PA Raffle Countdown to 500,000 ...

Reply #52

chris-chase — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 21:56:34 GMT

$120 down the ol $hitter

Reply #51

Ron5995 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 15:08:04 GMT

Neither of my two tickets were even close. On a related note, anyone with PA raffle tickets, double-check them on the scanner. The portion listing $1000 winning numbers is somewhat out of sequence. It wouldn't surprise me if some $1000 winners accidentally throw their tickets away. PA has had problems in the past with the results shown being messed up, and later fixed. Always double-check

Reply #50

GiveFive — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 01:44:41 GMT

From looking at the PA Lottery's website, it appears that two of the four million dollar winners were sold late in the sales cycle.

I missed $100 by 1 number. I had 00027627, the $100 winner was 00027628

Reply #49

kreative1 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 01:19:45 GMT

was hoping to at least break even..no winners

not too sad though since I caught both triples

hopefully we have some winners in here

Reply #48

PHILLIESPHAN — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 21:11:29 GMT

I have 5 tickets. Hope at least 1 is a winner! Good Luck to all

Reply #47

dr65 — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 17:32:32 GMT

Yes, sold out. Good luck all that bought a ticket. I had one but caved and bought one more.

Happy hoping players! I know I am, GL

Reply #46

maringoman — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 16:56:28 GMT

Sold out! Good luck to those in it. I didn't play this time round. Hopefully other states will model their raffles after this successful raffle.

Reply #45

Ron5995 — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 03:54:50 GMT

Just wow, the peak pace of raffle sales was the highest I ever recall seeing. Upwards of 42K in one day. I believe what helped the pace along was that 222 hit in the PA Daily Number (pick 3) daytime drawing - some cycling a portion of their winnings back into the raffle. At this rate, they'll be sold out early morning. Surprising given how many were left a couple of days ago. I have two tickets (1 in ~42 combined odds) - hoping to win something this go around.

Reply #44

Jeopardy1941 — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 21:54:45 GMT

21K remaining with 24 hrs left.

Reply #43

RedStang — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 15:29:45 GMT

That's a great streak. Won zip so I'm only buying one ticket for each game next year.

Reply #42

GiveFive — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 01:52:02 GMT

The pool I run for Ct won $100 in today's SuperDraw raffle. Third straight time we've done it! G5

Reply #41

Ron5995 — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 22:45:10 GMT

Looks like PA will make it, but it's going to be close. I'm estimating late afternoon on the 3rd, just hours prior to draw time, they'll sell out.

Other states, such as Delaware, have offered $10 raffle tickets, and struggled to sell them all. Ohio has extended their sales window and still might not make it. What makes the difference, beyond just population alone, is the number of readily accessible lottery terminals and player loyalty. PA has a very strong lottery - many states aren't as for... [ More ]

Reply #40

Jeopardy1941 — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 22:19:47 GMT

54k left with less than 48 hours remaining.

Reply #39

GiveFive — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 13:28:16 GMT

I'd go for a 50 or 100 dollar ticket.

I spend 80 bucks on them now, so whether it's one or four/five tickets, it doesn't make a difference to me.

I'm a casual player. I regularly play two online games in New York, but I don't spend as much as I can afford to spend playing those games. Recently I've started looking for raffles as I think they're the way to go. MUSL had a Halloween Raffle in The Fall of 2013, (which NY sold) and they said that another raffle would be held in The Spring of 2... [ More ]

Reply #38

Ron5995 — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 10:37:57 GMT

Sold around 34K yesterday, which is impressive compared to past year peaks. Yep, today will be the critical day. If raffle sales again exceed 30K, PA Lottery will easily sell out in time. I did my part, and bought one very early in the day.

But if there are still more than 50K tickets remaining going into the 2nd, it will be a nail-biter for lottery officials - not from an economic standpoint, but rather in regards to pride / marketing ... PA Lottery widely touts the raffle always selling out... [ More ]

Reply #37

kreative1 — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 02:41:55 GMT

got mine today

401388

401392

401395

401399

401401

good luck everyone

Reply #36

Jeopardy1941 — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 21:54:28 GMT

Sales are quite accelerated today, about 78k remaining with 72 hours to go. Need to avg 26k per day over the next three days to sell out. I suspect some will be too hungerover to purchase them tomorrow.

Reply #35

GiveFive — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:10:28 GMT

You're right, they will sell out.

I don't know why, but people hold off until the bitter end to buy them. That same phenomena happens in Connecticut with their SuperDraw raffle. There must be a reason for that, but I'll be darned if I know what it is.

And you're also correct that most players haven't got a clue as to what it is. I can't tell you the number of times that I've told somebody about CT's twice per year million dollar raffles and their reaction is always the same.

REALLY... [ More ]

Reply #34

chris-chase — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 02:54:03 GMT

There is 125k left and they will sell out by Jan 1 or 2. They never have a problem selling out in recent years.

People wait until the end. The casual player doesn't even know what this is about.

Reply #33

RedStang — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:41:53 GMT

Not to hijack but Va sold out and I'm sure CT is close. I think it's obvious what kind of game players want when people fork over 10/20$ with no problem. Hopefully one of us can post a winning ticket.

Reply #32

Jeopardy1941 — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 20:08:04 GMT

Pa lottery is pushing the game big time. It is advertising on electronic billboards and commercials and sales stop at 5 pm this Saturday, so they will have to average over 26k tickets a day to meet the 500k sales goal. Sales started Nov. 14. I am hoping they discount these by Friday.

Reply #31

Crazy Wombat — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 18:29:34 GMT

Went back to see how many tickets were sold in the last 56 minutes ... the number remaining is now 200,972.

So they seem to updating constantly as tickets are being sold.

CW

Reply #30

Crazy Wombat — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 17:31:03 GMT

I just got this number of tickets remaining two minutes ago ... 202,105

Reply #29

Jeopardy1941 — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 13:39:46 GMT

Pa lottery updated their website to show tickets remaining, over 200K remaining. They will have to avg over 20K tickets a day to sell out.

Reply #28

GiveFive — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 20:41:23 GMT

Thank you!

I guess you must have figured out I'm no high roller if I have to ask a question like that!

I enjoy playing the lottery, I find it very entertaining. I've won mostly smaller prizes ($100 or less) and to tell you the truth, if I won a large amount I'm not exactly sure what I'd do with it. I mean I have a general idea of what I'd do, but I'd definitely think on it a while before I did anything.

To me, having a large sum of money in the bank represents freedom. Freedom from deb... [ More ]

Reply #27

Crazy Wombat — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 16:35:34 GMT

Ron5995 ... very good post to make things a little better to understand in lottery terms.

A person can study all the games ... try to figure out the odds and the best game to play ... but in walks a person that has never played the lottery ... they buy a ticket and win $400 million dollars !!!

I'm guessing a seasoned lottery player just throws all his lottery sheets in the air and walks in front of a cement truck !

... or not, just keep playing and hope Lady Luck is somewhere in the ne... [ More ]

Reply #26

Ron5995 — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 14:19:34 GMT

For the casual, occasional player, value is generally of little consequence. Many just buy a ticket and hope for the best. However, for players who wager a lot, value is a valid consideration in choosing the games, and how to best wager on them.

For example, a high roller player in Pennsylvania focused on winning $1 million cash with say a $10,000 budget would do better spending that amount on $20 instant tickets along with Quinto ($20 on the same number straight) verses the PA Lottery raffle... [ More ]

Reply #25

Ron5995 — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 13:40:02 GMT

Visit the PA Lottery homepage, click About Us News on top right-hand side in the green header. Then click News, Events, Media on left-hand side. Scroll all the way down to January - the list is at the 3rd to last item PA Lottery Millionaire Raffle Drawing Creates Four New Millionaires .

Reply #24

GiveFive — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 13:05:15 GMT

Last summer in a thread discussing the Summertime Ct SuperDraw Raffle, someone complained that they did not like the value involved with the purchase of a ticket.

Call me stupid, but that's a concept that I completely fail to grasp. To me it's a binary thing. You either want a ticket or you don't. When I buy one, I have absolutely no thoughts of any kind with regard to value. Look, everybody knows that playing the lottery is a sucker's bet. That said I, just like many other people, want a sho... [ More ]

Reply #23

chris-chase — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 03:02:30 GMT

Go to Pa lottery site. Click Winners then scroll down to where the games are. Click Millionaire Raffle ..

Click whatever year and it will post the winners first name and last initial as well as their city/state. Doesn't say where

exactly they purchased though.

This lottery post forum is a joke for posting links or pics to show you.

Reply #22

Crazy Wombat — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:07:09 GMT

OK ... I have not seen the actual raffle winning ticket locations posted at the PA Lottery site, if you guys have seen them then I will accept that. I liked the old site better ... still am not used to this newer site even though it's several years old.

Yes there will be travel and visiting over the Christmas holiday so raffle tickets will also be bought ... if the computers don't crash they may do very well from today on through New Year's day.

CW

Reply #21

GiveFive — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:18:40 GMT

My observations with the Connecticut raffle is similar to what's seen in PA.

I don't know why, but players in Ct seem to wait until the last few days tickets are on sale before buying their tickets. (That applies to both the New Years drawing and the Summer time drawing) From looking at the published list of winning numbers on The CT Lottery's website, I've noticed that the higher tier prizes had higher winning numbers, implying that they were sold nearer to the date of the drawing. Now to be... [ More ]

Reply #20

Crazy Wombat — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:42:34 GMT

I understand now what you are saying ... they need to cut their overall profit back and throw more money in the pot ... totally agree. If it weren't for the lousy federal tax the prizes would also be better ... how does Canada offer tax free lottery prizes ... I never really looked into it, are the lotteries all run by the Canadian and local government and not private parties like here in the US with MM and PB?

The $1,000 prizes have little interest to me ... after taxes I guess a person woul... [ More ]

Reply #19

Ron5995 — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:34:37 GMT

Adding something like 20 $50K prizes would be interesting, but would have little effect on the overall odds, which is currently 1 in ~83. Get that number down to under 1 in 20, and many more will win, and thus play it again in the future.

Alternatively, the lottery could try going the other way. Eliminate most all the smaller prizes, and just offer big ones ... say a bunch of $50K prizes and up. And, if feeling bold, go one step further by charging $50 per ticket - I'd buy one or two for sure... [ More ]

Reply #18

Ron5995 — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:21:33 GMT

PA Lottery posted the sales locations a couple of days after the raffle on their website in the News, Events, and Media section.

The top prize distribution was certain uneven, but such clusters, given how few top prizes were selected (8 out of 500,000), appears within the bounds of randomness.

PA Lottery has thousands of terminals spread throughout the state - even just a few extra sales, on average, at each can easily pump ticket sales to upwards of 30K per day. Many players wait till nea... [ More ]

Reply #17

Crazy Wombat — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:14:28 GMT

I always thought maybe they could take a one million dollar prize and give twenty $50,000 additional prizes ... there would still be three million dollar prizes left ... plus with $50,000 after Federal taxes a person would have around $26,000 or $27,000 left over ... but many people like a shot at a million dollars so it may not fly with most people, the smaller prizes, it would with me ... $1000 really doesn't mean much to me but $50,000 would !

The total cost to the lottery for 6,000 cash p... [ More ]

Reply #16

Ron5995 — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 14:53:25 GMT

Not sure what they'd do, but if they still draw as if all 500,000 were sold, then the odds for players remains exactly the same. However, the lottery faces some potential risk running a drawing that way...

If distribution of the large prizes is relatively even, the overall payout percentage will still be ~50%. However, if the large prizes are mostly drawn the lower numbered, actually sold tickets, then the lottery could take in less profit. Or, conversely, potentially earn much more profit, i... [ More ]

Reply #15

Crazy Wombat — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 06:48:36 GMT

I have been wondering for several years if the PA Lottery really does sell out all the raffle tickets ... it's a nice claim that the tickets always sell out and maybe they always do completely sell out.

Something happened exactly one year ago with the raffle and I will go into detail shortly ... I have a theory that maybe as the raffle is getting close to the drawing date and many tickets are still left to be sold ... the lottery continues to sell tickets but also runs tickets or the raffl... [ More ]

Reply #14

RedStang — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 06:18:59 GMT

Can't make it to Pa, so I'll be giving CT and Virginia raffles a try this year. VA is only selling 330k tickets so it's a good chance to win something. GL

Reply #13

Jeopardy1941 — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 02:00:25 GMT

Interesting thoughts Ron, thanks for sharing. Say they don t sell all their tickets, for example only 450K are sold, does the lotto buy the remaining 50K, or is the raffle drawn with 450K as the limit and thus increasing the odds of winning? People would scream conspiracy if the lotto bought the remaining tickets and one of the 1 million dollar prizes was in that final 50K range. If I think they will be discounted, I should probably hold off to the New Year to buy anymore to save some cash.

Reply #12

Ron5995 — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 23:24:24 GMT

If memory serves me correctly, peak sales will be in the 20K-30K per day range the final few days. Even at 20,000 tickets sold everyday from here on out, sales will come short. PA Lottery will do its darnedest to avoid that; running more ads, and, as a last resort, discounting raffle tickets by a dollar or two.

My hunch is the lower pace of sales is due to a few things: competition from casinos, etc - more gaming choices than ever, the economy, and player fatigue - many have played the raffle... [ More ]

Reply #11

ThatScaryChick — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 20:12:55 GMT

Idaho's Raffle has nine more days to go as well and has 80,984 tickets left. I bought one just to be in it. I'm wondering if they will sell out this year.

Reply #10

GiveFive — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 19:56:43 GMT

I was over in Connecticut last Saturday,,, I had to go over there to pick something up. I couldn't resist the temptation of buying another SuperDraw ticket, so I bought one. Actually, it was more curiosity than temptation. I wanted to see how they were selling. I was pleasantly shocked to see that my ticket number was in the 65,000's.

With only 9 days to go, I cant see them selling 110,000 more of them. I doubt they're going to sell out.

Glad to see PA's aren't further along than they are... [ More ]

Reply #9

Jeopardy1941 — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:15:38 GMT

I bought a ticket this AM, number was just over 226000. Only 12 days left, seem a bit further behind than Last year. I know these are given as gifts for Christmas so i expect a bump in sales this week. Does anybody know what happens if all 500k tickets are not sold? Does the Pa lottery buy the remaining tickets or something else? I wonder if they will discount them first to boost sales? I know they sell like hot cakes the last week of sales.

Reply #8

maringoman — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 16:41:05 GMT

This time I'm not getting any because I didn't go to PA for thanksgiving. I hope you guys win big

Reply #7

Crazy Wombat — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 13:42:38 GMT

No I don't feel bad at all ... I like to hear a winning story. I will tell you the truth ... if it were handy for me I would also play the raffle in both CT and PA. I always like to check out the odds of this game or that game but odds probably mean nothing in the end with lottery games ... it's all luck. So the raffle odds are a bit better in PA but you won in CT !!!

If I lived on the PA border with ten states close by and they all had a state raffle, I would buy a ticket(s) from all the sta... [ More ]

Reply #6

GiveFive — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 09:25:31 GMT

CW ... I don't mean to make you feel bad, but our pool has won $100 twice in the CT raffle! Did it for the second time last summer.

Last week, I called my daughter who goes to college in CT, and I asked her to pick up two raffle tickets for me when she came home for the Xmas break. When she arrived home with them early this week I was very surprised to see that they were in the 48,600 range. I was expecting to see numbers on them that were well over 100,000.

To my mind, raffles are the bes... [ More ]

Reply #5

Crazy Wombat — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 06:01:01 GMT

GiveFive ... that's a great idea with the raffle pool and since the driving distance doesn't seem to matter either way ... to Conn or PA, then go with the odds. I have played every PA raffle since it started, with a couple of tickets one year from the Michigan raffle ... have never won even the lower prize, $100. I go with the odds but it's still tough to make a buck.

As in any game ... I'm sure there have been many people who have never played the lottery or bought a raffle ticket before and... [ More ]

Reply #4

Ron5995 — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:21:51 GMT

If sales are coming in way below projections, they might discount them by a dollar or two. However, the PA Lottery has only ever done that once many years ago when they expanded the raffle from 500,000 to 625,000 tickets - they sold them out, barely. They went back to 500,000. Most likely, as Chris$ points out, they'll sell out in time. However, it does seem the sales are running a bit slower than I recall in past years. Though, many players wait until near the end; some intentionally spread out... [ More ]

Reply #3

GiveFive — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:06:18 GMT

Agreed. I've observed a similar situation with Connecticut's SuperDraw raffle. It's held twice per year, (New Year's Day and The 4th of July) tickets cost $10, with a maximum of 275,000 to be sold, and the top prize is one million dollars for one winner. It seems that ticket sales are slow when they first go on sale (in October) but they take off starting around Xmas Eve. I'm told sales are brisk during the New Years Eve week. By 12/31 they usually sell out.

The CT 4th of July raffle is a dif... [ More ]

Reply #2

Chris$ — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:45:19 GMT

$20 each and they sell out everytime.

They sell more than half of them in the last 3-4 days from what ive seen in The past.

Good luck. Getting mine after Christmas.

Reply #1

haymaker — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:37:12 GMT

I'm going to Phoenixville this week, how much are the tix ?

what happens if they don't sell enough tix.

PA Raffle Countdown to 500,000 ...

Crazy Wombat — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:27:50 GMT

I just bought my second raffle ticket for the Jan 03 drawing ... I thought it might be interesting for people to post their ticket numbers if they buy a raffle ticket. This will only be for PA players of course and anybody from the surrounding states driving into PA to buy a ticket.

I bought my first raffle for this drawing on Dec 08 with the number 97,450 and today ... ten days later I bought my second ticket numbered 174,168.

So in ten days they sold 76,718 additional tickets since I bou... [ More ]