A casino gambler in California playing pai gow poker won a half-million dollars on one hand when he was dealt a rare seven-card straight flush.

According to a news release from Shuffle Master, Inc., a Las Vegas-based manufacturer of gambling devices, the gambler, who was not identified, was playing pai gow poker recently at the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, California, USA, near Sacramento, California, USA, when good fortune struck.

The gambler was playing Shuffle Master’s Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive, a new table game with a progressive or increasing community jackpot that is similar to a slot machine jackpot, the news release said.

During play, the gambler, who is from Northern California, received a seven-card straight flush and successfully hit a side bet on the hand, the news release said.

Fortune Pai Gow Poker Progressive allows a gambler to make a small progressive wager on a hand, in addition to his or her standard pai gow wager, to be eligible to win a progessive jackpot in addition to the regular odds payout on a hand, the news release said.

The total payoff to the gambler was just over $500,000, the news release said.

The top hand in the game is a seven-card straight flush–which means seven cards of the same suit in consecutive order–and pays off at a whopping 8,000-1 odds, plus 100% of the progressive jackpot, the news release said.

The game hit the scene in late 2007, the news release said.

Dr. Mark L. Yoseloff, Shuffle Master’s chief executive officer, was quoted in the news release saying: “Since we began installing the progressive version of our popular Fortune Pai Gow Poker proprietary table game late last year, the enhanced game has rapidly become a staple product in a growing number of casinos throughout North America. Additionally, its increasing installed base and performance is an excellent example of the validity of our strategic initiative of adding value to our existing games in the field.”

For more information about the company, visit its website at www.shufflemaster.com.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)