Illinois Lottery adds new feature to numbers games

Comment #69

jamella724 — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 11:31:23 GMT

I will give one a try, it looks appealing to me so I might as well give it a shot. I might win the jackpot prize here. These days there are more and more interesting games to play. I am having a hard time which one to choose. I have to focus more on my games.

Comment #68

Stack47 — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 05:52:51 GMT

My experimental ten lines matched two digits in both drawings, missed the Fireball in the midday and the evening draw was a blank. I'm not sure yet if it's a bad bet compared to boxing the straight number for the same cost as Fireball. On the one drawing I matched straight, I had a 15% chance of getting another straight payoff compared to the box payoff.

Comment #67

Stack47 — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 05:13:11 GMT

It's difficult to figure the overall house edge on Fireball because winning is based on matching at least two of the drawn numbers. There are more winning scenarios with different odds. Match all three different digits gives a 15% chance and matching two is a 5% chance. Match three double digits gives 5% chance of winning once or twice. Matching a triple gets a 5% chance of winning three times.

Comment #66

Stack47 — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 05:03:04 GMT

The experiment I'm trying is a good example. I hit straight with a 3 out of 20 chance of matching one of the digits and missed. After 8 draws, using Fireball as the back-up instead of box is minus $40.

Comment #65

Coin Toss — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 22:57:32 GMT

JoeBigLotto,

Re: The Illinois Fireball, Northstar (now runs the IL lottery) is making these change to increase revenue for the lottery and Northstar. You're thinking like a player, of course, but they are thinking from their end foremost. Thus what you call the 'zunk draws.......the whole fireball idea, truth be known, was built around the 'zunk' draw.

Every blank fireball is another $1 for Northstar, pure gravy.

Comment #64

JoeBigLotto — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 20:54:07 GMT

I hate to burst you guys bubble this is what i think about the current situation with fireball it is not on fire yet .The only way the state of illinios can make fireball hot is to throw all the blue balls or blank balls into the trash where they belong and at the same time change the pay out of fireball to be based on available fund. This way the lottery bank is protected and players can win more money if less people get it right or less money is lots of people get the fireball. This way there

Comment #63

Stack47 — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 05:46:12 GMT

Quick update, after 6 drawings no straight wins and no box wins, had I played box instead of using the Fireball option. In 3 of the drawings I matched two digits in the correct digit position, but struck out matching the Fireball number. So far it's obviously no worse than by using Fireball than a box bet.

Comment #62

vholling — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 15:59:19 GMT

I don't think it fair if you play additional money for a fireball and there is not a fireball drawn I don't think this will go well with the p3 and p4. They should set a certain day for the fire balls because you just wasted another dollar and there was no fireball drawn.

Comment #61

Coin Toss — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 05:13:27 GMT

Before Northstar moved Lotto to Thursday, the biggest things going in Illinois on Thursday and Sundays nights was Lucky Day Lotto, $100,000 progressive.

Now that Lotto is on Monday, Thursday, and Satruday I'm thinking Northstar is going to come up with some kind of Sunday game that offers more than a $100,000 progressive.

And not long after it comes out Northstar will have an option to turn another $1 game to a $2 game.

Hi Northstar, we know you're reading this thread.

Comment #60

WWWBUKTN — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 04:53:52 GMT

I'll start by admitting it's a very small sample size but after one week of Fireball for the Pick Four a number has come in five out of fourteen draws. (Pick 3's Fireball has come in nine of fourteen times but I don't play that.) My usual numbers were 8037 (ironically one off tonight and the Fireball wouldn't have helped) and I was playing a dollar box and a dollar straight every drawing. This added up to $28 per week and if I were still playing and also now adding Fireball that would bring it t... [ More ]

Comment #59

Stack47 — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 03:53:32 GMT

I'll try an experiment on the ILL. predictions board by using ten lines with a 2if3 guarantee for the next 25 drawings and check the Fireball results.

Comment #58

Jon D — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 18:02:36 GMT

You could also compare with same cost of play:

Regular Pick 3 Str at $1 wager, will have a hit 1 in 1000 plays, for $500 prize. 50% return.

Pick 3 plus Fireball Str at 50c wager,($1 total) will have a hit 1 in 400 plays, for $250 prize, or $500 in 800 plays. 62.5% return.

The My 3 is an interesting game with 3 chances to win: Str, Box or Pair. It doesn't have as good a payout at just 50.8% return. But with overall odds as low as 1 in 30, it's can provide more player satisfaction with sm... [ More ]

Comment #57

Stack47 — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 14:52:12 GMT

The Fireball gives player more chances to win, but they must double the cost of play. A way to evaluate the Fireball option without doubling the cost of play is to compare it to the traditional back-up bet, $1 straight/$1 box. Any straight number has a 0.1% of winning and has a 2.7% chance of matching two digits. If a number doesn't hit straight, there is 0.5% chance of winning the box and $80. If you don't hit the number straight, but match two digits there is 5% of matching the Fireball and wi... [ More ]

Comment #56

Jon D — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 04:54:47 GMT

Playing IL Pick 3/4 plus Fireball actually gives higher payout that standard pick 3/4.

With Pick 4 plus Fireball, it pays out 58.3% for Straight and 56% for Box. That's higher than the standard Pick 4 payout of 50% for straight and 48% for box.

The Pick 4 Fireball ratio means it comes out 1 in 3 draws. So far there have been 3 Fireballs in 8 draws, that's a little better than expected, but the results will vary over time. The extra blank balls are required to offset the extra chances to wi... [ More ]

Comment #55

Coin Toss — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 04:51:58 GMT

Here are actual results from a live drawing:

Midday Wed Sep 4

202 FB 8

Wininng Plus Fireball Combinations

802

282

208

And this is from the Payouts on the Results page:

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

All prize amounts based on a wager of $1.

Match Prize Amount

Straight $500

Box (6-way) $80

Straight + Box (6-way) - Straight match $290

Straight + Box (6-way) - Box match $40

Pair $50

Comment #54

JoeBigLotto — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 22:54:24 GMT

for one there is no such thing as $250 on tax on a $1000 winning ticket have won $700 b4 on one ticket tax was $36 and have won $5000 b4 tax was like $200 . so they do not take alot of tax like you think. fireball has got nothing to do with you buying two tickets you can do that and still loss where you could have with fireball. for example you play 730 twice and the winning number is 735 and the fireball is 5. Now guess what your two tickets is worthless but under this case with fireball you wi... [ More ]

Comment #53

WWWBUKTN — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 22:34:28 GMT

Fireball is a joke. Illinois Lottery has become a massive joke trying to milk all their customers for nearly a thousand dollars this year in new twists and add on's to their standard game.

Thankfully they annoyed me enough I've stopped playing everything but Powerball and MegaMillions.

I do however follow what happens as I'm wondering how much I've saved in the seven weeks since stopping play. Of course my numbers never did hit during that time so it's been a big win for me. That said if... [ More ]

Comment #52

uprrman — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 20:51:22 GMT

well if you played 730 str and it comes up you get 500. and if you add fireball and you win you get 1000. now you gotta go to the lottery office to get paid and they take taxes out you get maybe 750.

now if you play 730 str on 2 tickets you win 1000.00 no tax

Comment #51

surimaribo24 — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 15:15:09 GMT

wow i hope liljimy add that feature down here .

Comment #50

JoeBigLotto — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:23:29 GMT

All joke aside this idea will only benefit big players like me. I play $25 per draw easily and adding extra $25 for a chance to double up or triple up is really worth it. Instead of me winning my lousy $500 I may now win $1000 extra if I have a double 7 like l always do and the fireball is lucky 7 well I may win $500 times 3 = $1500 not bad and I could use that to play my 1111 with fireball for a month and win my $25,000 and take that cute lottery chic to ceaser palace vegas for real fireball so... [ More ]

Comment #49

JoeBigLotto — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:10:46 GMT

It seems people are equally divided whether this is a rip off or not. Well the answer is both depends on who gets the fire ball. If I played 1111 and add fireball for $1 and if fireball is 1 well l walk away with $25,000 then I will say what a genius idea but if I play extra dollar and get a blank then I be screeming show me the money - show me the money- so to say it all depends on who wins with the fireball. And that cute lady in the illinios sales video I think she is a firehead she makes me

Comment #48

Jon D — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:46:28 GMT

I don't see the 51% you're referring to. And I didn't even look at pairs, only Pick 3 plus Fireball Str and Box which has 62.5% and 60% return respectively.

But as for the pick 4 quad, yeah, they make a point to advertise that in the video, you can win $25,000! But the chances of that are pretty slim.

Comment #47

helpmewin — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 06:13:12 GMT

wish we had it here, but i can still PLAY it there, it's gonna be FUN

Comment #46

Stack47 — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 05:41:52 GMT

I don't understand how you can get a 51% return on the Fireball matching 2 digits because it's only 1 chance out of 20. Did you include the odds against matching 2 digits with the odds against the Fireball being your missing digit?

According to the odds chart on the Illinois site, the best they can get is 15:1000 by playing Front pair or Back pair. If a player wins on a straight double, they when the Fireball twice if it matches their double digit. Winning on a triple using Fireball gives the... [ More ]

Comment #45

JAP69 — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 02:03:32 GMT

Today, 9:08 am

Today, 11:06 am -

Posted: Today, 2:08 pm -

______________________________________

The three above post I made on the fireball game need to be ignored.

Comment #44

JAP69 — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:54:09 GMT

The way I understand it the fireball number must match the losing digit on your selected number

Player selection 253

lottery winning number 153

The fireball number must be a 2 for the player to win.

You match two of the three lottery winning digits either exact or box depending on the wager. Whatever your losing digit is must match the fireball number.

I thought the fireball number whatever it is would replace whatever your losing digit is.

Comment #43

Jon D — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:09:19 GMT

I thought I sent you a message, but maybe didn't go through.

The How it Works section, end of 4th paragraph:

you still have to match one of the number combinations on your ticket using the Fireball number as a replacement for any one number on your ticket.

Should be:

you still have to match one of the number combinations on your ticket using the Fireball number as a replacement for any one number of the winning numbers.

From the IL Pick 3 FAQ section:

http://www.illinoislottery... [ More ]

Comment #42

Todd — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 00:47:19 GMT

I don't believe there is an error in the news story, but if you see one then by all means report it. What is the error

Comment #41

Jon D — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 23:26:56 GMT

It is a very unique game, the most complex I have seen in a while. If it confuses LP people, what can they expect from the general public? I don't think it is explained very well on the website. The video is best, but not complete.

But I like what I see so far. I wish we had this in CA,(it would be pari-mutuel of course) I'd be all over that thing testing it out in the first week.

Is there nobody on LP from Illinois that can get us some real results? Don't see any mention Fireball in the P... [ More ]

Comment #40

LottoMetro — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:58:23 GMT

Yes this is certainly a tricky game. I will be withholding further conclusions until I hear back from Illinois

I was already aware of the errors in my post (hence the following post); unfortunately I didn't catch them until the post editing expiry had passed.

Comment #39

Jon D — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:23:50 GMT

This new game is very unique and can be confusing. I also found a error on the news story that I will report to Todd, maybe that is also part of the confusion.

You play 50 cent wager on 1-2-4 straight and add Fireball. Lottery draws 1-2-3 and the Fireball is 3(happens 5% of the time)! You win $250, because it replaces your number (50 cent wager payoff is $250).

Actually, this one you lose. Fireball number replaces winning numbers, not your numbers.

You play 50 cent wager on 1-2-4 straig... [ More ]

Comment #38

Stack47 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 21:12:18 GMT

These guys are marketers and self-promoters but not really doing much for the players.

To win both bets, the player must first beat 999 to 1 odds to get 3 chances out of 20 to win the second bet too. IMO, there is no real extra value by playing Fireball trying to win both bets when we can simply bet on the same combo twice.

The My 3 game gives the player the chance to turn a losing bet into a winning bet by lowering the straight and box payoffs and not a bad bet for players that can't hit... [ More ]

Comment #37

LottoMetro — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 20:52:28 GMT

Gah, editing time limits! I think this illustrates it better.....using Straight since naturally it has highest EV.

My Numbers Fireball Fireball Occurences Drawn With Fireball (NET @ $1.00) Without Fireball (NET @ $1.00)

123 Blank 50% 124 -$1.00 -$1.00

123 0 5% 124 -$1.00 -$1.00

123 1 5% 124 -$1.00 -$1.00

123 2 5% 124 -$1.00 -$1.00

123 3 5% 124 -$1.00 -$1.00

123 4 5% 124 $249.00 -$1.00

123 5 5% 124 -$1.00 -$1.00

123 6 5% 124 -$1.00 -$1.00

123 7 5

Comment #36

LottoMetro — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 20:30:54 GMT

You play 50 cent wager on 1-2-4 straight and add Fireball. Lottery draws 1-2-3 but the Fireball is blank (happens 50% of the time). You lose $1.

You play 50 cent wager on 1-2-4 straight and add Fireball. Lottery draws 1-2-3 but the Fireball is 5 or any number not drawn or blank (happens 95% of the time). You lose $1.

You play 50 cent wager on 1-2-4 straight and add Fireball. Lottery draws 1-2-3 and the Fireball is 3 (happens 5% of the time)! You win $250, because it replaces your number (5... [ More ]

Comment #35

LottoMetro — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 20:04:33 GMT

You do not have to have an account to browse the forums or read articles.

Yes, I corrected my post by removing that claim. It was I in fact who was wrong in my math (not counting jackpot AoN twice). Anyway, AoN is a native game with no add-on wagers so I don't think it is accurate to compare it to a game that features side bets.

You are comparing returns for $1 plus $1; I was calculating 50 cent plus 50 cent.

Comment #34

Jon D — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 20:00:04 GMT

Oh really, my mistake. Your account ID says new member, Sept 1, 2013. In general, you aren't supposed to make more than one account on LP. What was your old ID?

As for AoN, you say my 56% number is incorrect and should be 51%, so could you then show me your math, and compare that to the graph in the link in my post above?

For the IL Pick3 plus Fireball, the basic odds should look something like this:

IL Pick 3 plus Fireball (Str) $2

Total Return Prizes Odds 1 in Match

62.50... [ More ]

Comment #33

LottoMetro — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:53:02 GMT

Well I am neither new to this forum nor the lottery industry; however, I am calculating payouts using with Fireball odds. I do not see other payoffs listed anywhere in the rules. I can't really comment on it further without other information

Comment #32

JAP69 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 18:08:48 GMT

If you think a double is going to drop with a fireball number dropping. You have all the trips to play.

Playing trips with a fireball number dropping would be an exact order bet. But the fireball number has got to drop to win unless the trip selected drops.

Comment #31

Jon D — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 17:47:23 GMT

No, you don't understand the lottery industry. You're a new member so you should read up on some other articles some more.

Over the years the lotteries have introduced games with successively higher payouts above the standard 50% return of daily and jackpot games.(particularly scratch games) The reasoning being higher payouts brings in new players, or entices existing players to play more. A lot of people complain about lotteries trying to boost profits, but they can't really do that. Their p... [ More ]

Comment #30

LottoMetro — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 16:20:07 GMT

Harsh but a reality. The lottery never implements changes unless they would benefit the lottery itself, not the player.

I think your calculations are off. When playing straight with Fireball if a player wins they do not win $500 on a $1 wager. They win the 50 cent wager which returns $250. Only if one of their balls matches the Fireball do they win again

That's why I said they carefully worded it. All you have to do is multiply the odds by the winnings to get the expected return. 3/2000 ti... [ More ]

Comment #29

JAP69 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 15:06:19 GMT

Only a sample of how I would approach the fireball game taking the chance on a red ball being drawn.

Run some combos like this example in an exact order of your choice and take your chance on a fireball number being drawn.

Only four ways a pick 3 can fall using low pairs or high pairs.

all low

all high

one low two high

two low one high

An example of combinations without duplicating low pairs or high pairs

01234

combo_ pairs

012__ 01 02 12

034__ 03 04 34

135

Comment #28

JAP69 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:08:33 GMT

In the case of the pick 3 a player would only need to focus on getting two numbers exact or box on the ticket and then take the chance of a fireball being drawn. Pick two numbers in your selection and throw any number in for the third ball.

All low pair

all high pair

one low one high pair.

Comment #27

Abdi — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 08:59:45 GMT

i don't this is a good idea,this will creat confussion.

Comment #26

Jon D — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 06:00:42 GMT

From the way I read it and saw in the video, there are 4 chances to win when you play plus Fireball. The base prize, plus up to 3 additional prizes if a matching Fireball comes up to for a match in the 3 different positions. But you can only get 4 prizes (base plus 3 bonus) if you played a triple, and up to 3 prizes with a double, and up to 2 prizes with a single. Like they have shown for today:

I looked at the Straight prize, given the various scenarios, and the total payout for the game... [ More ]

Comment #25

Coin Toss — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 05:15:14 GMT

Stack,

This tells any aware player all they have to know:

The Fireball ball is drawn from a pool of numbered and unnumbered balls (10 numbered balls 0 9 and 10 unnumbered balls for Pick 3; 10 numbered balls 0 9 and 20 unnumbered balls for Pick 4).

On the Pick 3 it's 10 and 10, on the Pick 4 10 and 20.......the house has 2 to 1 the best of it on the Fireball.

THANKS FOR PLAYING, CHUMP.

Consider what this Northstar group did with the Illiois Pick 5, formerly Little Lotto now Lucky... [ More ]

Comment #24

Stack47 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 05:00:53 GMT

When a numbered Fireball ball is drawn, the number on that ball may be used to replace any one of the numbers drawn in the preceding Pick 3 or Pick 4 drawing to create winning combinations.

If the Fireball number is the same as one of the player's numbers, and the player's numbers match the numbers drawn for the player's play style, a bonus prize will be awarded. For example, if a player wagered 1-2-3 straight and those same numbers were drawn in the regular Pick 3 drawing, they could win yet... [ More ]

Comment #23

Lotto Geek — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 04:56:46 GMT

This is a pretty ingenious idea. I fear, though, that a lot of people are going to get confused by this. Even I'm a little sketchy on the details. Looks like I'm going to have to get the ol' blog going again.

Comment #22

Todd — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 03:33:32 GMT

Well, I think the question is, if you're going to spend an extra 50 cents, is it better to spend it on another pick or on the Fireball. You could be right, it could be a ripoff. Or you could be wrong. Honestly, I don't know the answer because the odds calculation on the Fireball is a little too complex for me. That's why I said earlier that the answer really requires a mathematician, or at least someone who could compare the odds.

Comment #21

cbr$ — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 03:29:39 GMT

Now, that the first human error has happen in the Fireball drawing . I know I'm going to be watching both drawing on WGN.

Comment #20

mypiemaster — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 03:15:48 GMT

This is definitely, not a credibility, or a confidence enhancer. Conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day with this. My main concern is, why so many blank balls, instead of just one blank ball, to help represent the field of 0-9. The closer one looks at this, the more apparent it appears, that something really fishy is going on. A blatant effort designed to RIPOFF the consumers, most of the time.

Comment #19

Coin Toss — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 02:44:02 GMT

Tonights drawings were a blank and a blank.

The non numbered balls are blue and the caller said......... I'm so sorry...

Northstar, the private firm that took over the runinng of the Illinois lottery, has a knack for turning $1 games into $2 games, granted at the player's option, so far anyway.

Someone here on LP not long ago said that Northstar just wasn't making the money for the lottery that they promised, that could very well be the motivation for these addittions to these games.... [ More ]

Comment #18

Todd — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 02:21:38 GMT

Just so everyone is aware, when the first Pick 3 drawing with Fireball was drawn this afternoon, the Illinois Lottery published the results as a blank (non-numbered) Fireball. It seems that was not correct, because sometime this afternoon or this evening they changed it from blank to a Fireball number 9.

Naturally, the Illinois Lottery Results page at LP has been updated with the correction.

The midday Pick 4 Fireball drawing is still showing as a blank however, so I assume that is correct... [ More ]

Comment #17

cbr$ — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 01:51:41 GMT

This new option of playing with Fireball, really will increase interest of old new players of Ill. pic3 and 4 game. After 30 years it could use a small make .

Comment #16

Jon D — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 01:10:50 GMT

Scam is a pretty harsh word, don't you think? They'd need some serious cojones to sell a new version of a game with more ways to win, but degrade the payout from 50% to 37.5% and think nobody will notice.

If I'm interpreting the prizes payments correctly, total payout with Fireball is significantly higher. About 61% for Straight and about 57% for Box, compared to the base of 50% and 48% respectively.

Those additional $$$ bonus winnings are certainly not trivial, nor a rare if ever occurren... [ More ]

Comment #15

RedStang — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 22:45:58 GMT

Yes, Fireball Roberts was a winner.

Comment #14

RedStang — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 22:41:13 GMT

No. I asked my drinking buddy.

Comment #13

LottoMetro — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 22:09:22 GMT

Scam. They carefully word it to make it seem like a deal.

You pay $1 for a 50 cent ($250) wager with Fireball. That brings average return of 37.5 cents.

Or pay $1 for a 1 dollar wager ($500) without Fireball and get an average return of 50 cents.

My first figure omits additional $$$, but one of your numbers will only match the Fireball 5% of the time, so the bonus winnings are rare if ever.

Comment #12

Tenaj — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 21:49:05 GMT

I think I like it. It's like a wild card. Wish I can play it.

Comment #11

Ronnie316 — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 20:38:01 GMT

Have you enlisted the services of a mathematician

Comment #10

RedStang — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 20:32:53 GMT

Seems like it makes the 50/50 chance of winning now 25/75.

Comment #9

helpmewin — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 20:02:42 GMT

The Best Idea Ever Illinois Lottery Fireball sounds amazing

Comment #8

crazya305 — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 19:54:22 GMT

This is the biggest rip off. If I was y'all guys I stick to my same games you always been playing. Don't change your pattern because as soon you change your pattern that's when your numbers start to hit. Keep playing your same numbers. All they trying to do is make more money out of everyone. I'm just playing real about it. They are full of BS and they think they have all the sense. Play wisely

Comment #7

Ronnie316 — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 19:12:03 GMT

Comment #6

phillylucky1 — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 19:10:24 GMT

we need this in pa ...im always off by one maybe i'll hit more often

Comment #5

Todd — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 17:58:13 GMT

I'm not so sure it's a ripoff, because the Fireball number can be used in any position, and it is possible that it could help you win multiple times. It might be a useful add-on especially if you play straights. I'd be interested to see a mathematician dissect the odds when playing the Fireball option in different wagering scenarios.

Comment #4

Coin Toss — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 17:57:19 GMT

Agreed, Littleoldlady.

Consdidering this:

The Fireball ball is drawn from a pool of numbered and unnumbered balls (10 numbered balls 0 9 and 10 unnumbered balls for Pick 3; 10 numbered balls 0 9 and 20 unnumbered balls for Pick 4). If an unnumbered ball is drawn for Fireball, there is no additional opportunity to win prizes in that draw. When a numbered Fireball ball is selected it does not guarantee a cash prize will result you still have to match one of the number combinations on your ti... [ More ]

Comment #3

Jon D — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 17:33:40 GMT

Hmmm...I wonder if this Fireball bet is actually a good deal or not.(better or worse than base 48-50% payout) The lottery never likes to show people what the total payout of a game is, or the side bets.

Odds and prize table from IL lottery site

Comment #2

Littleoldlady — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 16:36:58 GMT

I think it is a rip off. They are trying to generate more money off the P3 and P4 to pay for some of their other loser games. If the fireball was a good deal, they wouldn't have 10 numbered balls and 10 un numbered balls. They would have a tier type payoff instead.

Comment #1

JoeBigLotto — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 16:30:40 GMT

This is a good and wonderful idea . I will try it out but in the back of my mind i think the first fireball l see is a hole in my wallect. They adding so much to cash3 and cash4 l bet it won't be long before we get big mac fries to go with it. Lol

Illinois Lottery adds new feature to numbers games

Lottery Post — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:49:32 GMT

'Fireball' feature now on sale

Includes video report

By Todd Northrop

On Sept. 1, Illinois Lottery retailers will begin offering a new, optional feature called Fireball to its long-standing Pick 3 and Pick 4 daily draw games.

The new play option provides a chance to obtain more winning combinations.

The standard Pick 3 and Pick 4 games remain the same, as does the drawing schedule (seven days a week, twice a day) and game ticket price (starts at 50 cents).

Beginning Sunday, Sep... [ More ]