N.Y. Lottery goes Hollywood

Oct 11, 2005, 8:45 am (9 comments)

New York Lottery

The New York Lottery is teaming up with Hollywood for an unprecedented cross-promotion — wedding the multimillion dollar "King Kong" remake to two new lottery games.

One of the "King Kong Millions" games will feature scratchoff tickets offering a top prize of $8 million — the most money ever in a New York scratchoff game.

But the unquestioned big prize is a minimum $50 million jackpot in a separate drawing to be awarded Dec. 5 from the top of the Empire State Building, where King Kong famously perched before his death.

"King Kong is so closely identified with New York that it makes perfect sense for us to do this in conjunction with the movie," Lottery Division spokeswoman Jennifer Mauer told the Daily News yesterday.

It will be the first time the Lottery is teaming up with Hollywood to promote a game, she said.

To help pump up sales, the Lottery is giving players the chance to get more action out of their betting dollars simply by putting more money on the table in the $50 million game.

For instance, you get one randomly generated play for $2. But for $5, you get three plays; for $10, you get seven plays.

In addition to the $50 million top prize, five second-place winners will collect $1 million each, while 10 third-place finishers will reap $100,000 each.

Tickets go on sale Nov. 7 — a little more than five weeks before the Dec. 14 release of "King Kong," featuring Naomi Watts in the Ann Darrow role immortalized by Fay Wray.

The Lottery projects that public schools in the state will get at least $25 million from the "King Kong" promotion.

NY Daily News

Comments

Chewie

I wouldn't mind being up there receiving the check, as long as the airplanes don't start shooting at the building.  Any gimmick that makes money is a worthwhile gimmick.

qutgnt

What will be the payback percentage of this game?

CASH Only

The payback % is important. But most of all is how the prizes will be paid.

Bradly_60's avatarBradly_60

This is an interesting idea.  Didn't they have a drawing like this for the new milennium also?  Lotteries should have drawings like this more often.  Huge instate jackpots that tickets are sold over a certain period of time.  I like the increase tickets also.  I mean 7 plays for $10 when you can buy 1 for $2.  It will be interesting to see how this game turns out.

Brad

Chewie

Feel free to jump in, but isn't every single scratch off in NJ and NY annuity based? This way they can advertise higher amounts, get the sucker in the door, and then not have to pay that amount - those financing it will over 30 years will. If you and I were doing it, they would call it bait and switch. The state does it, its called, read the fine print.

JimmySand9

The payback % is important. But most of all is how the prizes will be paid.

I'm almost certain that the $8,000,000 prize will be an annuity-only deal (and don't expect great odds either). The $50,000,000 prize, I'm not sure.

CASH Only

Naturally, I'm in Oklahoma when the NY Lottery announces this. I wish I knew the details about the prizes.

Chewie

I looked on the NY Lotto website and can't see anything about it there.

 

CASH Only

The $50 million prize has a cash option. However it's a 40% ripoff just like NY Lotto.

End of comments
Subscribe to this news story