Connecticut Lottery
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The Connecticut Lottery (or CT Lottery), which began in 1972, is run by the government of Connecticut. It is a member of the Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The Lottery headquarters is in Rocky Hill.
The Connecticut Lottery portfolio includes Powerball, Classic Lotto, and numerous scratch games. For all of Connecticut's "numbers" games, players may choose their numbers, select "quick pick" (allowing a terminal to choose the numbers), or a combination of both.
All Connecticut Lottery players must be at least 18 years old. Minors cannot play, or cash winning tickets.
Winning numbers games tickets must be claimed within 180 days of drawing(s); tickets purchased before August 2, 2009 expire after one year. (For scratch tickets, games numbered 1000 or higher must be claimed within 180 days of announced end of game(s); other tickets expire after one year.)
Unlike a growing number of lotteries which conduct controversial computerized drawings, Connecticut continues to use printed balls and drawing machines for all of its in-house drawing games. (Powerball, drawn in Florida, also uses balls and traditional drawing machines, although its optional PowerPlay multiplier now is selected by a random number generator.)
The Connecticut Lottery withholds 5 percent of winnings of at least $600. (Most U.S. lotteries withhold only for winnings over $5,000, and only towards federal taxes.) There are three special claim centers within Connecticut that are actually also regular lottery businesses.
In March 1998, at the former Lottery headquarters in Newington, there was a shooting in which a Lottery employee killed four co-workers.
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[edit] History of the Connecticut Lottery
The Connecticut Lottery was created in 1971 by Gov. Thomas Meskill, who signed Public Act No. 865. The first tickets were sold on February 15, 1972.
The first weekly Connecticut Lottery game show, Double Play, began in 1976.
Other former Connecticut Lottery games include The Rainbow Jackpot, in which tickets were pre-printed, but not scratched off by players.
[edit] Connecticut Cash 5
The Cash 5 game, minimum $1 per play, began in 1992 as Cash Lotto. Cash 5 has a 5/35 matrix; matching five numbers wins a lump sum payout of $100,000 (in rare cases, prize levels are reduced.) The current game name's use began in 1996, perhaps to avoid further confusion with Connecticut Lotto (now Classic Lotto). At that time, a kicker add-on option began; for an additional 50 cents, four prize levels are added. To play Kicker, a bettor chooses a sixth number, in a second number field; it is otherwise played as in Powerball (although it does not affect the top prize, as the game always draws five balls.)
[edit] Cash 5 payout chart
| without Kicker | with Kicker | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 number | $0 | $2 |
| 2 numbers | $0 | $5 |
| 3 numbers | $10 | $75 |
| 4 numbers | $300 | $4,650 |
| 5 numbers | $100,000 | NA |
Non-kicker prizes are the same for "kicker" and "non-kicker" players. Cash 5 has been daily since 1997 (it was originally Saturday-only, with other nights added gradually.) On rare occasions, Cash 5 payouts are parimutuel, instead of the fixed payouts shown above.
[edit] Connecticut Play 3 & Play 4
Like most U.S. lotteries, Connecticut offers pick-3 and pick-4 games that are identical in play style. Both games are drawn twice daily, including Sundays, and feature fixed payouts (e.g. a Pick-3 straight bet pays 500:1.)
Connecticut Play 3 was originally called The Daily Number.
[edit] Connecticut Play 3 payout charts
| Wager | Straight payout | 3-way box payout | 6-way box payout | Pair payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50¢ | $250 | $83.50 | $41.50 | $25 |
| $1.00 | $500 | $167 | $83 | $50 |
| Example | Wager | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 6-way combination | $3.00 | $250 |
| 6-way combination | $6.00 | $500 |
| 3-way combination | $1.50 | $250 |
| 3-way combination | $3.00 | $500 |
Mid-Day drawings began in February 1998. Since July 7, 2007, Play 3 and Play 4 have been drawn twice daily, seven days a week. Many U.S. lotteries have gone to twice-daily numbers game drawings.
[edit] Connecticut Classic Lotto
Connecticut's secondary jackpot game, Classic Lotto, is drawn Tuesday and Friday nights. Originally Connecticut Lotto, it has used a 6-of-44 matrix since 1989 (it began in November 1983 with a 6/36 matrix; changing to 6/40 in April 1985.) Its cash option was added in February 1997. It became Wild Card Lotto in May 1998, drawing a seventh ball (used for additional prize levels, but not for the jackpot). Due to continued slumping sales, the game retired the "wild ball" in late May 1999 and changed the name again, this time to the current Classic Lotto. Its payouts are parimutuel, except for a $2 prize for matching three numbers. Classic Lotto jackpots start at $1 million (winners can choose lump sum within 60 days of claiming the jackpot), payable in 21 annual installments. The (Classic) Lotto jackpot exceeded $30 million (annuity value) in autumn 1992. After two consecutive drawings without a top prize, it increases by a minimum of $100,000 per drawing until it is won.
The overall odds of winning a prize in Classic Lotto on a $1 play are approximately 1 in 39. The odds of winning the Classic Lotto jackpot on a $1 play are approximately 1 in 7 million. The payout percentage in Classic Lotto is approximately 53 percent.
The Connecticut Lottery is considering a scratch game in which Classic Lotto tickets can be won, along with traditional cash prizes.
[edit] Scratch tickets
Connecticut scratch games cost $1 to $30 per ticket; the higher-priced tickets have a more favorable prize return for players. Beginning in 2008, winners of fixed annuitized prizes (e.g. $1 million) in Connecticut scratch games were given the option to receive their prize in a lump sum, instead of automatically receiving annual payments.
The first Connecticut scratch game was introduced in 1975, called Instant Match. Tickets cost $1 each; the top prize was $10,000.
[edit] Powerball
Connecticut joined MUSL in November 1995. (MUSL was formed in 1987; Powerball began in April 1992.) It started offering Powerball the same month (albeit a few weeks later) as New Hampshire. Powerball is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights; its regular drawing venue moved from West Des Moines, Iowa, to Universal Orlando Resort in Florida in January 2009. Connecticut has produced six Powerball jackpot-winning tickets; the most recent was in the drawing on June 27, 2009. That ticket was purchased in West Hartford. The ticket holder, who was announced on July 28, 2009, was eligible to choose between a graduated annuity totaling $25 million over 30 yearly payments (the final installment would have been paid in 2038), or a cash payout of $12,506,253.13; he chose the cash option. A Powerball winner in 2005, of $59.5 million (annuity), was the largest prize won to date on a Connecticut Lottery ticket (see table below.) The largest jackpot in Powerball history was approximately $365 million in 2006; it was won by one ticket sold in Nebraska. Powerball jackpots begin at $20 million (annuity value) and increase by a minimum of $5 million per rollover (e.g. a guaranteed jackpot of $25 million after one roll) until won. Since Connecticut joined Powerball, the game has changed its matrixes several times as the number of MUSL members has grown to 32, including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Connecticut's only Powerball neighbor is Rhode Island.)
In March 2001, the PowerPlay option was added. While the cost of a Powerball game has always been $1, adding PowerPlay doubles the price for a selection of five numbers and the Powerball. The PowerPlay option allows a player to win up to five times the normal payout on any prize except the jackpot. The multiplier is now always 5x for second prize, so a ticket with the five white ball numbers where PowerPlay was selected wins a $1,000,000 cash prize. (Until January 2009, the PowerPlay multiplier, which ranges from 2x to 5x, also applied to second prize.)
The odds of winning a Powerball prize on a $1 ticket are approximately 1 in 35. The odds of winning the jackpot on a $1 ticket are approximately 1 in 195 million.
Among MUSL members, Connecticut has unique "house rules" regarding selling tickets for larger Powerball jackpots. These were created after lottery players swamped the affluent town of Greenwich, on Connecticut's southwestern border, beginning in the spring of 1998 for a jackpot of almost $200 million, at the time the largest jackpot in U.S. history. Among these rules, lottery retalers are encouraged to limit sales of tickets to any customer, to sell only "quick-picks" to Powerball players, and for the Connecticut Lottery to suspend sales to any of its 169 towns where Powerball traffic was taxing local police forces. This became less of a problem after Pennsylvania joined MUSL in 2002.
[edit] Mega Millions (future)
In March 2009, it was reported that MUSL and the Mega Millions group were pursuing an agreement on selling each other's games. After talks initially fizzled, on October 13, 2009, an agreement was reached where MUSL members would be allowed to sell Mega Millions tickets (in addition to Powerball) while those already with Mega Millions could offer MUSL games, including Powerball, without losing Mega Millions. (In 1996, the Georgia Lottery, which joined MUSL the previous year, was part of the fledgling The Big Game (in fact, as part of Georgia adding The Big Game, the new venture's drawings were conducted in Atlanta, where they continue to be held. Although Georgia planned to continue selling Powerball tickets for a few more months, within days Georgia was forcibly removed from MUSL.) While Connecticut would be able to add Mega Millions as early as 2010, a timetable to join Mega Millions has not been established. No major changes to Mega Millions or Powerball are planned even though both games could become available through 45 U.S. lotteries, up from the current 12 for Mega Millions and 32 for Powerball.
Mega Millions is played much like Powerball; however, the matrixes are different (Powerball has longer jackpot odds, and a "soft" cap on large jackpot amounts, while Mega Millions' optional multiplier, called Megaplier, currently is available only in Texas. Other differences include the two games' annuity structures; Mega Millions jackpots, if the cash option is not chosen, are paid in 26 equal installments.) Mega Millions is drawn Tuesday and Friday nights, each a day before Powerball.
The Connecticut Lottery had been considering a "cross-promotion" for Mega Millions, to discourage players from visiting Massachusetts and New York, both with the competing game. (Connecticut's other neighbor, Rhode Island, is a fellow MUSL member.)
[edit] Mega Millions/Powerball jackpot tickets sold in Connecticut
| Game | Drawing date | Prize (annuity value) | Jackpot choice | Where sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB | January 4, 1997 | $10.4 million | NA | Danbury, Fairfield Co. |
| PB | May 7, 1997 | $36.4 million | NA | Danbury |
| PB | June 25, 1997 | $8.0 million | NA | New Britain, Hartford Co. |
| PB | June 25, 2005 | $59.5 million | Cash | Seymour, New Haven Co. |
| PB | October 3, 2007 | $15.0 million | Cash | Eastford, Windham Co. |
| PB | June 27, 2009 | $25.0 million | Cash | West Hartford, Hartford Co. |
MM=Mega Millions; PB=Powerball.
NA=not applicable; the Powerball cash option began in November 1997. All three Connecticut Powerball jackpot winners since then chose the cash option.
[edit] Former Powerball scratch tickets/game shows
Connecticut was also part of the now-defunct Powerball game shows originally hosted by Bob Eubanks, and produced in Hollywood. The game was modified two years later, moving to Las Vegas, and was then hosted by Todd Newton. Each version lasted two seasons; the first episodes were televised in 2000, with the second game show ending in 2004.
The affluent town of Greenwich, in Connecticut's southwestern corner, was "ground zero" in search of Powerball tickets for large jackpots in the late 1990s and early 2000s. (The situation was remedied in 2002 when the Pennsylvania Lottery joined Powerball.) To a lesser extent, Danbury is also popular for Powerball players; it is the only Connecticut town (see above) that has sold two Powerball jackpot winners.
Unusually, while the Connecticut Lottery allows "advance play", the betting slips, each containing five games, must be filled out separately (e.g. a Powerball or Classic Lotto player wishing to play five sets of numbers for multiple drawings must fill out five different slips.) The Connecticut Lottery does not offer subscriptions; however, its major games can be played 26 drawings at a time for $25 (one drawing free.)
[edit] Miscellaneous
In early 2008, the Connecticut Lottery phased in a new generation of Scientific Games' WAVE lottery terminals, which use slightly different betting slips than before, and prints the tickets thermally onto glossy paper. The current machines have an LCD screen which faces the customer. It advertises the current Classic Lotto and Powerball jackpots. It also plays an occasional lottery commercial, or a public service announcement, such as an Amber alert, sponsored by Connecticut. The terminals also announce "Congratulations! You are a winner!" when any winning ticket (scratch-off or on-line) is validated by the lottery agent. The Lottery advises players to check their on-line tickets at a "ticket checker" before handing them to the store employee for validation.
Connecticut Lottery retailers receive a 5 percent commission on all lottery sales.
[edit] Lottery keno?
In spring 2009, Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed adding keno, which would be drawn every few minutes, most likely from late morning until after midnight. It would be administered by the Connecticut Lottery, and would be similar to the lottery Keno game in Rhode Island, which began in the early 1990s. (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos currently are Connecticut's only establishments with keno.)
In March 2009, Lucky4Life (actually a five-number game) began. For $2, players choose 4 of 39 numbers in the top section and 1 of 39 in the bottom section. Drawn Mondays and Thursdays, top prize is $2,000 weekly, split among multiple winners. It is Connecticut's first new online game since Classic Lotto replaced Wild Card Lotto in 1999. (Unlike Classic Lotto or Powerball, winners in L4L cannot choose cash in lieu of the annuity.) Although not a jackpot game, it has produced only three winners as of November 13; the first of which occurred with the June 8 drawing.
[edit] Trivia
Play 3, Play 4, and its MidDay counterparts are one of the few regularly drawn lottery games in the U.S. to not offer play slips to select numbers. Players may only request numbers verbally. Slips were available in the past for the nightly games, Play 3 (then known as Daily Numbers) and Play 4. All drawings (except for Powerball, which is drawn in Florida) take place at the studios of WTIC-TV (Fox) channel 61 in Hartford. Lottery headquarters moved from New Britain to 777 Brook Street in Rocky Hill at the end of April 2008.
