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Member #379
June 5, 2002
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With the jackpots $4 million (instead of $5 million) after ONE rollover, it's obvious that NY Lotto is still losing sales over four years after NY started offering Mega Millions. The recent shutdown of the New Jersey Lottery didn't help NY much.
I'm thinking it will be sooner rather than later that NY Lotto 59 will be history. The current NY Lotto had its first drawing the night after 9/11. In case you're wondering, I think more and more lottery players agree with me that NY Lotto is a ripoff, and the 38%-40% payout needs to be raised. NY elects a new governor in November (looks like Eliot Spitzer) so I wonder whether NY will wait until 2007 to make any lottery changes. What do you see as far as the next version of NY Lotto, or would there possibly be a "niche" game to replace it?
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July 11, 2003
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If New York goes with a niche game, it will probably be something like Ohio's Lot 'O Play because that's the niche game GTech is offering. But I doubt that would fly with players especially since that too would probably pay 40% too (I think the NY legislature is dead set on having at least one game that pays out that amount), and NY players tend to gravitate toward "no-nonsense" type games (Lucky Day flopped and Pick 10 is struggling royally, and Pick 10 isn't even that odd of a game).
Most likely they'll try to bolster the current version through a good old-fashioned promotional blitz. When that fails, they might go to the State Capitol and ask for permission to raise the payout, even if just to 45%. That will probably fail too if it even happens, which it won't. Other than that I see three options: raise the matrix again (they will never lower it), can the game completely and force pick-6 fans to go to cross state (or national) lines, or put in New York's Lot 'O Play.
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Member #379
June 5, 2002
11,296 Posts
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If New York goes with a niche game, it will probably be something like Ohio's Lot 'O Play because that's the niche game GTech is offering. But I doubt that would fly with players especially since that too would probably pay 40% too (I think the NY legislature is dead set on having at least one game that pays out that amount), and NY players tend to gravitate toward "no-nonsense" type games (Lucky Day flopped and Pick 10 is struggling royally, and Pick 10 isn't even that odd of a game).
Most likely they'll try to bolster the current version through a good old-fashioned promotional blitz. When that fails, they might go to the State Capitol and ask for permission to raise the payout, even if just to 45%. That will probably fail too if it even happens, which it won't. Other than that I see three options: raise the matrix again (they will never lower it), can the game completely and force pick-6 fans to go to cross state (or national) lines, or put in New York's Lot 'O Play.
I don't see LOP being offered by any other US lottery-even with Ohio's LOP having a 50% payout (although cash option winners are stiffed since Ohio does not use a floating percentage.) NY Lucky Day had a 40% payout. NYers reject 40% payouts in games other than Lotto and the late Millennium Millions. NY could change Lotto to a 5+1 game, but if such version paid 40%, would there be no 0+1 prize?(Millennium had eight prize levels.)
Pick 10 pays 50%; its top prize is $500,000. Quick Draw pays 60% and the highest win on a $1 play is $100,000.
Imagine NY Lotto with more than 60 numbers (the 1999-2001 version was a bust at one play for $1, so I don't expect NY to drop its two plays for a buck.)
Remember NY elects a new governor this year; we are expected to have a Democrat after 12 years of Republican (Pataki) rule.
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June 2, 2005
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CASH Only, I think 59 will retire when it reaches 2007. I want to know the differential between the current population of NY versus the current NY Lotto odds of winning a jackpot? I also want to know, was 59 the highest number in NY Lotto history? If not, what's the highest number?
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Member #379
June 5, 2002
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Since June's $45m jackpot, the highest NY Lotto has been is $12m. I doubt we'll see another $30 million jackpot in Lotto 59 (the game will be changed).