TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida's Mega Money lottery game is ending next month, but something "luckier" is coming in its place.
The Florida Lottery announced Monday that it will launch a new terminal game, called Lucky Money, in July.
The new game is said to be an "enhanced version" of the Mega Money game that is ending on Tuesday, July 1. Tickets for Lucky Money will go on sale Wednesday, July 2, with the first drawing on Friday, July 4, at 11:15 p.m.
"The Florida Lottery continuously evaluates our games and product offerings to ensure our players have the best games available," said Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell. "Mega Money was first introduced in 1998 and updates were made over the years, yet we believed the game could be improved. Therefore, we kept the unique features of Mega Money and added new features, such as an increased second prize, better overall odds and 'EZmatch' to create a better game for our players."
How Lucky Money works
Lucky Money drawings will be held Tuesday and Friday nights at 11:15 p.m. starting July 4, 2014.
Jackpots will start at $500,000 and can roll over to reach $2 million before rolling down to increase the lower-prize levels.
Players win the jackpot by matching the four white ball numbers plus the "Lucky Ball," or by matching any of the non-jackpot winning combinations to win other cash prizes or a free ticket.
Lucky Money tickets cost $1 per play, and for an additional $1, players can add "EZmatch" for the chance to win up to $500 instantly.
What happens to Mega Money?
Mega Money ticket sales will end at 10:40 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1, and the final drawing will be at 11:15 p.m.
If no one wins the final jackpot, it will roll over into the Lucky Money jackpot for the new game's first drawing.
Mega Money players will have until Dec. 28 to redeem winning tickets.
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Florida lottery should first and foremost, get it's house in order, before introducing any more new games. I guess greed{profit} rules.
Are they paying more than 50% in prizes to the players?
Seems like they just made a name change and added ezmatch for a dollar. The jackpot stays at two million.
Probably won't last if it has to compete against MM. Should of put it on mon/thur.
Mega Money is a pretty good game. Used to play when I lived out in Tampa.
“...updates were made over the years, yet we believed the game could be improved.”
Read as “Mega Money has been losing market share bigtime for six years, we need to maximize profits.” (Go to Florida Lottery website, click “About Us,” then click on “Reports,” scroll down to “Annual Reports” and click on 2011-12 Florida Lottery Annual Report. Page 9 has the gross sales graphs from 2003 to 2012. Picture = 1,000 words.)
“...better overall odds...”
The only way to improve odds is to change how many numbers are in the game matrix. No mention of this in the article. The word “overall” does not bode well.
“... an increased second prize..”
A step in the right direction, but the previous second prize was an estimated $1,200 payout at odds of 1/142,215. Abysmal.
“...Ezmatch...”
I've never seen odds posted on the probability of winning with Ezmatch. Money down the drain, in my opinion.
“Are they paying more than 50% in prizes to the players?”
Thrifty, if you click on “About Us” on the Florida Lottery home page, it takes you to a graphic that states at the bottom “61% used for prizes.” This, to me, is a verrry slippery statement. It does not say “61% returned to players.” There may be inflated payments to buddies, cronies, or relatives who provide non-monetary prizes (cars, trips, or worse, useless crap. Or handguns!)
the New features are
4/47 white ball + 1/17 Orange Ball
that's bullcrap !