Florida Lotto
Florida Lotto is a popular lottery game offered by the Florida Lottery. It was the last major-jackpot state lottery game not to directly compete with a multi-jurisdictional lottery until the Florida Lottery joined Powerball on January 4, 2009.
As with all Florida Lottery games, the minimum age to play is 18.
As of September 8, 2009 a total of 963 tickets have matched 6-of-6 in Florida Lotto to win or share the jackpot. Of these, 27 expired; never being claimed by ticketholders.
Notable Winners
- Largest Florida Lotto jackpot: 6 tickets shared $106.5 million on September 15, 1990 (The Lottery initially advertised this jackpot at $75,000,000 but raised it thrice; the final estimate at $100 million)[1]
- Largest Single Winner: Whispering Pines Lottery Trust of New Port Richey won $81.6 million on March 29, 2000. They elected to receive the lump sum of $38,777,403.46, which is the largest one-time payout the Florida Lottery has made to date.
- First Jackpot: Josie Morre of Port Charlotte won $14,080,000 on May 28, 1988.[1]
- Largest Unclaimed Prize: Single ticket sold in North Bay Village won $53,700,000 on March 12, 2003 but never was claimed.[1]
- Largest Lotto Plus Jackpot: Richard Cormier won $18,000,000 for a $8,000,000 jackpot; he bought a $2 Lotto Plus ticket for the drawing of April 18, 2009. Mr. Cormier elected to be paid his winnings in a lump sum and was awarded $11,025,708.00.[1]
- Most Simultaneous Jackpot winners in single draw: 3 occurrences where 9 tickets each shared the jackpot: June 24, 1989; November 23, 1991; and July 31, 1993. In the 1991 occurrence, one player claimed 2 of the 9 winning tickets.[1]
- Smallest Jackpot Prize: $399,600 on June 24, 1989. Nine tickets (see above) shared a jackpot of $3.6 million (cash value). Due to the low jackpot shares, each winner was given a lump sum rather than the annuity value (the only way before 1998 a winner could receive their jackpot share in lump sum.)[1]
- Most winning tickets by a single person in a single drawing: Regino Musa claimed 3 of 7 winning shares for the February 5, 2005 drawing. Interestingly, Musa's winning tickets were 3 of 5 winning tickets sold by one retailer but the remaining 2 were never claimed and expired.[1]
- Abraham Shakespeare, winner of a 2006 jackpot, found buried under a concrete slab in 2010[2]
Game's beginning (1988-1993)
The first tickets were sold on Friday, April 29, 1988, and the first drawing took place Saturday, May 7, 1988.[3]
The game was originally played by selecting six numbers from a field a 49. Each play cost USD$1, and drawings were held Saturday nights at 11:00 P.M. EST. Players would win prizes by matching 3 or more numbers on their ticket to the 6 selected on Saturday night. If they matched all six, they would win a jackpot that was paid in 20 equal yearly installments (the cash option was not available until 1998.)
Florida Lotto is a pari-mutuel game, where prizes are based on the total number of tickets sold, and the number of winners for each prize level. Originally, 25% of all ticket sales accumulated in the jackpot prize pool. If no ticket were to win the top prize pool for a drawing that prize pool would roll over to the next week’s jackpot prize pool.
Before each drawing the Florida Lottery would estimate and advertise a jackpot based on expected ticket sales. The accumulated prize pool for the jackpot represented the current value of the 20-payment yearly annuity that would be awarded to the winner(s). The Lottery then advertised the total stream of payments such annuity would yield as the jackpot. In weeks where sales figures exceed expectations the Lottery would revise the estimated jackpot figures.
The game's original prize structure:
| Matches | Avg. Prize | % Of Sales | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 out of 6 | Jackpot | 25.0% + rollover | 1:13,983,816 |
| 5 out of 6 | $3,523.00 | 6.50% | 1:54,200.8 |
| 4 out of 6 | $98.00 | 9.50% | 1:1,032.4 |
| 3 out of 6 | $5.00 | 9.00% | 1:56.7 |
| Overall odds of winning : 1 in 53.655 | |||
Beginning April 3, 1990, players could elect to use Quick Pick to have the lottery terminal select their numbers on their behalf.[3]
Same game, bigger advertised jackpots (1993-1999)
On February 6, 1993, the prize structure was revamped to increase the percentage of sales toward the jackpot pool, allowing for a minimum jackpot of USD$6 million.
The new structure looked like this:
| Matches | Avg. Prize | % Of Sales | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 out of 6 | Jackpot | 33.50% + rollover | 1:13,983,816 |
| 5 out of 6 | $1,355.00 | 2.50% | 1:54,200.8 |
| 4 out of 6 | $62.00 | 6.00% | 1:1,032.4 |
| 3 out of 6 | $4.50 | 8.00% | 1:56.7 |
| Overall odds of winning : 1 in 53.655 | |||
The game would go unchanged until October 21, 1998 when the Florida Lottery began allowing winners to elect to receive their jackpot as a lump sum in lieu of the 20-payment annuity. In order to receive the lump sum winners must make the election within 60 days of the drawing. Players electing the lump sum would receive their share of the cash in the jackpot pool. The cash value option was elected for the first time for the October 24, 1998 drawing, as two players split a $12,780,000 (annuitized) jackpot. The cash in the jackpot pool for that drawing was $8,238,609.84. One player chose the 20 annual payments of $319,500 each. Jay Jasperson and Kay Stephens of Tampa became the first jackpot winners to elect to take a lump sum payment and received $4,119,304.92.[4]
On November 15, 1998 the Lottery increased the length of the annuity option to 30 annual payments.[3] This in effect allowed the lottery to artificially increase their advertised jackpot amounts without actually increasing the cash in the jackpot pool. The then-new cash option remained. On November 28, 1998 two players split the $16,800,000 jackpot and the jackpot cash pool that week was $8,749,944.72. One player elected to receive a lump sum of $4,374,972.36, while the Moen Family Partnership from Jupiter became the first to select the 30-payment annuity, receiving $280,000 per year.[4] Despite the nearly identical jackpot cash pools as the October 21, 1998 drawing, the change to the annuity stream allowed the Lottery to announce a jackpot prize of nearly $4 million more.
On January 9, 1999, the Lottery began guaranteeing the estimated jackpot. When sales would otherwise create a jackpot below the estimate, the Lottery would supplement the prize to guarantee the 30-payment annuity. If the jackpot pool exceeds the estimated amount, then the player would receive the larger annuity stream if the annuity is chosen.[1]
6/53 begins (1999-present)
On October 24, 1999 the most significant change to Florida Lotto occurred.[3] Four numbers were added to the field to make a total of 53 numbers for players to choose from, increasing the difficulty to win the jackpot. A second weekly drawing, on Wednesday nights was also added, the first of which was October 27, 1999. The first Wednesday drawing included the new highest number, 53. Because of the twice-weekly drawings, the minimum jackpot was reduced to $3 million.
The current prize structure looks like this:[5]
| Matches | Avg. Base Prize | % Of Sales | Lotto Xtra Bonus | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 out of 6 | Jackpot ($2 mil starting Jackpot) | 31.75% + rollover | No Bonus | 1:22,957,480 |
| 5 out of 6 | $5,000.00 | 6.15% | 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x | 1:81,409.50 |
| 4 out of 6 | $70.00 | 5.00% | 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x | 1:1,415.82 |
| 3 out of 6 | $5.00 (min guaranteed) | 7.10% | 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x
(5x guaranteed for limited time) |
1:70.79 |
| 2 out of 6 | Not a winner | N/A | Free Xtra Ticket | 1:8.58 |
| Overall odds of winning : 1 in 67.36
Overall odds of Lotto Xtra ticket winning : 1 in 7.61 Lotto Xtra Multiplier Odds: 1:4 | ||||
Starting with the October 14, 2009 drawing the 3 of 6 prize is guaranteed not to be less than $5.00.[6] Previously the guaranteed minimum was $3.50.
On January 19, 2008 the Lottery changed its advertised jackpot policy again. The Lottery announced that all jackpot amounts are guaranteed. The annuity jackpot now is the guaranteed amount announced by the Lottery in advance of the drawing. The lump sum option is fixed at the current value required to fund the declared Jackpot annuity based on the interest rate in effect on the date of the Lotto drawing (or prior business day). If sales exceed Lottery expectations, the Lottery would no longer award the player the additional prize amounts and keep the surplus in a special prize pool.[1] Shortages are funded from any unclaimed prizes.[6]
Lotto Plus and the Powerball effect (2008-2009)
On March 2, 2008, a new Lotto Plus feature was added to the game. Players are now able to increase the Jackpot prize by making a special wager of either $2 or $3. If a player increases their ticket cost to $2, matching all six numbers wins USD$10 million (annuitized) in addition to the advertised jackpot. If the wager is increased to $3, a player matching all six wins an additional USD$15 million over the $2 ticket prize for a total of USD$25 million (annuitized) in addition to the advertised jackpot. The amounts wagered for Lotto Plus do not accumulate into a prize pool and do no roll over in weeks where no jackpot is won or where none of the winning tickets has elected Lotto Plus. Unlike the base Lotto game which is pari-mutuel, the bonus amount is also not based on ticket sales but instead is a fixed bonus amount. The advertised amounts of $10 million and $25 million also are the amounts of the total annuitized payment stream the winner would receive or share. Players electing the lump sum payment receive the present value of their share of the bonus prize along with the current value of the guaranteed jackpot base prize. If multiple tickets should win in a drawing and had chosen the Plus option, the bonus money is shared proportionally across the winning tickets with $2 and/or $3 Lotto Plus options. Since the funds for Lotto Plus do not accumulate in a prize pool, the bonus money is pure profit to the Lottery when the bonus is not won, and the Lottery would potentially lose money if the bonus were won more frequently than statistically expected.
On January 4, 2009 the Florida Lottery began selling Powerball tickets, affecting sales of Florida Lotto. The latter's drawings were moved to 11:15PM EST beginning January 7 to make room for the Powerball drawing at 10:59PM EST. Sales of Florida Lotto were impacted, will some rollovers increasing by only $2 million per drawing[1]. On April 18, 2009 the Florida lottery jackpot has rolled over 18 times yet the Jackpot was only $50,000,000.
Along with the larger jackpots for PowerBall, the "PowerPlay" option for the game directly competed for Lotto Plus dollars. Since the Lotto Plus feature offered no consolidation prize for matching 3, 4, or 5 numbers it was difficult to compete with "PowerPlay" which offered prize incentives for all Powerball prize levels but the jackpot. Lotto Plus never was popular. Due to poor sales of Lotto Plus the Florida Lottery discontined the option on October 10, 2009[7]. Advanced play tickets with the Lotto Plus option will continue to qualify for the enhanced jackpot for drawings held after October 10 until the advance play tickets have run their course. Since players can advance play up to 52 drawings, the last Florida Lottery drawing that will potentially offer an enhanced jackpot is Wednesday April 7, 2010. None of the Lotto Plus tickets sold for drawings after the discontinuation of sales of Lotto Plus were jackpot winners.
The Lotto Plus bonus was only won only twice during the run; both were $2 tickets.
Lotto Xtra (2009-)
On October 11, 2009 at 6:00 a.m. the Florida Lottery began sales of Lotto Xtra. The first drawing offering the enhanced prizes was held on Wednesday, October 14, 2009.[8] This feature is similar to the Powerball PowerPlay option where players can elect to add $1 to their ticket price and multiply their non-jackpot winnings by either 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x. The odds for each multiplier for each drawing are 1:4. Justlike the Powerball, the multiplier for Xtra is selected by computer and shown on a monitor while the regular Lotto numbers are drawn by machine. Additionally, Lotto tickets purchased with Lotto Xtra will win a free play with Lotto Xtra for a 2-of-6 match.
To promote the Lotto Xtra feature, the Florida Lottery guaranteed that Lotto Xtra tickets matching 3 of 6 will pay the 5x multiplier through December 27, 2009. The Lottery has extended the promotion past the December 27 date and no end date for this promotion has been set.
Also starting with the October 14, 2009 drawing, there was a slight rule change increasing the minimum guaranteed prize for 3 of 6 to $5.00 from $3.50.
On February, 14 2010 the Lotto rules changed once again to reduce the guaranteed minimum Lottery prize from $3 million to $2 million.
See also
External links
- Florida Lottery site
- Florida Lotto information site
- Official Florida Lotto Rules PDF file
- How to calculate the odds PDF file
- Florida Lotto History PDF file
- Lotto Playslip
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Jackpot Estimates" (PDF). Retrieved September 8, 2009.
- ^ "Body of lottery winner found buried in Florida". BBC News. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d http://www.flalottery.com/inet/downloads/onlinegamesinfo.pdf
- ^ a b http://floridalottery.com/inet/downloads/lottowinners.pdf
- ^ http://floridalottery.com/inet/lottoMain.do
- ^ a b http://www.flalottery.com/inet/downloads/lottogamerules.pdf
- ^ http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_lottery/2009/09/official-details-on-the-launch-of-lotto-xtra.html
- ^ http://floridalottery.com/inet/currentNewsContent.do?searchID=196365