Big win comes less than one week after game's launch
When Louisville resident Steven McIntyre received a coupon in the mail last week from the Kentucky Lottery, he admits he never could have anticipated being at lottery headquarters days later holding a four-foot-long check for $100,000.
But that was the scene Monday morning as McIntyre became the first top prize winner in the new 5 Card Cash game. He matched all five card symbols from Saturday night's drawing to win the $100,000 top prize. 5 Card Cash just went on sale six days before his win.
However, McIntyre's involvement with the game goes back even further. "I'm a member of the lottery's Player's Fun Club, and about a year ago I was in an online focus group looking at different game concepts," said McIntyre. "I remember seeing the game that used card symbols instead of numbers, and it really caught my eye because it seemed simple and fun to play. There's no way at that point I could ever have imagined winning it."
Fast forward to last week, when McIntyre got a coupon in the mail offering a free 5 Card Cash ticket with the purchase of two other game tickets. "I took the coupon to the Dongar Food Mart station on Bardstown Road, got my three tickets, and immediately had a $2 instant win on one of them," he said. "I checked the lottery's website Saturday night to see what winning card symbols had been drawn, and kept looking at the computer screen and my ticket over and over because they matched!"
McIntyre knew he'd won, but didn't know how much. "Then I remembered I had one of the brochures about the game in my truck," he said. "I went flying out of my house in my pajamas, ran to the truck and grabbed the brochure. I almost fell over when I saw the top prize was $100,000!"
The data services technician for AT&T plans to pay off some bills and possibly travel with his winnings.
Five Card Cash tickets are available at all Kentucky Lottery retailers, and drawings for the $2 game are conducted Monday through Saturday nights. The game first went on sale February 12.
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Wow! A state lottery that listened to a focus group??!! How extraordinary!
Lucky Dog!!!
Congrats to the winner!
A Government entity that listened to the Citizens!
I hope that this idea catches on at all levels of Government!
This is an epic story. Nice win too. LOL @: "I went flying out of my house in my pajamas, ran to the truck and grabbed the brochure. I almost fell over when I saw the top prize was $100,000!"
I suggest you go to Disney World Steve!
I know I will. =P
I played this game once and this is my opinion, it sucks. The top prize is 100,000.00 for a 2 dollar ticket. This is the game that replaced 3 line lotto which had a roll over jackpot. They are making bundles with this game (the state). After I had played it (bought 24.00 worth of tickets)..it seemed such a "let down". So I have stopped playing it and instead play cash 5 and PB. If this game lasts for more than 2 years it is because it is making boodles of money for the state. For the price of this game, I just don't think the customer is getting a fair shake.
The game (5 Card Cash) is modeled after the Poker Lotto games that were started throughout Canada last year. Kentucky is the first state to offer this game in the USA.
Poker Lotto is doing very well in Canada so far, and I think the addition of the instant win feature in Kentucky's game is going to make it even more popular.
Tickets cost $2, but for that $2 you're getting 2 games in 1 -- an instant-win game and the nightly drawing game.
I think it's a nice move by the Kentucky Lottery, as it offers something completely new and different, and the poker aspect appeals to a lot of gamers.
Looked the game up.I think this would do good here in the northeast. Lots of poker heads around. What time is the first drawing?
Most of the instant wins are 2.00 for the 2.00 you get a copy of your "winning" ticket to play for the night's drawing and another free ticket. This game is like scratch offs on steroids. I personally do not think it is worth the price of the game. They need more 100,000.00 winners to convince me otherwise.
Anybody following the new game that will day-view this March 11, called "Lucky For Life". Six New England states will be participating. My state of NH will be phasing out a crappy game called 'Weekly Grand". Both games are for $2/ticket. Top prize will be $1,000 a day for life (twenty years).
Some decent lower tier prizes ($25,000, $2,000, $100, $50, $5, $4, $2).
You select 5 numbers from pool of 40; and one lucky ball from pool of 21.
Drawings will be twice a week Monday and Thursday nights.
I'm definitely getting some action on this game!
Congrats to the winner..................
I went to the Pittsburgh Auto Show yesterday ......... expensive automobiles are not just expensive ............... they are full of the highest quality materials and craftsmanship. This is why the Jackpot was invented ............... that's the way that I see it.
Pennsylvania is overdue for our first big winner in Mega Millions tonite!
we are probably too smart in the northeast to fall for this gyp of a game. let's see there are 52 cards in a deck,(thus 52 combinations). you need 5 out of 52 to get the 100g's. the price is 2.00 (understanding that 1.00 is a scratch off portion which you are forced to buy). most states cash 5 drawings only have 35 numbers that you can select. why would anyone play this? they assign you the cards that you hope to match up instead of being able to pick your own 5 numbers. with an extra 17 possible combinations it is quite possibly the biggest rip off in lottery history. they are preying on the novelty of poker or playing cards to lure the unsuspecting kentuckyites. stay away from this one. no wonder they offer it every nite. savvy lottery players will soon catch on.
That is why I stick to Mega Millions and Powerball.
If I were good enough at math, I would simply play real poker at casinos.
And for the other reason that I play for big money ............ see below:
dpoly,
You never EVER cease to amaze me with your taste for the finer things in life. LOL. But heck, that is why we play the lottery, to obtain the finer things in life, n'est pas?...
May our ship dock sooner than later....he he he
P.S. dpoly: I apologize if my diplomatic stance and responses to IBeattheodds (the creature has been banned, I hope) seemed to be a bit harsh. I prefer to reason through entire arguements and try to respect everybody's opinion, provided they show respect for others as well.
All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.
T. E. Elliott
Of course! Most lottery wins of ANY game are the lowest-tier prize! What lottery game out there DOESN'T have the most wins in the lowest tier of prize? That's why big winners are rare and celebrated! (Like the guy who won in this story.)
Understood that you don't personally like the game, but it is nice to see a different game offering multiple ways to win -- both instantly and later that evening.
Which is more successful, a highly experienced night dreamer or a highly experienced day dreamer?
By the way, this article shared an encouraging win for this online "opinion provider" who appreciated the concept of this game before it was tangible.
I sort of like the game, but it's the first lottery game I've played where the odds of against winning anything goes up after I buy a ticket. Even with that it's still a better buy than $2 scratch-offs.
yeah i like the idea of cards/ poker style game, and the scratcher/ lotto tie in. but yeah not the odds very much. also there isnt any statement on how the winning " cards " are drawn, random? or machine. and is it based on tickets sold. ie if threy know they sold,only AAAKK so they make sure not to draw it?
i dunno but rigginng seems a lot easier if you can control what numbers people will get on their cards.
Played this a bunch of times in CT and won nothing. I'll try the new game now that the odds are cut in half. It was 4 numbers. Are they moving it up to five??
Next time I pass thru KY enroute to Harrah's casino in Metropolis I may give this new game a try.
Overall it sounds like a ripoff but I do like that at least they are trying something new.
Sort of reminds me of SC's palmetto 5 game where the top prize is always only 100,000 unless you pay for the multiplier. Give me a rolling jackpot game any day over a set jp!
Knowing the horrid scratchoff prizes in KY, $2 for a ticket isn't bad at all.
I'll consider buying one of these, but first and foremost comes MM and PB multi draw tickets since everyone knows TN never wins SQUAT from those games!
Congrats to the winner. Someone had to be first!!
The "Lucky For Life", as far as I know is a brand new game, so there are no older odds. Are you referring to the older "Weekly Grand" game?
Congrats to the lucky winner.
Mega Millions went up $11,000,000 with no big winner last nite & only cost $1 per line ..........
someone in marketing needs to talk to the Powerball folks ...........
Nice !
Me thinks, that you get what life is all about ...............
My THIRD eye is monitoring MM very closely. Depending on what happens in the Powerball tonight I may find myself CROSSING STATE LINES to get into this game.
it will soon be going to 2.00 in march or may. it was announced last fall, but they haven't been republcizing it in order to satiate the powerball price raise objectors. so get it now. the 1.00 and a dream promo will soon be just a fond memory.
Powerball goes up $10,000,000 again. It is not catching up to Mega Millions!
I perused the RI Lottery website and found that Stop N Shop has sold a considerable amount of Powerball prizes. I didn’t check Mega Millions and State Lottery games though. Seems like a good place to play, or maybe they sell more tickets at these locations ……….. I wonder if the laws of probability are in play here!
The focus group were the players that responded to a survey by the KY Lottery's Fun Club. I filled out one last week and got a free Five Card Cash coupon. Each month they send out promotional coupons to all the club members.
The game is getting lots of play so maybe the players want better odds of winning something on a $2 ticket. Don't know if they are ex-PB players or not.
I remember that Ohio had a similar game back in the early 1990s - but it appeared that they drew one card from each suit instead of five random cards. I believe the first drawing was on 07-30-1990 and the last drawing was on 05-02-1992.
Oh no, faber98, I hope that MegaMillions doesn't go through with this price raise ever; since I prefer to budget pay only $2 commitment, per drawing (which includes the Megaplier option cost)!