There are a lot of great games out there, more than you might think. But there are some games that would fantastic, if not for just one problem. And these aren't minor complaints, but big problems. I can think of a few games that have one major, and in some cases unforgiveable, flaws. Here are some I can think of.
New York Lotto
Big jackpots, and 2 plays for a buck?! That's what New York Lotto offers. And while that might be the end of it, it's not. As we hear from CASHOnly over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again, the lower payouts are quite paltry, to the tune of only 40% of total sales. This seriously hurts the grading of this game, seeing that matching 4 numbers, when it should get you about $70, only nets $20. One single flaw that makes a game go from fantastic, to barely passable. At least it's still a fun game to play.
IL Little Lotto
As PA's Cash 5 and CA's Fantasy 5 has taught us before, a pick-5 with a rolling jackpot can be quite exciting. But the drive for prize symmetry ruined this game. The idea of the payout is simple, get 2 numbers right, get a dollar, and for each additional number, a zero is added, until you get 5 which nets the jackpot. Sounds like a good plan, unless you're one of the unlucky souls who matched 4 out of 5. The odds of doing that are one in 3,387, but what do you get in this game? Just $100. Compare that to the avg. prize in PA's 5/39 of $250, or OH's fixed $300 prize.
TN Lotto 5
The high rolling pick-5 game. It hit $1.1 Million a few weeks ago. But while almost every pick-5 game nowadays gives out prizes for matching 2 of 5, Lotto 5 players get jack squat. No free ticket, no dollar bill, nothing. This hurts what's otherwise a good game with decent payouts.
and the coup de graci,
The ENTIRE Missouri Lottery
I can't think of anything wrong with the Pick 3 & 4 and the Lotto MO offers. The digit games offer great payouts and plenty of play options. And MO Lotto offers a jackpot that, for the odds, is always worth playing for. But there is one problem with all these games, and that's the fact that may or may not be rigged, may or may not be flawed. And in both cases, probably are. That's because they're drawn with computers. Awful, awful computers. And to think they once used balls, and by default had one the nations best lotteries. Now they're at the bottom rung. It's a crying shame.
