1 Year. 102 Drawings. 0 Jackpots. Players grumble as Indiana lottery players join Tennessee's in their shared disdain for the computerized drawing system.
Steven Haddix didn't cross his fingers or grasp a lucky rabbit's foot after buying tickets Tuesday for tonight's Hoosier Lotto drawing.
Instead, the Indianapolis resident expressed mistrust of the Lotto system, which has gone nearly a year without a jackpot payout.
"I'm a little leery of it," he said after his purchase at Dinner Bell Markets. "It just seems odd. They used to hit more often."
Saturday's drawing marked the 102nd consecutive drawing in the Hoosier Lotto without a jackpot winner. The jackpot was hit last on Oct. 21, when Frank and Beverly Rice, Indianapolis, won $5 million.
With no winners in so many weeks, the jackpot will reach a record $51.5 million for tonight's drawing, twice as large as any lottery prize this week and three times larger than any state jackpot.
The probability of no jackpot winner for such a long time is incredibly small, said Steve McKinley, a probability lecturer at Indiana University.
He estimated the odds of no winner for 51 straight weeks to be a fraction of a percent.
State lottery spokesman Andrew Reed said no one's hit the Hoosier Lotto jackpot simply because no one's picked the right numbers.
"The odds are about one in 12 million of being hit, and it depends on the number of tickets sold and it depends on how lucky people are," Reed said.
Over the same period, there have been 17 winners in the larger Powerball game, which is played in 29 states plus Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. The odds of winning Powerball are about one in 146 million.
About $25.3 million in smaller prizes -- for matching two, three, four or five numbers -- has been won since the last jackpot winner, according to the Hoosier Lottery.
Over the past year, sales have varied from 4.2 million tickets sold in November to 12.8 million sold last month, Reed said. Sales have held steady this month: about 3 million tickets each week.
About 53 percent of ticket proceeds goes to prize money, with the rest going to state programs and operating costs, Reed said.
The long stretch with no big winner isn't unheard of, he said. Since the game started in September 1994, 89 players have won the jackpot.
The previous record jackpot of $42 million was set in June 1999, under Hoosier Lotto's former system of using ball machines to randomly select numbers. The lottery switched to computer-generated numbers in December 2001, while Powerball continues to use ball machines.
Winning Lotto numbers are selected on Wednesday and Saturday evenings by the lottery's computer system, Reed said.
Some customers buying tickets at Dinner Bell Markets, 2835 S. Shelby St., said they think the computer system makes winning difficult.
"It just makes it a little harder to hit," said David Bradley, 58. "That's probably why it's been so long."
Several players have complained about the computerized system, store manager Millie Johnston said. "There's been a lot of remarks made about that."
Reed said the computer system randomly generates numbers, with each drawing independent from all others. The equipment was approved by Gaming Laboratories International, which oversees lotteries and casinos worldwide.
Since the system was installed, 33 people have won the jackpot. In 2006, there were seven jackpot winners.
The jackpot increases by $500,000 for each drawing that no one wins.
This amount is not set to change, Reed said, despite the fact that the agency has sold about 90 million of the $1 tickets since the last jackpot winner.
Other customers said they would continue to play regardless of how long the game has gone without a winner.
"I don't even think about it, really," said Gloria Baldwin, 63, Indianapolis. "Just no one's been lucky."
Try your luck
Odds of winning the Hoosier Lotto jackpot: 1 in 12,271,512.
Number of twice-weekly drawings without a winner: 102.
Odds of going so long without a winner: A minuscule fraction of a percent, says Steve McKinley, a lecturer in probability at Indiana University.
Two previous jackpot winners
Oct. 21, 2006: Frank and Beverly Rice, Indianapolis, purchased a $5 million ticket at United Package Liquors, 5510 Emerson Way.
Sept. 16, 2006: The Stewardship Revocable Trust purchased an $11 million ticket at a Village Pantry in Bloomington.
Fewer than 1 per month
Thirty-three people have won the Hoosier Lotto jackpot since Dec. 5, 2001, when the organization switched to computer-generated winning numbers. Here is the number of winners per year:
I, for one, am really glad to see this issue raised again in Indiana. There has already been one attempt to legislate computerized drawings out of existence there, maybe (hopefully!) this will spark another attempt. I hope it also gets notice in Tennessee, where the oversight meeting is just a couple of weeks away.
the lotto in my state of indiana is doing something dirty with this constant not hitting on the jackpot but ima just play my tickets and pray for the best
Im glad someone finally put a percentage on the likelihood of this happening at well below one percent. If Tennessee had a computer glitch that didnt allow doubles maybe Indiana has a glitch that doesnt allow the same numbers to be drawn if they were printed on a ticket, hence no doubles either haha. It surpassed the magical 50 million mark, now the year mark might be the magical date this falls. And no money is won when you hit 2 numbers, just a free play that is in itself worth about 20 cents, typical lottery spin.
I, for one, am really glad to see this issue raised again in Indiana. There has already been one attempt to legislate computerized drawings out of existence there, maybe (hopefully!) this will spark another attempt. I hope it also gets notice in Tennessee, where the oversight meeting is just a couple of weeks away.
I completly agree with you on this issue computerized drawings are not good for the players .The benifit is too the Lotterys and their corporate partners ....its a money maker very little payouts and all profit :
laws would push those Corporate Enterprises into a better system a ball draw in the eye of the camera and the citizens of this state:
But like I said before there are many insidences accross the USA where no one has won for over a year ....people dont want to make waves ....(just ask KY Fooled ,he hits all the web sites) case and point the pick 10 NY cash amount for all 10 =500,000.00
with up to 10 winners per draw ....number of winners for all ten in the last 5yr =( 2)
and you never know if that winner was not related to the lottery personal ,since it is a draw that is never teleivised;
Quote: Originally posted by computerhead723 on Oct 18, 2007
why dont you write to the Governor or the inspector general of your state ;
tell them you dont want computerized drawings in your state ...its simple and you are paying there wages just like every-other tax payers;
"A journey of a thousand- miles begins with a single step"
FYI-- Everyone has been notified years ago. The day that the bill to eliminate RNG was supposed to be brought up in the Legislature was the day they all walked out---isnt that a coincidence. You plead in vain if u live in Indiana. Rule of law is non existent here. EVERYONE HAS BEEN NOTIFIED! Since the Lottery is now getting scrutiny expect it to be won now. How do I know that? Cause when someone brought up the fact that there had not been quads in so long then the quads came out. There is NOTHING random about it. Just look at the daily game payouts and compare them too ANY State. It is hideously insane. But they are untouchable. Indiana makes Tennessee look like Cinderella.
i'm predicting that the lotto jackpot will be hit this saturday (hopefully by me) it will be the one year anniversary since it was won (actually 364 days but who cares)
Quote: Originally posted by computerhead723 on Oct 18, 2007
I completly agree with you on this issue computerized drawings are not good for the players .The benifit is too the Lotterys and their corporate partners ....its a money maker very little payouts and all profit :
laws would push those Corporate Enterprises into a better system a ball draw in the eye of the camera and the citizens of this state:
But like I said before there are many insidences accross the USA where no one has won for over a year ....people dont want to make waves ....(just ask KY Fooled ,he hits all the web sites) case and point the pick 10 NY cash amount for all 10 =500,000.00
with up to 10 winners per draw ....number of winners for all ten in the last 5yr =( 2)
and you never know if that winner was not related to the lottery personal ,since it is a draw that is never teleivised;
my information was incorrect about the NY pick 10 ..for this year there has been a few more winners ,they dont tell you on the news anything so here is the facts for getting all 10 or the largest payouts ever!!!
Yes that is a long time. But you do have to look at the odds. I mean if the jackpot is really this high and they are only selling about $1.5 million tickets a drawing, that is a lot of uncovered combinations. Now for how long this has been growing the odds are probably pretty small that it would have lasted this long. But odds are odds. I really don't see how it could be a fraction of a percent though. I mean when the jackpot is small it seems like they don't sell many tickets at all.
But by the way the jackpot only grows by $500,000 a drawing? When they are selling $3,000,000 tickets a week the jackpot should be increase by at least $2,000,000 a week not only $1,000,000. But I guess it does make up for the beginning jackpots when I doubt they sell enough tickets to warrant the $500,000 increase.
Ohio's Classic Lotto, a 6/49 game has a starting jackpot of $1M and is increased by $100K each drawing that it's not won. Unlike Hoosier Lotto which offer a free play for matching 2, its lowest prize is $2 for a match3.
Since the Hoosier Lotto payouts(10/17/07=$195K)is higher than Ohio Classic Lotto payouts(10/17/07=$22K), I assume it's attracting more players, however the Ohio game jackpot has been won three times since it started less than a year ago. It's truly is a mystery why the Hoosier Lotto game has gone so long without a jackpot winner.
P.S. Ohio Classic Lotto picks its numbers the old fashion way, it uses a ball machine.
Ohio's Classic Lotto, a 6/49 game has a starting jackpot of $1M and is increased by $100K each drawing that it's not won. Unlike Hoosier Lotto which offer a free play for matching 2, its lowest prize is $2 for a match3.
Since the Hoosier Lotto payouts(10/17/07=$195K)is higher than Ohio Classic Lotto payouts(10/17/07=$22K), I assume it's attracting more players, however the Ohio game jackpot has been won three times since it started less than a year ago. It's truly is a mystery why the Hoosier Lotto game has gone so long without a jackpot winner.
P.S. Ohio Classic Lotto picks its numbers the old fashion way, it uses a ball machine.
A mystery? Hardly. One needs only to look at the 0 straight winners on pic 4 every day and the ridiculously low pic 3 payouts. The mystery becomes obvious.
I, for one, am really glad to see this issue raised again in Indiana. There has already been one attempt to legislate computerized drawings out of existence there, maybe (hopefully!) this will spark another attempt. I hope it also gets notice in Tennessee, where the oversight meeting is just a couple of weeks away.
the lotto in my state of indiana is doing something dirty with this constant not hitting on the jackpot but ima just play my tickets and pray for the best
Im glad someone finally put a percentage on the likelihood of this happening at well below one percent. If Tennessee had a computer glitch that didnt allow doubles maybe Indiana has a glitch that doesnt allow the same numbers to be drawn if they were printed on a ticket, hence no doubles either haha. It surpassed the magical 50 million mark, now the year mark might be the magical date this falls. And no money is won when you hit 2 numbers, just a free play that is in itself worth about 20 cents, typical lottery spin.
I completly agree with you on this issue computerized drawings are not good for the players .The benifit is too the Lotterys and their corporate partners ....its a money maker very little payouts and all profit :
laws would push those Corporate Enterprises into a better system a ball draw in the eye of the camera and the citizens of this state:
But like I said before there are many insidences accross the USA where no one has won for over a year ....people dont want to make waves ....(just ask KY Fooled ,he hits all the web sites) case and point the pick 10 NY cash amount for all 10 =500,000.00
with up to 10 winners per draw ....number of winners for all ten in the last 5yr =( 2)
and you never know if that winner was not related to the lottery personal ,since it is a draw that is never teleivised;
IT'S completely driving me Insane!!!!!
your not the only one
why dont you write to the Governor or the inspector general of your state ;
tell them you dont want computerized drawings in your state ...its simple and you are paying there wages just like every-other tax payers;
"A journey of a thousand- miles begins with a single step"
FYI-- Everyone has been notified years ago. The day that the bill to eliminate RNG was supposed to be brought up in the Legislature was the day they all walked out---isnt that a coincidence. You plead in vain if u live in Indiana. Rule of law is non existent here. EVERYONE HAS BEEN NOTIFIED! Since the Lottery is now getting scrutiny expect it to be won now. How do I know that? Cause when someone brought up the fact that there had not been quads in so long then the quads came out. There is NOTHING random about it. Just look at the daily game payouts and compare them too ANY State. It is hideously insane. But they are untouchable. Indiana makes Tennessee look like Cinderella.
we're in the same boat jeff.i don't spend and won't spend another dime until tennessee brings back balls.period.
i'm predicting that the lotto jackpot will be hit this saturday (hopefully by me) it will be the one year anniversary since it was won (actually 364 days but who cares)
my information was incorrect about the NY pick 10 ..for this year there has been a few more winners ,they dont tell you on the news anything so here is the facts for getting all 10 or the largest payouts ever!!!
Yes that is a long time. But you do have to look at the odds. I mean if the jackpot is really this high and they are only selling about $1.5 million tickets a drawing, that is a lot of uncovered combinations. Now for how long this has been growing the odds are probably pretty small that it would have lasted this long. But odds are odds. I really don't see how it could be a fraction of a percent though. I mean when the jackpot is small it seems like they don't sell many tickets at all.
But by the way the jackpot only grows by $500,000 a drawing? When they are selling $3,000,000 tickets a week the jackpot should be increase by at least $2,000,000 a week not only $1,000,000. But I guess it does make up for the beginning jackpots when I doubt they sell enough tickets to warrant the $500,000 increase.
Brad
Ohio's Classic Lotto, a 6/49 game has a starting jackpot of $1M and is increased by $100K each drawing that it's not won. Unlike Hoosier Lotto which offer a free play for matching 2, its lowest prize is $2 for a match3.
Since the Hoosier Lotto payouts(10/17/07=$195K)is higher than Ohio Classic Lotto payouts(10/17/07=$22K), I assume it's attracting more players, however the Ohio game jackpot has been won three times since it started less than a year ago. It's truly is a mystery why the Hoosier Lotto game has gone so long without a jackpot winner.
P.S. Ohio Classic Lotto picks its numbers the old fashion way, it uses a ball machine.
A mystery? Hardly. One needs only to look at the 0 straight winners on pic 4 every day and the ridiculously low pic 3 payouts. The mystery becomes obvious.