Last drawing on Dec. 26
By Todd Northrop
The states involved in the Monopoly Millionaires' Club lottery game have decided to halt ticket sales for the game as of Dec. 26.
Twenty-two states plus the District of Columbia current offer the multi-state lottery game, which started just two months ago.
The decision means players in the participating states can buy tickets for the game until Dec. 26. Three more drawings will be held, including those scheduled for Dec. 12, Dec. 19, and Dec. 26.
"Lotteries developed the Monopoly Millionaires' Club game concept based on feedback from players across the nation who desired a game with the potential to make many people millionaires rather than just one person winning many millions," said Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery.
But sales have disappointed the participating lottery agencies, Garland said. The focus now will be on reviewing and improving the game to create one "truly entertaining to our players and one that they will really enjoy," Garland said.
All prizes won in the next three drawings will be awarded to those who buy tickets. Monopoly Millionaires' Club players will have the customary number of days in their state from the date of the drawings in which they win prizes to claim them.
Officials from state lotteries said they plan to continue to research the concepts behind the current game.
"We've repeatedly heard from players who say they want to see more people have a share of the winnings rather than just one gigantic top prize," said Terry Rich, president of the North American Lottery Group and CEO of the Iowa Lottery. "That was the inspiration for the current game, but players didn't respond to it as well as we'd hoped. We'll continue to review this concept, much like other ideas are evaluated and evolve over time."
"We've discussed the fact that lotteries are trying following the same successful business model on the draw-game side that we've used for years with scratch games: We offer different games at different price points to provide the variety and choices that today's consumers want," Rich said. "We remain committed to developing games that will offer value to our players and mirror the success we've seen in other lottery games nationwide."
Monopoly Millionaire's Club is a multi-state game that has been in the works for several years. (See Biggest lottery game ever in the works?, Lottery Post, Jan. 25, 2013.)
Perhaps it is a case of creating a game that tries to appeal to everyone, rather than focusing on specific types of players.
One thing is for sure: judging from the tremendous amount of time and effort put into this game by the states, and its subsequent short lifespan, the lotteries will be dissecting this train wreck for some time to come.
They may also be a bit uneasy about launching another game of this magnitude in the foreseeable future.
While some lottery critics may cheer, players and fans of the lottery may feel otherwise.
Maybe make a game that is easier to understand the rules and doesn't involve sitting in front of the tv...
This game was terrible in numerous ways from the start. It took years to develop and this was the best they could do? All these states are making a smart decision. This game in it's current format will be quickly forgotten.
The concept of creating several millionaires is a good idea if implemented right. Maybe a format similar to the Lucky For Life game and the Cash 4 Life game would work better, particularly the Cash 4 Life game offered in New York and New Jersey. Perhaps they can base a new format on the board game Life instead of Monopoly?
LOTTERY PLAYERS HAVE BEATEN THE LOTTERY BY NOT PLAYING.
I'm not surprise, I said as much back in October when I read about this game coming on line.
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/281732/3827028
Maybe the lotteries should consult with me before bringing a new game online.
"One thing is for sure: judging from the tremendous amount of time and effort put into this game by the states, and its subsequent short lifespan, the lotteries will be dissecting this train wreck for some time to come."
Ohio had a similar train-wreck some years back when they decided to limit the amount one ticket could win in their Super Lotto game. At the time it was paying out jackpots of $40M+ and many of them were being won by players from out of states. Shortly there after the neighboring states got PowerBall and BigGame and out of state players stop coming to Ohio to play and Super Lotto couldn't survive without them.
I'm wondering if they will lower the ticket price or give out better prize amounts. The cap of 25 million doesn't seem very good for the $5.00 dollar price and the fact that millionaires are only made if someone is lucky enough to hit the jackpot in the first place is something that should be changed to maybe making millionaires every drawing. I don't really know but something obviously didn't work since not many people were playing.
Almost everything (99.9%) done by govt. bureaucrats is typically a pile of sh1t, this pile of excrement was no different, I told you this game was a rip off and would not be supported.
Baddabing, buh bye Monopoly! See ya!!!!!!! Glad I didn't spend a dime on ya!!!!!!!!
They had no choice, they couldn't fund the prizes..........unrealistic participation estimates, this pig could not float, it was funded from direct participation, no one plays, no prize pool. The game is different from the ACA, in that the ACA can steal, print, fund money from the tax payers that aren't in it, if the ACA had to fund itself it would have been over a long time ago.........................
Time. It was just a matter of time, a very short time.
Geez, wonder why this game didn't work?
Let's see...
...$5 price tag
...25 Million dollar annuity
...nobody wins a mill unless somebody wins the annuity
...can't pick the monopoly property
...and probably the 52 ball matrix had a bit to do with it.
Still there was the chance to be on TV!
Trainwreck? More like a clusterf*rt, if you ask me.
G
Looked like a stupid game and $5 per play, terrible odds and the inability to pick your own property probably clinched it. This explains why California took down the page with all the bells and whistles announcing the game without notice. Was due to premiere in February here.
Bye bye and good riddance to an awful game. It won't be missed.
i just bought 3 tickets in DC, sure hope I'm one of the winners before it closes, sure can use some XMAS money, what are the chances of someone winning in DC and MD slim to none, LOL, come on MD lottery show some love to DC and MD players
I'm sorry, but what did they expect?
This game could have stood a chance had they gone for a cheaper ticket price and a simpler format. It ain't rocket science.
Good luck!
The people that were on the committee that designed this game should all be fired. The end result was almost as sure as death and taxes.
"Enter the code on your ticket and if your 20-digit code matches the one drawn, you will be entered in one of seven additional drawings to compete for one of several spots on our upcoming game show!"
"Lotteries developed the Monopoly Millionaires' Club game concept based on feedback from players across the nation who desired a game with the potential to make many people millionaires rather than just one person winning many millions," said Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery.
Just another example of how lottery illiterate some of these executive directors are. How can many people become millionaires when 25% in Federal taxes are deducted before the players get their check?
Well, they couldn't just say "Enter a drawing to win $655,364.42!" right?
Who had the brilliant idea for this Monopoly game and how much was wasted putting this rip off together??????? They should all be fired, all monies returned, and all benefits, pensions, salaries etc.. be returned. ASAP. NOW!!
This game really did peak my interest. I am sad to see it be dumped so early. The Objective goals were there. Create more millionaires. Why is that so hard to grasp for some here? Meaning- You all say 100 million dollars is to much for one person ...."share the wealth" is some folks motto, well, that is what this game was targeting to do. Yet let GREED by the Lottery and even some of the players, and the games gets flushed.
I will admit I have broken even or even come out a head on this game each play. So it has been the best one yet for staying ahead of the eight ball. I personally think if they are cancelling the game then make the last draw be for the million dollar payout to the 18-22 players of the states that saw it to the end. The rules nor the announcement make sure a claim, yet by golly, we who have played would like to see a positive ending to a game :)
Does this also mean that the game show in Vegas will be cancelled before it even had a chance to go into production? Dang even that would have been fun to watch. ....Ohh well...
A lot of people were referencing the fact they couldn't pick their own properties... I assume nobody knew that when you input the code on your ticket online, the property you were given was tied in to the game-show portion of the game, and if you collected all properties of a color, you got X number of entries into it. If you had the ability to pick your own properties, then people would just pick the ones associated with the groups that gave you the most entries, which would kinda defeat that purpose of it.
I understood the game just fine. I think the $5 price point for what was a Powerball/Mega Millions clone (with a couple fun extras if they got activated) was what turned off most people. Oh well. I wonder just how much $$ they lost on this game...
Since they already had one drawing and probably contacted the winners of it, perhaps I'll have 1 taping (or 2, since the drawings that still are going should cover the 2nd draw period) and air it like originally planned? Would be fun to watch at least.
I'm with you on this one. The people bashing the game were complaining about the low top prize cap. This game was never meant to compete with PB and MM. The whole point was that more people would win millions of dollars vs one person winning a huge jackpot. My interest in this game was based on the somewhat realistic chance of winning a $1M vs the impossible odds of winning a PB or MM jackpot. A million after taxes is still life changing money even if I wont retire right away.
The game was poorly marketed and poorly executed. I regret giving it a shot now that my second chance tickets are worthless and the anticipated low player participation for the last few drawings will make it likely that nobody will hit the top prize hence there will be no million dollar prizes awarded when the game ends. That is the equivalent of stopping sales on the PB or MM when the jackpot hits $500M and telling players thanks for trying - nobody wins the big prize.
In any event, I think the game show will be cancelled and the people who won the Vegas trip will be given their prize but without an appearance on the game show (or some nominal $$ consolation prize for not being on the show).
"feedback from players across the nation who desired a game with the potential to make many people millionaires"
I haven't seen the "feedback" but I'm guessing most people wanted a game where the many millionaires were real instead of "potential". How do they expect to develop games that will be successful if they do the research and still don't know what people are asking for?
PB and MM have been reliably making millionaires since the 2nd place prizes were increased to $1 million. If they honestly believe that players will buy tickets for a game that offers a modest jackpot and a relatively high number of $1 million prizes they should start with the PB and MM model and tweak that for a game with a smaller jackpot but more 2nd place millionaires. Of course the problem is that they need to collect a million bucks for the state and also pay some mother prizes for every $1 million prize they hand out. Figure that means they need to collect $3 to $5 million, so it has to be a game with an expensive ticket and/or odds that aren't really that great. Even then I suspect that a lot more people whine about wanting a lot of smaller winners than actually buy tickets for games that don't offer big jackpots.
Well, do you think they figured out that $5 for a one line ticket was a little extreme? Hardly for the faint of wallet!
I gave up playing the Powerball because it went to $2 a ticket and am thinking of giving up the MM at a $1 per ticket, just cause you're looking to get struck by lightening like 10x over on that one to win considering the odds with 5/75 and 1/15! And then take into account something like 25 plus states are involved.. get real.
They just don't want anyone to win but they want the money for the sales. Not much fun playing when you don't even barely even win a GB and then what do you get... a dollar? Pitiful. And anymore the scratch offs aren't much better it seems... all losers.
Guess this month I am just real disappointed with the lottery!
LottoMomma
YOU cant win in Tennessee on any game and you want people to play a 5 dollars ,per draw....when you dont do people right everything you do will fail.
when do i get to be a star on TV
You still have Mega Millions and Powerball to play. The lottery would have to pay back more than 50% prizes in order to make an easier game.
Surprised at the rapid response to halt the sales. Guess Texas carries a lot of weight in the lottery scheme of generating money for the Government.
I feel that the game show feature complicated things for many lottery players. I was very impressed, when the jackpot was hit at $21M and triggered $14M in prizes to some players.
I am waiting for you to hit the jackpot with a self pick, so I can ask you for some advise. Lottery needs to hire a Wall Street consulting firm to teach them how not to lose millions of dollars.
The soul of this game has departed planet earth to another world. I think that this game is done after damaging the Monopoly Game brand.
THE LOTTERY WAS CREATED BY THE GOVERNMENT?
It feels great to see the lottery losing their own money other than the players' $. I say this, because this game sales were not covering the payouts in prizes.
May I say I told you so....lol. I never bought a ticket and it seemed a little "complicated" for a numbers game. I think it would have been better as a scratch off ticket. $5 is too much for a single "pick numbers" ticket. People are still recovering from $3 for PB with powerplay.
Who do you think profits from it and runs it? Thrifty what world do you live in? Who do think the lottery officials' pay checks and pensions come from????
Who do state officials work for?
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article4359882.html
"Lottery sales are ending the year at a record-breaking pace in Texas, and state officials are striving to keep the revenue rising with a new game.
Still, the growth isn’t enough to keep some lawmakers from pressing forward with a study on whether the state should cash out of the lottery, even though the games pump more than $1 billion a year into schools and veterans programs.
Lottery officials hope to strengthen their hand by enticing Texans to join the club — the Monopoly Millionaires’ Club, that is."
I feel that people play the lottery to win money, there is no love for the lottery. The lottery is not entertainment , because losing money is not fun. I bet you that they are not having fun after losing Millions on this Monopoly Millionaires' Club lottery game.
The lottery was created by the government to generate money not to give money. Lottery pays back $50,000 in prizes to lottery players for every $100,000 it collects from sales.
I do think some people play for 5 seconds of entertainment and I enjoy picking my numbers. But I would prefer my time be spent picking my numbers, not trying to understand the rules. This game had too many contingencies. It is like the new pick 5 VA game (money ball) that costs $2. You are paying for a chance to win $100,000 unless they draw some extra million dollar ball. You might as well play cash 5 for $1.
Lottery players are spending $5, $10, $20, $30 and $50 on Instant Scratch Off Games?
$5 for a lottery draw game is not a big deal?
You are a lottery player who was not a fan of this game. I can't blame you, I was beginning to like MMC though.
So they are thinking of ways to change or re-vamp the game?
If these "geniuses" even think of bringing it back with the word Monopoly
back in it with the stigma it now carries they should just quit life.
Also hope that someone hits the JP before they pull the plug to really "sink their ship"
"While some lottery critics may cheer, players and fans of the lottery may feel otherwise." Todd
I am a loyal player and fan of the lottery.
I will play the last two drawings of this lottery game.
I will buy 1 ticket for the last two drawings. I really feel sorry fo the lottery, therefore I am donating $10 to the lottery.
It only takes 1 lottery ticket to win, but you can spend more than $5 to increase your chances of winning. Two more drawings to go. Good Luck.