Why are ticket sales stopped an hour or two before each draw?

Reply #19

Stack47 — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 01:29:21 GMT

Why do expect to see an official explanation of a lottery rule when state and federal legislators hardly ever give explanations of the laws they enact?

As for reasons, it's probably because of time zones. Not all stores in the Eastern Time Zone are open until 11 PM or stay open for a few last minute players. I never asked for an explanation when my employer told me my working hours and I certainly never argued with a store clerk when they told me the drawing deadline had passed.

I agree yo... [ More ]

Reply #18

GatorShea — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:50:24 GMT

Even with the computers, it seems to take an hour or so before they release the results of the drawing and if there are any jackpot or million dollar winners. Now, I don't know if that is just part of the show, as that should be information gathered really quickly, or if it is just part of the created drama to appear like this whole thing takes some time.

Reply #17

KY Floyd — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:41:19 GMT

For those of you who don't know, the lottery has computers just like the rest of us. If they want to know what combinations have been sold at any particular moment it would be incredibly easy for them to know. That means that knowing what combinations are and aren't in play has nothing to do with it.

The real reason, as some of you have probably guessed, is that it takes time to stage the fake drawing. After all, it always take at least 30 minutes to move all of the fake moon rocks off of the... [ More ]

Reply #16

grwurston — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:37:56 GMT

They don't need the cutoff time to do that. Have you ever tried to buy a Pick 4 or Pick 3 ticket for a specific number hours before the drawing and been told it's sold out? They know way before the drawing what numbers have been played and how many of each.

Reply #15

pickone4me — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 17:19:55 GMT

That really just sounds like something you'd read off of the lottery FAQ page, while it makes sense, but is the lottery taking advantage of the cut off time to know what numbers have and have not been sold ( and who knows what else ) that is the Billion dollar question.

Reply #14

GatorShea — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 16:35:12 GMT

I didn't see any explanation as to why the sales are cutoff an hour before in my state's rules. So, I am free to ask as to why people might think that rule exists. I agree with one of the reasons is to keep people from swarming the stores at the last second. However, I believe that is not the only reason.

Reply #13

GatorShea — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 16:30:39 GMT

I'm leaning to think that they want to find combinations that have not been purchased. There were at least 4 million dollar winners last night but no jackpot winners. Yes, the game is random but even randomness can be somewhat swayed. With declining PB sales, they love to see the jackpot get up to the hundreds of millions as it gets more players to buy in. 40-100 million jackpot winners don't get the coverage like the 1.5 billion dollar jackpot we just had which, in turn, gives the lottery a lot... [ More ]

Reply #12

RJOh — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 16:07:27 GMT

You're probably right, if more players read and understood their state lotteries rules less of such questions would be asked.

Reply #11

pickone4me — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 14:21:46 GMT

I wouldn't be surprised the reason why it is done is to find number combinations that haven't sold, or a they are looking for a certain number combination drawn from a certain area.

Reply #10

Coin Toss — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 04:43:45 GMT

Excellent, great sense of humor!

Dreaming Gemini,

All jp winners should appear as Dr Zaius

Reply #9

Dreaming Gemini — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 00:10:24 GMT

Maybe we should all start buying our tickets in a gorilla costume....and claiming them the same way.

Reply #8

TheMeatman2005 — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 22:16:39 GMT

Here is a link to the ABC video

The Moment Powerball Jackpot Winning Ticket Was Bought in Tennessee

http://abcnews.go.com/US/moment-powerball-jackpot-winning-ticket-bought-tennessee/story?id=36324796.

Reply #7

GatorShea — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 21:42:23 GMT

I'm going to buy a QP tonight one minute before my state's cut off time. Wish me luck

Reply #6

Stack47 — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 21:07:45 GMT

If they can't understand their state lottery rules, they'll never figure out each state lottery has different rules.

Reply #5

music* — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 20:50:20 GMT

with Candlelight777. There is a Canadian who purchased two tickets. One ticket was printed just before the cut-off. The second ticket was purchased 7 seconds after the cut-off time. The second ticket had all the correct numbers but was too late to win. That man has sued the Lottery and has lost all the way up to the Highest court in Canada.

One of the many good reasons why American lotteries have cut-off times so that will not happen here. They know that players believe that it is good luck

Reply #4

RJOh — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 20:45:08 GMT

All lottery tickets in Ohio except PowerBall are sold up to fifteen minutes before their drawings. Each states have different rules, check their websites.

Reply #3

Candlelight777 — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 20:31:35 GMT

I think you said it...long lines at the checkout. I think the cutoff ensures that people won't wait until the last minute to get their tickets...like five minutes before the drawing kind of last minute. I can only imagine the headache that could be created by making the cutoff that close to a drawing.

Reply #2

GatorShea — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 20:23:55 GMT

Well, then they are taking away all of the fun for the rest of us spectators. I saw that the winning ticket from Tennessee bought their one line ( snip it!) mere hours before the drawing.

This post has been automatically changed by the Lottery Post computer system to remove inappropriate content and/or spam.

Reply #1

amber123 — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 20:22:24 GMT

The officials want to avoid all the people who are running to the store naked to buy their tickets.

Why are ticket sales stopped an hour or two before each draw?

GatorShea — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 20:19:10 GMT

It should not matter if a ticket is bought ten minutes before the draw if the numbers are completely random. Also, the ticket sales before each draw add to the jackpot amount of the following drawing, if I am correct. I have a hard time believing that the people behind these drawings do not want to see the jackpot drag out to get as many people as possible in. I have more friends that say they will play the lottery when it is a substantial amount: a few hundred million plus than I do friends tha... [ More ]