Does it mean the House is making $1.5 million every day it's locked out?

Liability Limits

Two Missouri Lottery games - Pick 3 and Pick 4 - have liability limits, meaning players

may be denied the purchase of numbers when a certain number of tickets with a particular combination have been sold.

Liability limits have been placed on these games to keep the Lottery from selling more winning tickets than it can pay.

The liability limit is $1.5 million for Pick 3 and $1.5 million for Pick 4. Setting liability limits is standard in the Lottery industry on games with fixed payouts.

On rare occasions, popular Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers may "sell out" and cannot be purchased. Liability limits are reached when a large number of people have chosen a certain number combination, such as the Pick 4 combination 2-0-0-0, which was popular on Jan. 1, 2000, to mark the new millennium.

There is no need for liability limits on Lotto and Powerball numbers, since jackpots are pari-mutuel, meaning the jackpot prize is divided equally among all its winners.

The Missouri Lottery has an obligation to raise as much money for public education programs, while also ensuring that we have funds available to pay winners. To accomplish this,we must be able to limit our potential payout to an amount that we expect to reasonably pay based on the sales we generate for this game.

Discover the seven Ways to Get Winning Numbers to see if you're a winner. Plus, find out how to claim your Pick 3 prize When You Win.