A slot is a narrow opening or groove. In a computer, it may refer to a hardware expansion slot such as an ISA, PCI, or AGP slot or to a memory slot on a motherboard. A slot can also mean the time of year when a casino encourages gambling, such as during the first week of April.
The slot in a hockey lineup is the area where wingers and centers have the most chance to score a goal because they get a straight-on view of the net. Slot receivers can create mismatches for defenses and give the offense more opportunities to make big plays downfield.
As a word, jackpot can refer to the largest prize in a game or lottery, but it can also describe any situation that seems to have an improbable but inevitable outcome. It was a popular word in 19th century poker, where it referred to the amount of money that would be awarded to the player who held a hand with a pair of jacks or better. It has since branched out to refer to any large prize in any kind of gambling game.
A jackpot is the top prize in a slot machine. It can be triggered by getting a certain number of matching symbols on an active payline, or by landing a special symbol (such as a wild symbol or scatter) anywhere on the reels. It can be very rewarding, and often entails a bonus round.
