PA Raffle Tickets on Sale - Drawing July 11, 2015

Reply #39

yellowpig — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 22:50:38 GMT

just saw something in the PA retailer newsletter (which is actually available to the public believe it or not) that they now going to hold Millionaire Raffle FOUR times a year including one in October

Reply #38

Crazy Wombat — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 07:12:41 GMT

I guess this is a two step process ... first all tickets are sold in numerical order from the beginning to the end and then the RNG would pick the winning numbers.

However, this time the total ticket number of 500,000 did not sell out so they had to adjust the RNG from 500,000 to what ever the last ticket number sold actually was.

They never had to do that before ... 500,000 worked for years until July 2015. When the raffle first started ... the total tickets sold was 625,000 ... then when... [ More ]

Reply #37

GiveFive — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 02:15:55 GMT

I think I'm missing something here.

To me, a RNG is a computer program that's used to generate a line of numbers to be printed on a quick pick ticket for an online lottery game prior to a drawing. RNG's aren't involved/used for player picks.

So I'm confused with regard to Ron's comment. Are the winning ticket numbers for each prize category in the raffle generated/created by a RNG? I would think that the winning tickets would be randomly selected/drawn out of a pool consisting only of the... [ More ]

Reply #36

Crazy Wombat — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 21:40:23 GMT

G5 - there was something else Ron said in his earlier post ... With that said, I don't know if the randomizer is skewed ... or is it showing a strong bias toward higher numbers? So it could be something with the RNG machine. How many other states have made this discovery with their RNG or computerized machines?

Two things we don't know ... is this the same RNG Raffle Machine being used since the Raffle first started ... if not, then how many RNG machines for the raffle drawing have there b... [ More ]

Reply #35

GiveFive — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 21:01:27 GMT

CW, let me add my thanks to yours to Ron for his absolutely fantastic post!

I cant make up my mind with regard to what to do next time. (If there is a next time and I hope there will be!) My gut tells me there can't be any connection to when a ticket is sold and the winning numbers drawn, but from reading Ron's post, seeing is believing.

Ron, I'm located in NY and live/work about 60 miles from the PA border. It's very easy for me to drive to PA via Interstate 84 in about an hour's time.... [ More ]

Reply #34

Crazy Wombat — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 19:32:42 GMT

Just a small addition to my earlier post ... maybe buying raffle tickets after sales pass the half-way mark or 250,000 tickets sold, would be the way to go.

It seems foolish to buy any tickets very early ... under 100,000 ... there are not that many large prize winners under 100,000.

It would seem buying after 250,000 would be a better bet and maybe only after ticket sales go past 300,000, but there are some high prize winning numbers between 250,000 and 300,000 ... maybe more with the $10... [ More ]

Reply #33

Crazy Wombat — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 16:57:24 GMT

Thanks Ron for posting the additional information ... I have also noticed the 2nd prize of $100,000 being won with higher numbers.

I was going to post all that information later today but you just did ... thanks.

Both 1st and 2nd prize winning numbers seem to be higher numbers in a larger percentage ... I was going to post about all this in Jan after the New Year's raffle but I didn't think anyone would be interested.

I follow numbers and results and this just stood out in front of me .... [ More ]

Reply #32

Ron5995 — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 16:30:31 GMT

Interesting. Makes one wonder if there's some monkey business going on. At minimum, the top 4 millionaire prizes should be drawn manually. Would take a little longer, but likely be more random and easier to verify.

With that said, I don't know if the randomizer is skewed, but will add some more data points that may be helpful for those with much statistical knowledge. Below is raffle #4 to #14 (don't have the first 3).

PENNSYLVANIA LOTTERY MILLIONAIRE RAFFLE, JULY 7, 2007 DRAWING (Raffle 4... [ More ]

Reply #31

GiveFive — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 19:43:13 GMT

Great historical info CW. Thanks!

As I said in my post, I can't for the life of me see a valid/good reason why it would be the case that tickets sold later in the selling cycle have fared so much better, but the fact remains they have. Do you suppose many players have seen/heard this, and that's the reason why they hold off until just before the deadline to buy their tickets?

While I cant say with any degree of certainty, it does seem to me that this happens in Connecticut too. As you and... [ More ]

Reply #30

Crazy Wombat — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 18:29:03 GMT

I have also noticed this since 2013 ... I have not checked all the way back to the first raffle drawing.

I was going to wait this time and buy my raffle tickets very late or near the end over the last two weeks before July 11th, but I did not ... here are the numbers for the $1 million dollar prize ... it's the only one that I really care about ... but don't get me wrong, I would gladly accept any prize amount, but I play for the top prize with the 1 in 125,000 odds.

If there is another ra... [ More ]

Reply #29

GiveFive — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 13:26:52 GMT

Although I've only played in the last two PA Millionaire Raffles, I have to agree with everything written above.

I realize that the raffle was held over a week ago, but I just downloaded a PDF file from the PA Lottery's website that lists the winning numbers in each prize category. I'm surprised by something I noticed, and that's that many winning tickets were sold very late in the selling cycle. I say that because I saw a lot of winning numbers listed that were above 300,000. That said, the... [ More ]

Reply #28

JeetKuneDoLotto — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 18:25:25 GMT

I lost twenty bucks.

Reply #27

Ron5995 — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 12:37:45 GMT

I sat this one out, but I have never won anything on the raffle over the many years I've played. Guessing I've bought at least 40+ tickets ($800+ worth) over that time, and possibly somewhat more. While the overall odds are 1 in ~83 (well except this time; 1 in ~77), to never win anything isn't surprising on such limited play, but still disappointing. The excitement just isn't there.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the PA Lottery offers a millionaire raffle, but it's time for them to change it u... [ More ]

Reply #26

Jeopardy1941 — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 10:43:10 GMT

Thanks for that reply. Even with the better odds, still did not hit anything. Between my two tickets and the 13 from the work pool, not a single number hit, not even for 100 dollars.

Reply #25

Ron5995 — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:56:43 GMT

PA Lottery posted a press release a little while ago. And towards the bottom of it, they mention the exact number of tickets sold: 462,070. Officially not a sell out.

Same prize structure with 400,000 tickets would be nice, but not likely. $5,111,200 prizes on $8,000,000 sales would be ~64% overall payout. All PA numbers games are in the 50%-58% payback range with Treasure Hunt, reportedly (not confirmed), paying out 55%-58%, and Cash4Life 55%.

PA Lottery could easily go upwards of 70% ove... [ More ]

Reply #24

Crazy Wombat — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 15:13:12 GMT

Thanks for the information ... I did not think the tickets were sold out. In the past they usually have it posted on the web site and also in a news release I have seen the Lottery say what time the last ticket was sold along with the location.

The PA Lottery could make a better deal for the player with future raffle drawings.

Sell only 400,000 total tickets and keep the same exact prize structure of 6,000 total prizes.

The Lottery can easily live on the profit from 400,000 ticket... [ More ]

Reply #23

dr65 — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 14:40:22 GMT

I wondered about that. At about 2pm the day of the drawing, terminals were advising

clerks that sales would stop at 5pm..and this was 2 hours before draw time. Why they

would do that I don't know. I'm happy they do not get bragging rights for a sellout once

again. The raffle is overrated and overemphasized. The odds may be best for a million

but they offered it multi times per year and just brought out too much...Cash 4 Life and

the constant offering of 6 new instant tickets per m... [ More ]

Reply #22

Ron5995 — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 14:15:37 GMT

Based on the posted raffle results, sales fell short by around 38,000 tickets; not a sell out. PA Lottery still made a bundle. However, PA Lottery lost bragging rights for always selling out - this time they didn't, and appeared to be caught off guard.

PA Lottery still drew 6,000 winning tickets as advertised. So those who played (I didn't) had around a 7.5% better chance of winning a prize. Overall stated odds is 1 in ~83, but improved to ~1 in 77 due to around 462,100 tickets being sold ins... [ More ]

Reply #21

Crazy Wombat — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 12:34:50 GMT

GameGirl ... I have a small correction to my earlier figures about what the total raffle prizes actually cost.

I forgot the slight cost of the bonus to retailers for selling the larger prize tickets ... from what I can find out, for selling a million dollar winner a retailer gets $5,000 and for selling a $100,000 prize, a retailer gets $500.

So add $22,000 to my earlier total of:

$5,089,200 + $22,000 = $5,111,200 ... I don't think there is any bonus for the smaller $1,000 prizes.

So... [ More ]

Reply #20

TheGameGrl — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 03:42:26 GMT

wow!!! so the lottery pockets near 48%.

The odds make no difference, they pocket ALOT!

Lesson learned, never buy the first 100,000. you wont win jack.

Reply #19

maringoman — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 19:47:11 GMT

There is a little over 3 hours left for the raffle to take place. I wish you all that bought a ticket great luck.

Reply #18

Crazy Wombat — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 14:07:22 GMT

Good question ... thanks for confirming that, I thought I might be having a problem on my end.

Maybe they are updating ... I know people have mentioned that they were able to buy raffle tickets at a discount ... I have never had the chance, always have paid $20 ... perhaps they have marked them down, even a smaller amount of money is still profit at this stage.

Just the people that already paid the full price lose out a little. If anyone wins a million dollar prize with a discounted ticket... [ More ]

Reply #17

Jeopardy1941 — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 13:59:03 GMT

Interesting the lottery pulled the number of remaining tickets off their website. I wonder what that means? Did they discount them yet? It is better odds for those who bought tickets if they didnt sell out, assuming the lotto does not buy them up.

Reply #16

Crazy Wombat — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 13:41:24 GMT

Just some extra information ... of course the Lottery wants a sell-out by 5pm today but they still have profit ... maybe just a little less.

Last week I was figuring this out ... they really need to sell 300,000 tickets to cover all the prizes and have a small profit ...

Here are the figures ... I think I am accurate:

$100 x 5,892...... $589,200

$1000 x 1000...... $100,000

$100,000 (4)...... $400,000

$1 million (4).. $4,000,000

Total prize money awarded = $5,089,... [ More ]

Reply #15

maringoman — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 12:34:29 GMT

It will be interesting to check the progress by the hour. As of 8:32 am there are 62,718 tickets remaining

Reply #14

GiveFive — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 10:03:04 GMT

As of 6 AM Saturday July 11th there are less than 65,075 tickets left. Tickets can be sold until 5 PM tonite. I think they're gonna just make it! The drawing is at 7 PM tonite. G5

Reply #13

JeetKuneDoLotto — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 00:18:19 GMT

I don't know why there is such a ticket buying frenzy the last few days they're on sale

Fear of Loss.

The same thing happens in Connecticut with their SuperDraw raffle.

Fear of Loss Again.

Be water my friend. Water does not fear the cold or the heat. It is simply a transmutation.

Do the seas fear the clouds? Does the ocean fear the glacier?

To win the lottery or any game of chance you must be like water my friend.

You must let go and let GOD.

Reply #12

JeetKuneDoLotto — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 00:13:52 GMT

Several consecutive monsoons happened.

Reply #11

Jeopardy1941 — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 23:40:50 GMT

We will see if they sell out, about 20 percent of the tickets still remain with 48 hours left.

Reply #10

GiveFive — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 22:19:34 GMT

My guess is that they will sell out. I don't know why there is such a ticket buying frenzy the last few days they're on sale, but that's something that's not unique to Pennsylvania.

The same thing happens in Connecticut with their SuperDraw raffle.

Maybe it's that 20 dollar price point that makes people hold off until the last minute. Perhaps people are reluctant to part ways with a twenty until they realize there's precious little time to participate in the raffle.

Someone asked in an... [ More ]

Reply #9

Jeopardy1941 — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 01:43:40 GMT

Yep, need to avg around 40K a day to sell out. I thought the drawing in January wouldn't sell out, but it did the last day. I believe the last two days of sales did hit around 40K sold per day, quite the uptick, almost too many to believe. A few years ago when the tickets weren't going to sell out, the lottery discounted them a few dollars, cant remember the exact price. If they don't sell out, I wonder if the lottery would just buy the remaining tickets

Reply #8

maringoman — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 23:55:52 GMT

I see there are still more than 100,000 raffle tickets not sold. I don't think they'll sell them all by July 11. I wonder what happened.

Reply #7

Jeopardy1941 — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 02:14:55 GMT

Got my first ticket this am, 258K range. Need to average 21.3K per day to sell out. The number of remaining tickets should soon be posted on the lottery terminals and website.

Reply #6

Jeopardy1941 — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 23:33:11 GMT

Less than 2 weeks to go, anyone know if we reached half way on sales

Reply #5

Crazy Wombat — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 09:12:54 GMT

Yes, maringoman has summed it all up ... but in quick summary ... it's all about the odds.

Is there any lottery game anywhere that you can spend $20 with four chances to win $ 1 million or $100,000 at the odds of 1: 125,000?

I don't know, there might be a better state raffle or lottery game somewhere. I have checked some state raffles but not all.

Some state raffles only have one shot a million dollars but for the same ticket cost ... a person gets four shots at a million dollar prize o... [ More ]

Reply #4

maringoman — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 00:01:50 GMT

The fact that the game is always sold out and the draw is always on schedule. The fact that players get 2 months to buy tickets and not rushed The 4 top prizes of $1M instead of just 1 and the incredible odds.

Reply #3

Jeopardy1941 — Sun, 31 May 2015 22:44:23 GMT

Why do you think it is the best run raffle

Reply #2

GiveFive — Thu, 28 May 2015 02:11:37 GMT

Picked up 8 tickets yesterday... 8 more to come in June! G5

Reply #1

maringoman — Sat, 09 May 2015 01:09:58 GMT

I don't think I'll be in PA this summer so I probably won't play the best ran raffle in the country. I do well when I play this raffle

PA Raffle Tickets on Sale - Drawing July 11, 2015

Crazy Wombat — Tue, 05 May 2015 15:50:17 GMT

They went on sale today ... very early start this time. Nothing seems to have changed ...

Pennsylvania Millionaire Raffle XX Raffle Lottery Game

1. Name: The name of the raffle game is Pennsylvania Millionaire Raffle XX.

2. Price: The price of a Pennsylvania Millionaire Raffle XX lottery game ticket is $20.

3. Ticket Sales And Drawing Date: Pennsylvania Millionaire Raffle XX lottery game ticket sales will commence on or after May 5, 2015, and will continue until all 500,000