Officials hope bigger prize will rub off on more people
North Carolina will soon join the majority of state lotteries with the kind of pricey scratch-off game that has helped boost game revenue nationwide.
The $10 game will begin in November, N.C. Lottery Executive Director Tom Shaheen said. North Carolina is surrounded by states selling $10 tickets.
In South Carolina, $10 games have been the state's top sellers since debuting in 2004. Top prizes reach $1 million — a more lucrative purse than the usual sub-$5,000 prize on a $1 scratch-off.
S.C. lottery revenues rose 20 percent this year, in part, because of the new scratch-off games.
Nationally, once-lagging scratch-off ticket sales have begun outpacing games based on drawings, such as Powerball and Pick 3, according to published reports.
Twenty of the 42 states with scratch-off games currently offer $10 tickets, while 15 sell $20 tickets. Texas and Connecticut pitch $30 tickets.
In North Carolina, the most expensive lottery ticket — $5 — has accounted for a third of sales, second most of all the games, since the games debuted March 30. The $1, $2 and $5 games will remain.
North Carolina has no definitive plans for its $10 game, though Shaheen said the top prize will exceed the $100,000 offered on a $5 ticket.
"Many people see it as an investment," said Philip Cook, a lottery expert and public policy professor at Duke University. "They believe you have to spend money to make money. But to get people to spend that much, the prize needs to be something more life changing — especially to get more affluent players."
South Carolina considered a $20 game last year to follow a growing national trend, but the state lottery commission took a pass because scratch-off players tend to have the lowest income.
"It was too much," commission Chairman Tim Madden said. "There are a lot of things we can do to sell tickets and keep revenues high, but we try to be sensitive to everyone who might play."
I've played Florida's $20 Gold Rush. It's a great game with great prizes. I've won $100 4 or 5 times. Overall odds are 1:2.9. You have a 1 in 15 shot of winning either $50 or $100. I only buy one because if you lose that's a lot of money to lose at once. (For a college student anyway). You have about 1 in 175 chance of winning $500. Those odds have me "begging" for more. LOL
Is North Carolina going to pay lump sum ?
South Carolina pays lump sum on their $10 tickets : A cool million ( less taxes ) looks better to the scratchers than 20 years of $50 K....
BTW, Georgia is annuity only.
Man, I just proofread my post and I sound frighteningly like someone else we all know .....
I'm sure it will be popular, but I don't really like to play $10 or higher scratch-off tickets.
North Carolina Lottery needs a daily game badly - these scratch offs are a joke. I live here and I frequently buy scratch offs - a $50 investment will yield you about $7 dollars in winning. I've tried on a consistent basis and all I see in my winnings is $2, 5$, $7 and $10 every 50 scratch offs. I'm finished with NC lottery - I'll take my chances somewhere else.
If you live in North Carolina play the South Carolina or Virginia Scratch offs their Lottery is much more stable. North Carolina is just collecting money!!!!!
I hope these $10 scratchers in NC help boost their revenue. I hope this scratcher is lump sum. CA highest scratcher up to this point is $5.
North Carolina Lottery needs a daily game badly - these scratch offs are a joke. I live here and I frequently buy scratch offs - a $50 investment will yield you about $7 dollars in winning. I've tried on a consistent basis and all I see in my winnings is $2, 5$, $7 and $10 every 50 scratch offs. I'm finished with NC lottery - I'll take my chances somewhere else.
If you live in North Carolina play the South Carolina or Virginia Scratch offs their Lottery is much more stable. North Carolina is just collecting money!!!!!
I agree that we need a daily game. Pick 3 and/or Pick 4 would be fantastic! Will they actually do it? Who knows. I'll keep playing powerball, but I'm finished playing scratch offs.
We have the $10 scratch-its here in Oregon and the most I have won this year on one is $50. The top prize on the ticket was $100,000. Scratch-its are just like any other game when your time is to win you will win whether you buy a lot or just one ticket.-weshar75
North Carolina really needs a daily game. They are some of my favorites, but i guess it will take time, since the Lottery here is very new.
AFAIK North Carolina's payout percentage is 52% on scratch offs, which might be the lowest instant game % in the country. Would the $10 game also pay 52%?
Wouldn't 52% though be better than daily pick-3 pick-4? Illinois has pick 3, 1000 possibilities, $500 prize = 50% if my math is right.
Wouldn't 52% though be better than daily pick-3 pick-4? Illinois has pick 3, 1000 possibilities, $500 prize = 50% if my math is right.
But people usually take their scratch wins to buy more tickets, like pumping quarters in a slot machine.
I'm pretty sure pick-3 winners keep playing pick-3 too.
I agree with Lottogenius, and alot of people in my community(here in NC) agree, these scratch off tickets are not producing any good winners, alot of people are talking about how you can't win anything but 2.00 3.00 or Ticket. I can't see putting 10.00 on a ticket feeling the way I do about these scratch offs. Seems to me by looking at the NC website, there have been more winners in the powerball with NC than our own scratch tickets. To me I guess its proving that with picking your numbers you have a greater chance than waiting on the big win from a scratch ticket. Yes I am ready for the other numbers games!
You can talk all you want about your buddies not winning anything but 2.00, 3.00 or ticket, but here's a page of nothing but winners, most with scratch off: http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/winners_board.aspx
It doesn't prove that picking your own numbers gives you a greater chance to win. 52% return is still higher than 50% return. $1000 invested in a 52% yielding SCRATCH game will yield a theoretical $520, while $1000 invested in a daily pick-3 game will yield a theoretical $500. It's just math, not voodoo. Both are extremely poor returns in any case - but that's the lottery for you, if you want better odds, drive up to Atlantic City.
Well, consider that there are 100 counties in NC, each filled with numerous ticket retailers. The average scratch-off ticket has about 5-20 top prizes. Your odds of getting that big jackpot prize are fairly slim. There are plenty of other monetary prizes to win, but again, they are scattered across the entire length of NC, with the smallest prizes the most plentiful.
That's right, the odd of winning jackpot prizes are slim, it's a lottery, not a giveaway. But it remains a mathmatical certainty that with a 52% payout, the money going back to the players is higher than one with a 50% payout. I'm not sure how else to explain it.
I don't give a hoot what kind of scratch ticket NC is getting: 10$, 100$. I don't play scratch tickets. I want the numbers games: pick3, pick4.
North Carolina Lottery needs a daily game badly - these scratch offs are a joke. I live here and I frequently buy scratch offs - a $50 investment will yield you about $7 dollars in winning. I've tried on a consistent basis and all I see in my winnings is $2, 5$, $7 and $10 every 50 scratch offs. I'm finished with NC lottery - I'll take my chances somewhere else.
If you live in North Carolina play the South Carolina or Virginia Scratch offs their Lottery is much more stable. North Carolina is just collecting money!!!!!
I agree that we need a daily game. Pick 3 and/or Pick 4 would be fantastic! Will they actually do it? Who knows. I'll keep playing powerball, but I'm finished playing scratch offs.
NC will be getting Carolina Cash 5 in October and Carolina Pick 3 in November, they didn't say anything about Pick 4 as of yet. Read the article below.
Lottery commission approves two new games, pay raises
Jul 11, 2006 : 6:30 pm ET
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Responding to high demand, North Carolina's lottery commission approved two new in-state numbers games Tuesday, with plans to make them both available to players this fall.
"We're getting so many calls asking when we're going to have the new games, we've got to satisfy the people playing them," said lottery chief Tom Shaheen.
The lottery commission voted to bring out a five-digit game -- called Carolina Cash 5 -- in early October. A month later, a three-digit -- dubbed Carolina Pick 3 -- would follow. Each game would have a daily drawing, with better odds than the popular multistate Powerball numbers game.
While Powerball sometimes boasts a nine-digit jackpot, Shaheen said the smaller five-digit game would be popular with a maximum prize of $720,000.
"Obviously it doesn't have the lure of the Powerball, but people like the odds better and they don't mind winning a few hundred thousand dollars," Shaheen said.
The three-digit game, which Shaheen had originally scheduled to release in the spring of 2007, has a $500 prize.
Both games are nearly identical to those played in South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
The commission also approved comprehensive incentives and merit-based pay raises for its employees. Depending on performance, some workers considered outstanding could see 10 percent pay raises after one year of work.
The average raise would be about 5 percent, Shaheen said, in line with what state employees received in this year's budget.
Sales staff could see up to a 4 percent raise as well as incentives for performance. A sales rep could receive a maximum bonus of $8,000 -- about 20 percent of their salary. The sales director could receive a 20 percent increase, or about $16,000.
"This is about rewarding those who add value to the organization," Shaheen said.
Two members of the commission questioned whether the raises were too much. Commissioner Bridget-Anne Hampden said that the increases were "very generous," especially for someone just doing their job.
Max Cogburn said if the raises continue annually, the lottery would become the highest-paid state agency.
The commission will review pay raises each year, Shaheen said.
i heard today that in november that NC will start a pick 3 game.......
hopefully out of state players will be able to bet online if it isn't outlawed by then.
There may be a typo in the NC website's PDF,because it lists the Pick 3 as starting in Oct. and the Pick 5 in November.I think the story posted yesterday had it the other way.I wonder which one is correct?