Four new games...

There are four new games that have come to my attention in recent times.

Natural State Jackpot (AR)

Arkansas introduced this game a few weeks ago. It's a daily 5/39 with a rolling jackpot, not all that different from Rolling Cash 5 in Ohio or Fantasy 5 in Michigan and/or Georgia. The lower tier prizes are as follows:

• Match 2: $1
• Match 3: $7
• Match 4: $300 

The jackpot, however, leaves a lot to be desired. It starts at just $25,000; and grows by $5,000 each time there's no winner (regardless of sales). This is understandable considering Arkansas' relatively low population, and the fact their lottery is still pretty new. I just don't know why they went with a 5/39. $25,000 with $5,000 increases is pretty dinky for a game with 1 in 500,000+ odds. I think fewer numbers in the field (35 or so) would have been more appropriate.

All Or Nothing (TX)

Now this game has a lot talk about. For one, they took an idea that I came up with before (look at my HiLo game from a while back). Second, they have taken the nearly unheard of step of having four drawings a day; quite a step for a brand new game concept that has not been proven. Third, not only do they have four drawings a day, they're each drawn with balls. No computerized drawings! And they can all be viewed on their website.

Anyway, the game is played by picking 12 out of 24 numbers. The play slips also give to option to pick all the odd numbers, all the even numbers, the first 12, and the last 12 numbers with one checkmark (this could create problems, but that will be discussed in a moment). Each ticket costs $2; and as for the prizes:

• Match 12 or 0: $250,000
• Match 11 or 1: $500
• Match 10 or 2: $50
• Match 9 or 3: $10
• Match 8 or 4: $2

As you can see, matching between 5-7 numbers wins nothing. The overall odds are 1 in 4.5, the odds of winning the top prize is 1 in about 2.7 million. About 56% sales will go towards prizes.

See how this game will perform will be interesting. If it's successful, we'll probably see this concept in a few more states; and Texas will likely expand Pick 3 and Daily 4 to four times a day.  However, Texas might be inviting disaster with this game, particularly with them encouraging players to pick the same number combinations (all odd, first 12, etc.). If one of those combinations come up in some shape of form, they'll be forced to really reduce payouts in order to keep the liability down (for that one draw, at least). So if you're playing, don't fall into that trap and either pick your own numbers or get a quick pick. Otherwise, you might find yourself winning a lot less than you deserve.

Weekly Winnings (AZ)

Replacing the Ca$h 4 game, here comes a concept that was thought to have largely died a long time ago. Weekly Winnings is a sort of throwback to the 4-number, multiple line games that took the nation by storm in the late 90s; like New Jersey's Lotzee and the multi-state Cash4Life. Up until now, the only game like this left in the U.S. was Oregon's Win For Life.

For those who don't remember, this type of game gives you multiple lines of numbers, sometimes as many as 21 on a single ticket. Matching all 4 on a line wins a certain amount dependent on which line was hit (you match all 4 on the top line, you win x; you match all four on either of the next two lines, you win y). If you're confused, don't feel bad, this game confused a lot of players; which may have led this type of game to ditched rather quickly.

In any event, Arizona has brought this game back from the dead, albeit on a smaller scale. You get six lines for each $2 play . Players can pick 4 numbers out of 50 for the top line, but the next 5 are always quick-picked. Match all 4 on the top line and win $52,000 (or $1,000 a week for a year, hence the name). Match 4 on the either of the next 2 lines and win $10,000. Match 4 on any of the bottom 3 lines and win $1,000. Matching 3 or 2 numbers on any of the six lines on a ticket wins $50 and $2, respectively.

Cash 5 (Indiana)

This game hasn't been rolled out yet, nor has a release date been set. But it will be a straight pick 5 out of 39, like the new game in Arkansas and like games in three states that border Indiana. Drawings will be daily, tickets are $1 apiece, and the prize structure is as follows:

• Match 5: Jackpot ($50,000 minimum)
• Match 4: $150
• Match 3: $10
• Match 2: $1

Nothing revolutionary about this game, but it's a tried-and-true format. No word on whether this will replace another game, such as Lucky 5. If it doesn't supplant anything, this would give the Hoosier Lottery nine different online games (an even 10 if you count the Hoosier Lotto add-on Tag 6).

Other News

Regarding me personally, I've been really busy with school; so updates aren't happening as much as I'd like. I may be able to post more often in the future, but I cannot make any guarantees.

Also, there are some changes apparently coming to Hot Lotto. The New Hampshire Lottery made note of this in their meeting minutes which they post on their website (thank you NH Lottery, by the way). No notes about what changes are being made; but seeing how Hot Lotto is now a decade old, at least double the lifespan of each of it's predecessors, I wouldn't be surprised if these changes are drastic (if it isn't an entirely new game).