — even 50x and 100x multipliers often pay all three finishing positions.
That is what made FanDuel Poker’s jackpot so unusual.
On July 16, a 5,000x multiplier appeared in a $50 Spin & Go, *creating the $250,000 prize poo*l. But unlike most versions of the format, PokerStars awarded the entire jackpot to the winner alone. The runners-up, despite being part of one of the rarest games the site can produce, were eliminated with $0.
The eventual winner was Pennsylvania player Jesuz1zBlac, whose real name is Matthew. In the space of just a few minutes, he turned a $50 buy-in into $250,000, marking the biggest single payout in FanDuel Poker’s history.
A Different Approach
The result naturally raises one question: was this intentional or simply an oversight?
While regular Spin & Go games are designed as winner-takes-all, higher multipliers are typically treated differently across the industry. PokerStars in other markets, for example, distributes jackpot prizes across all three players in markets where its Spin & Go format is available, and many other online poker rooms follow the same approach. PokerStars x FanDuel, however, currently does not.
It is a payout structure that feels difficult to justify. Awarding the entire jackpot to first place turns the other two seats into one of poker’s harshest bubbles, where players survive long enough to reach an ultra-rare jackpot game only to discover there is nothing to play for unless they finish first.
Despite that oddity, Spin & Go remains one of the busiest formats across FanDuel Poker’s North American network, including both its US and Ontario online poker sites. Originally invented by French poker operator Winamax but popularized by PokerStars, the three-handed hyper-turbo format has become one of online poker’s most played games thanks to its fast pace, with most matches lasting only a few minutes.
Before each game begins, the prize pool is randomly determined. Most games award modest multipliers, but the format also includes life-changing jackpots ranging from 2x all the way to 200,000x the buy-in.
FanDuel Poker offers Spin & Go at four buy-in levels: $1, $5, $20, and $50. Each stake has its own maximum jackpot. The $1 version tops out at $10,000, the $5 game offers a headline $1 million jackpot, the $20 level reaches $100,000, while the $50 buy-in awards up to $250,000.
PokerStars on FanDuel US Spin & Go Buy-in & Prizes
| Buy-in | Multiplier | Prize Pool | Winner-Takes-All |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | 2x, 3x, 5x, 25x, 10,000x | $2 to $10,000 | Yes – All Multipliers |
| $5 | 2x, 3x, 5x, 50x, 200,000x | $10 to $1,000,000 | Yes – All Multipliers |
| $20 | 2x, 3x, 5x, 25x, 5,000x | $40 to $100,000 | Yes – All Multipliers |
| $50 | 2x, 3x, 5x, 25x, 5,000x | $100 to $250,000 | Yes – All Multipliers |
The operator is also continuing its Spin & Goal promotion, which originally launched ahead of the Football World Cup. Although the tournament has long since finished, the campaign has remained in place after proving popular with players.
As part of the promotion, new players receive six $5 Spin & Goal tickets worth $30 in total. The attraction is obvious: the $5 games carry a potential $1 million top prize. The odds are extraordinarily slim — around 1 in 100 million — but with six free entries, it gives new players a genuine shot at the format’s biggest jackpot.
Since the promotion began, FanDuel says players have completed more than 1.6 million Spin & Go games and generated nearly five million entries. The operator has also awarded hundreds of $250 prizes through the promotional $5 Spin & Goal games.
