Prizes no longer reduced when there are many winners
By Kate Northrop
The New Jersey Lottery announced that they will start offering fixed prize amounts for Pick 3 and Pick 4, which will guarantee more winnings for multiple winning tickets.
Starting next week, the New Jersey Lottery will adjust its payout structure for Pick 3 and Pick 4 so that each winning ticket will beget a fixed guaranteed prize.
Currently, multiple winning tickets in the same prize tier will split the available prize pool, rather than each being awarded a specific amount. The available prize pool is determined by the number of tickets sold for the drawing.
Under the new payout system, the number of tickets sold for a drawing will never enter the equation. The payout amount for a win will always be the same. For example, a Pick 3 player who wins a $1 Straight bet will win a $500 prize in Pick 3 every time.
The change goes into effect Mon., Nov. 14.
"When a ticket wins, it is awarded a fixed, guaranteed amount regardless of how many other tickets are eligible to win that same prize," the Lottery said in an announcement. "The amount won is always the same (based on the wager), regardless of the draw or specific winning number combination."
According to the Lottery, there will be more winning tickets winning bigger prizes on average. Players will never have to split a Pick 3 or Pick 4 prize.
Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings take place twice daily at 12:59 pm and 10:57 pm EST. Winning numbers, prizes and odds for Pick 3 and Pick 4 are published on Lottery Post's New Jersey Lottery Results page right after each drawing.
"Currently, multiple winning tickets in the same prize tier will split the available prize pool".
Wow, I had no idea any state had Pick3/Pick4 players share prizes, glad they are
fixing this and everyone can keep their own wins when they hit.
That is the way it should be!
Are these RNG games?
I believe MA and CA also do. CA is obliged by their law.
In the long run players will loose and the State will keep more of the prize money.
Last nights 684 paid out $661 on a $1 bet instead of $500.
FIXED you got that right!!!!!
i mean, seriously....who cares?? the Powerball was FIXED and we here talking about Pick 3 and Pick 4? smh
You got that right!
I was shocked to learn when visiting NJ from TX back in 2015 that my Pick 4 winning lottery ticket payout was $564 instead of $1200 in TX.
This is a welcome change.
Now if WA State could get Pick 4 and Pick 5 games, that would be great!
I thought it always was a $500 win for a Straight $1 bet like all the other states.
There is no mention of a liability cap.
Its nice know a ticket pays a fixed amount.
What about numbers getting sold out? No mention of that at all.
It does not make sense to me. but to be fair I am half retarderd. Or Maybe they NJ lottery heads have all gotten brain damage from sticking up those CCP Covid swab deep up their noses.
While the new fixed payment amounts are great, especially for popular number combinations like years such as 1950 which only paid about $744.50 for a straight fifty cents bet the last time in came out in New Jersey, the reality is that many other wins often paid better than the new fixed payments.
This week alone on November 8 both the New Jersey Lottery day and the evening Pick 4 numbers paid more than $6,800 for a $1 bet. But in the long run it is probably better to at least know in advance how much a bet pays. Previously under the parimutuel payout where winners split the pot, we needed to wait for about 10 minutes after a drawing and go to the website to see how much each win paid or use a lottery scanner later in a lottery retailer store.
By the way, on its website, the New Jersey lottery does say that Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers will now "sale out" because of "prize liability limits." It does not give a liability threshold for what would constitute a sale out.
So am I happy with the changeover? Yes, because I can now play any combination number - today's date, my birthday on my birthday, etc., and get a fair and consistent payment for my bet. Thanks, New Jersey Lottery for a long overdue overhaul.
Not sure why you say so.
Today, sometimes players win more than $500 for a pick 3 straight bet, sometimes less than $500.
But when more people win, they make less than $500, When less people win, they make more than $500. So today, by design, more people win less than $500 and less people with $more than $500.The State pays always 50%.
Tomorrow the State will pay the same on average (still 50%), and everybody will get $500.
When popular combinations will be drawn, the State will pay more than today, it will pay less when not-so-popular combinations are drawn.
I like to know what I will win if I win ....
(and what is worse, in your example those $661 winners had to pay taxes on their wins, possibly bringing home less than $500 net of taxes ....
)
I suspect it will be rare to get sold out numbers. Today people learned to stay away from popular compilations, because they have more than average winners, so you win less than $500 (for a Pick 3 straight bet).
With the chance those numbers ill become more popular, but many people will keep NOT playing there, because they are now used to play something different .....
Maybe I am wrong .... would be nice to see if it is true ......
KY pays out $600 for pick 3. They had a feature called one off which we LOVED and they got rid of whereas you could still win top prize being one off. Say you had 879 and 979 came in, for the extra dollar you'd still win $600. FB message to me said they did away with it because it wasn't popular--doubt that!