Jackpot now a record $66.2 million
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Classic Lotto jackpot currently stands at $66.2 million after no ticket was sold for Monday's draw with the numbers of 27, 32, 36, 38, 40, and 44.
Of course, that means no winning ticket was sold last week. Or the week before that. Or the month before that. Or the year before that.
In fact, it's the largest jackpot recorded for the game. Every drawing that produces no jackpot winner it breaks another record, increasing by another $100,000 to $300,000.
The most recent winning ticket for the Classic Lotto was for the drawing on Dec. 7, 2011, worth $2.7 million, according to an Ohio Lottery spokeswoman. A $50.4 million prize was won on Oct. 24, 2011.
It's a been a long, slow climb to $66.2 million. Lottery officials don't have an explanation for the long dry spell for an overall winner, but they said the Lottery has paid out $5.5 million in non-jackpot winnings since July 1, 2013.
The next drawing for the Classic Lotto is at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday. The odds of winning the jackpot with a $1 ticket are 1-in-13,983,816.
What's up with this game in Ohio? Classic Lotto is due for a hit in 2014.
Time to go to Ohio,
Chasing lottery rollovers is really stupid. I would feel dumb to keep playing a lottery game that has been rolling for more than 2 years.
The lottery decides when a lottery jackpot is going to be won.
Do they use balls or the dreaded computer programs for the Ohio Classic Lotto?.
...says the person who hasn't won yet. Something tells me you would suddenly change your tune if your numbers hit after playing them for two years.
I was wondering the exact same thing. With those low odds compared to other lotteries, u would figure it would have hit sometime after it passed $30 million with the help of people from neighboring states crossing over for a chance at that jackpot.
Why I play lottery quick picks instead of self picks.
"There is only one practical reason I can give you to play a "quick pick" over picking your own numbers. If you get your own numbers, they become just that - your OWN. You will feel more compelled to play "your" numbers more often. You'll think, "What if I don't play MY numbers tonight and they actually come in?!?"
If you only do quick picks, you'll play less often. Play less often is the BEST strategy for playing the lottery! That includes playing so "less often" that you never play! THAT is the very best strategy.
Look, the lottery company operates on a 50% payback rate. In other words, for every $100,000 they collect from ticket sales, they only pay out about $50,000 to winning tickets. At a 50% payback rate, no other standard bet on the planet comes even close to being as bad as buying lottery tickets. The lottery is a TAX on the poor and on the ignorant.
You asked what's the most I've won. Why? What would that tell you? I hit $2,500 from the Pick 3 lottery once. So what??? Seriously - knowing I won that means nothing without knowing about the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS I poured down the drain chasing that win.
You are interested in the wrong thing. Do a little research into the probability and payout tables for your own lottery. If you look carefully, you will see for yourself that I am right about that 50% payback rate. You might as well light a match to half your money." By PDQ
Megamillions is 20 times harder to hit, powerball 13x harder. If I lived in ohio I wouldnt play those two lotteries til it goes way past the amount the Ohio classic is offering.
" Playing less often is the BEST strategy for playing the lottery! That includes playing so "less often" that you never play! THAT is the very best strategy." By PDQ
RJOH TIME TO TWEAK THE OLE SYSTEM !
...I bet he'd be singing allelujah song...lol
13.9 million for odds! That is the problem right there, the odds are too high, it's worse then wisconsins megabucks which the odds are about 6.9 million.
Yeah, I don't get it. What's up Ohioans?
They do about $42M in sales per year for Ohio Classic Lotto, that's around $200-300k per draw. And that's HALF of what the base sales are for MM and PB starting JP in Ohio, when the OCL JP is higher and odds are better!?
So Ohioans have spent more than $84M in total accumulated sales for this run, on a game with odds of 14M, and still no winner. That's insane, spending 6 times over the odds of the game and still no winner.
That's like if you spent $6000 on pick3 str over the years without a single win!
This game is the poster child for how NOT to run a state lotto, with sales languishing in mediocrity year after year. Straight linear sales increases. The game matrix is not sized properly for the playing population, and/or they need to adjust the game marketing or promos to increase interest.
That does'nt seem too bad since some players may buy a few tickets. Now the 1 in 75 million odds for getting a extra pickle on your Mcdonalds cheeseburger are insane.
How can they control it?
I've been following this game for a least a year now. I usually get auto pick and have missed all 6 most often. As far as I know, it's still a mechanical ball drawing. It's not shown live anymore both the Rolling cash 5 and classic lottos we're drop from the daily broadcast for the pick 5 game.
Rare indeed. Using average sales per draw of $270,000 (I suspect off), the cumulative probability of having at least one winner so far is about 99.92%. Even if sales only averaged $150,000 per draw, the cumulative probability would be about 98%.
I've checked the drawings for statistical bias but literally none exists, at least over the long term. Ohio is very good about maintaining drawing neutrality. This is just one of those cases where an event that falls in the extreme ≤ 1%, actually happens. It is 'technically' possible for the game to continue rolling for another 1400 or so drawings without a winner, but conscious selection (or player outrage) would probably keep that from ever happening.
If I lived near Ohio, I would make this game a priority above Powerball or Mega Millions for sure. Even Kelly says you should play, albeit if you are already a millionaire
Dear Todd or LP Staffer,
I noticed a KEY error in the first paragraph of this article, please fix it:
"CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Classic Lotto jackpot currently stands at $66.2 million after no ticket was sold for Monday's draw"
.... Therefore, please add the words "winning jackpot" before the, above, word "ticket."
Fascinating article though, kudos!
Who is ready for a road trip ???
...I don't care I don't feel like going to Ohio. Hehehehe
I've tried OCL several times and have given up... I've never won anything back. At least with MM or PB I've won a few dollars back.
You did not copy the complete sentence. If I put a period on the sentence where YOU ended it, you'd be correct. But the sentence in the article right now is correct the way it is.
Ironically Mega Millions and Powerball have not gone more than 2 years without a jackpot winner.
No computer programs just the old fashioned ball method. I looked into this before splurging on the max draws allowed while recently visiting Ohio.
It is time for an Ohio Classic Lotto matrix change.
I took one and I'm hoping it pays off. I still have 7 more draws on the tickets I purchased. Compared to MM 18.5 miilion to 1 odds for the 2nd tier prize level it's a no brainer at least for me.
If it did especially with over 360 draws, we would be looking at a jackpot worth over a trillion dollars
Mega Millions and Powerball have not been rolling over for more than 2 years without a jackpot winner. Ohio classic lotto playership has to be very low.
Time is Money. Why would I play a game where the jackpot rollovers for more than 2 years? Insanity at its best.
I agree! almost like as if the "selective" editing was from NBC news.
I didn't go crazy on tickets but I did get 3 picks for 10 draws. I do have wishful thinking but I am NOT insane.
You are not a crazy lottery player, because you stopped playing an unwinnable lottery game.
[The following numbers may not be precise. I'm going from memory.]
The Lucky For Life game in New England used to have 1-in-13.8M odds for the top prize; there were winners once every 3 months or so. Then, they changed it to 1-in-41M odds, and there hasn't been a winner for that 5/43 + 1/43 matrix yet (7 months).
Ohio classic lotto represents lottery insanity at its best. Can you imagine playing every drawing for over 2 years, and have a first time player winning the jackpot.LOL
Let me be that first timer. Can someone fedex me some tickets to nyc. Lol.
Even the clerks selling tickets were unaware of how long it had been since OCL had been won. It's like as if a $60+ million jackpot is stale news.
Do not play that lottery game. Why would you play a lottery game that takes forever to win the jackpot?
I'm a first time OCL player even though I bought 10 draws.
Playing the lottery SOMEDAY is better than Playing the lottery EVERYDAY.LOL
10 lottery tickets in 1 lottery drawing is better than 10 lottery tickets for 10 draws.
Actually it's just 3 QP's for each drawing but I did have 10 draws.
I play MM and PB sporadically, because I hate chasing jackpot rollovers.
THE POWERBALL JACKPOT IS $80 MILLION.
Me too!
PLAY THE LOTTERY SOMEDAY-IT IS OKAY TO DREAM!
Can't you buy them online?
dead wrong again as usual thrifty. this ohio thing is a good play from now until it is hit. jackpot amount extemely enticing considering the odds compared to the 2 pie in the sky games everyone seems to be chasing twice a week. every living and breathing person in ohio and states within 15 miles of an ohio lottery store should be playing this with both fists and 100% of their lottery budget. anyone who steps into one of those ohio slot parlors and pumps money away should rethink their gambling MO and play this instead. there is only a limited time that you can play anything considering the age of most players. you come across as the ultimate miser who doesn't chase rollovers? makes absolutely no sense to just dive in occasionally unless financial constraints prevent it. i'd give my left gonad to be close enough to ohio to chase this. far and away the best lottery option out there right now. the fact that it hasn't been hit for 2 years is no rational reason not to play it. after it gets hit then it would irrational to play it.
I only play MM and PB.
I wouldn't waste any money on either one right now. Why would anyone play MM with a $20 million jackpot and horrendous odds when they can play classic lotto which has better odds than MM 2nd place prize.
I tend to agree. Unless the drawings were being fixed, it's completely irrelevant that it hasn't hit in over 2 years. The only thing that's relevant is 66 million and only 1 in 14 million odds. If I were in Ohio this is the only thing I would be playing. I wish I could play this game so bad. And there is no mega ball either? Only 6 of 6? And it's played 3 days of the week? I think I might have to take a little trip to Ohio, or somehow acquire tickets in this game.
Oh no you dont, I'm gonna win that. The classic is the only game that I play. I've gotten prety close over the years. I got a good feeling the classic will be mine soon
masone gets it. 66m and 14-1 odds seems like a no brainer. anyone who knows someone in ohio or knows someone who knows somebody in ohio should be sending $$ to have them mail you tickets. thrifty can "dream" all he wants but wasn't the NY state motto a dollar and a "dream". i tend to stick to state lotteries "better odds" but smaller prizes which keep you under the radar. these people who don't play unless it's 300 million or more are missing out on a chance (minimal as that might be) to hit one and not draw attention and the problems that will arise from a major hit. this ohio one must be covered with at least 1 ticket by ohioites. forget PB or Mega until this one is taken down.
Could be, a year ago I got a 5of6 for $1500 and since then I'm lucky to get 3of6 for $2.
Buy me some tickets and I'll send you a couple dollars paypal. LOL
Finally, a good reason to be in Ohio.
OCL jackpot is about 5 times the odds of winning it. I would be playing this game like my life depended on it. MM can wait
MM
One theory is that more Ohioans are chasing Mega Millions and Powerball since Ohio had a few big Mega Millions winners awhile back. There is no guarantee that I will win any lottery (I don't even have a play in for tonights Classic drawing), but I can guarantee that I will make that long road trip to Ohio should no one win tonight! I might not win even then, but I prefer to have a chance rather than no chance. Why I have won more little prizes from Ohio Classic lottery than I have from Illinois raffle games (I have won nada, zilch, zero). I would much rather drop $20 for multiple chances to win Ohio Classic lottery than to subsidize the Illinois raffle...why there were even some winners who bought a ticket for the very first time. Not cool.
Just got my quik pick for next ten draws
6-7-18-32-34-49
..
Ohioans look at the Big picture in a small way, if they're unlikely to win either jackpot then they would rather play the game with the best chance of winning something and that's MM with odds of 1:14.7 vs OCL with odds of 1:53.6. When they start thinking jackpot only, they'll buy more OCL tickets.
" I can guarantee that I will make that long road trip to Ohio should no one win tonight!"
If more people in the neighboring states think like you, this Saturday ticket sales could be the largest since the good old days of Super Lotto Plus when there were as many out of state jackpot winners as Ohioans. (Those were the days before PB and MM were sold in the mid-western states.)
$66.5 Million Saturday.
Looks like I might have to go up there and win this dadgum thing my ownself just to stop all this dadgum controversy!
And I'm gonna win it with some stupid dadgum numbers too.
I guarantold ya.
Now it made me curious what ya all talking about...I'm going to the results Ohio looking for that thingy...
Yeah, it rolled again, they added another 300k.
I wonder how are they trying to stop ppl from winning... is it rigged? Hehehe...
Nah, just ain't that many people playin' it, I guess.
Yes! I won on the PB...hehehe
3 numbers and powerball how much would I get...I wonder?
$200 with the Powerplay.
$100 without.
Congratulations!
Too bad that stupid 2 came up again for the Powerplay.
Yay! I got 200.00 lol
My Butler is laughing at me...hehehe
My maid is fetching my silk smoking jacket, the burgundy one with matching ascot....heh,heh,heh...
Hahaha...
Paypal is for dealing with a business, if you don't want to deal with costs of dealing with a business then you need to contact a friend or relative living in Ohio who know and trust you. Good luck on finding one.
Western Union is quicker and faster.
If it rolls another two years, don't be surprised if the Ohio lottery adopts the phrase" You will win a lottery someday".
Yay! The PB rolled again...
Wheeeeeewww...I won 200.00
Congratulations on your WIN
Thank you!
YW
Still doesn't seem to be much of any sales frenzy at all.
I wonder what it'll take for the syndicates or high roller to get involved like a couple decades ago in VA:
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/25/us/group-invests-5-million-to-hedge-bets-in-lottery.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
The OCL cash JP is more than twice the odds on the game. This is the range where someone might consider a brute force attack and try to buy all combos, especially with low competing sales. Maybe they'll wait till it's 3 times the odds. Only twice as hard as the VA incident, 14M vs 7M combos, but still a huge undertaking and huge risk.
FYI, the cash option on this is 33 million.
With the number of retailers selling lottery tickets all over the state, it's hard to tell if there's a ticket buying frenzy without looking at total sales records.
I think the days of syndicates buying all the possible combinations are gone with the regulations states have to regulate ticket sales although I could see that happening again if our Rolling Cash5 (5/39) jackpot ever went over one million dollars.
If there is an increase in sales it will come because of individuals coming from neighboring states to play, I doubt if anyone has a scheme to buy lots of tickets like the Michigan couple that traveled to Massachusetts to beat its Windfall game.
There is nothing more this Michigan fan would love than to steal Ohios money in the lottery. My sister is driving back from Florida tonight and she is going to grab me some tickets on her way back. I will proudly claim this prize in all of my university of michigan gear just to piss off the people of Ohio! Thanks fo this article
Yeah...why not?
What's happened to the Ohio Lotto--current version this 'Classic Lotto'-- is criminal.
Previous versions of this game started at $4 mil, and increased $4 mil with each draw. There were winners at least every 2-3 weeks, with payouts ranging from the base $4 mil to $30 mil or more.
Real, life-changing money. No, not the eye-popping amounts MM and PB flaunt. Not the buy-a-fleet-of-luxury cars money or five-vacation-homes-in-paradise-money, but enough for most people of any age to retire and enjoy a carefree life from financial concerns.
When the national lottos became available with their gaudy, over-the-top jackpots, the state lotto withered to a shell of its former self. No winner in over two years---beyond ridiculous.
No winner Sat. night, so another rollover to $66.8 mil. Jokefest.
The earlier 6/49 game was actually 6/49+1 and named Ohio's Super Lotto Plus and when it first started PowerBall and BigGame weren't sold in neighboring states so it attracted many players from those states.
I remember reading of jackpot winners driving in from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania to collect their prizes. Then Ohio changed its rules to limit the amount a single ticket could win to $20M and out of state players stopped coming to Ohio to play. It only took six months for Ohio to see the error of its ways and change that rule but by then neighboring states had PowerBall or BigGame and Ohioans were going out of state to play them.
With less interest in OSLP, Ohio couldn't support a $4M starting jackpot and replaced it with Lot'O Play a 6/100 game with a starting jackpot of $1M which was replaced a year later with what it has now Classic Lotto. It eventually added MM and PB to get even Ohioans playing in state again.
Many Ohioans still prefer to buy PB ans MM tickets even when Classic Lotto has a larger jackpot with better odds. With a $66.4M jackpot judging from the payout amount, Saturday OCL tickets sales were just normal.
This game has an EV after taxes of almost 2.00 that is money won after lump and taxes vs odds.
This is a jackpot that should be played by all those in Ohio instead of PB or MM. I am shocked
that this lottery only averages a few hundred thousand per draw.
I am going to Ohio before Easter. I think it is time to get a lottery post syndicate together
to bring this baby down! 5 of us $100 each. Who is in?
"Who is in?"
Me! I'll hold the money and let y'all know if you won anything.
When the national lottos became available with their gaudy, over-the-top jackpots, the state lotto withered to a shell of its former self.
Ohio is not the only state where this has happened. New York's Lotto has been all but killed by the onset of the national games. It used to start at either $2M or $3M (IIRC, which one depended on whether the first drawing was on a Wednesday or a Saturday) and would roll over by at least that much. I don't remember how much the payouts usually were, but I'm pretty sure they were a lot better than they are now. I think they would usually get into the 20s at the very least. These days, the base jackpot is always $2M and the rollover is a paltry $300K. I noticed during the last couple of big runs that the rollover would increase to $400K or $500K as the jackpot approached and broke $10M, as long as sales were enough to warrant it. Typically someone wins before it hits $10M, but runs that top out over that are not unheard of.
Do you think you can do better than all the predictors on the prediction board? There are nearly 500 predictions on the prediction board for Classic Lotto for every drawing which usually result in less than ten lines matching three. One predictor matched four the last drawing which was very unusual.
When's the next train to Cleveland ?
Way to go qutgnt. Put your money on the Ohio Classic Lotto instead of the PB or MM.
The year is still young and it's due for a hit in 2014.
I can't believe the low interest in this game. I bought 3 QP's picks for 10 draws which was the maximum allowed. I am now down to 6 draws and will be getting another 10-draws if no one wins in the next 2-weeks. I won't even waste a dollar on MM at this point but may start playing PB if it continues to rise.
Completely agree. People chase the insane odds of PB and MM because of the jackpots, competing with people in dozens of other states. If the Ohio Lotto were like the old days, I'd never buy another PB or MM ticket---ever. And yes, I've got 5 Classic tickets for tonight's draw.
People can post predictions till the cows come home. It is a random game. If anyone actually made money "predicting" the lotteries
wouldn't exist. The only smart way to play the lottery is to play games where the EV is greater than one. To play numbers and combos
that are not going to be likely copied by the birthday crowd so if you do win you increase the likelihood of you pool swooping. Of course
there is no guarantee but people need to play smart. Why people play games like Pick 4 where when you win you are winning after taxes about
35 cents on the dollar is absurd. You are better off playing roulette and trying to hit 2-3 numbers straight as you parlay.
In any event this is the lottery to go for. Pools win the most because pools have the most tickets. They usually quick pick it which I am not opposed to. Just hate to get the quick pick set where all six numbers are under 30 cause usually some else
is playing that set.
Again I am going to Ohio for Easter. 5 of us put $100 in. Will photocopy and email tickets and let you know where they were
bought.
All the best to those that go after this. If you are in OH stay away from the pick 4 or the pick 5 and the MM and PB. Play this
as EV is nice. (Maybe play the 5 out of 39 game only when jackpot is above $500k, where EV is about 1 with lower tier payouts!)
Rolled again last night---$67 mil.
Yep! it rolled again.
When comparing the OCL to MM or PB based strictly on odds then it's absurd to play anything else. OCL has odds of 14 million to one thereby making the cash payout ($33.5 million) worth almost 2.5 times the odds value.
MM would need a jackpot of over $1.2 billion with a cash option of over $650 million to be comparable in terms of odds. Can't speak for anyone else but $33.5 million cash before taxes is more than enough to satisfy any lottery dream I may have.
I wish I could play this game.
Buy an airplane ticket to Ohio.
Buying more lottery tickets per drawing increases your chances of winning a lottery jackpot?
OHIO CLASSIC LOTTO IS THE LOTTERY WORLD OCTOPUS.
It's only 394 miles from the Bronx to Youngstown Ohio straight out Route 80.
You oughta do it.
Even if you gotta hitchhike.