Hot Lotto
Encyclopedia
Hot Lotto is administered by the U.S.' Multi-State Lottery Association
(MUSL), which also operates the Powerball
game. Hot Lotto is available in some of the 33 MUSL jurisdictions; Maine is the latest to join, in October 2009. The first drawing was on April 10, 2002 as part of MUSL celebrating the 10th anniversary of Powerball. Hot Lotto gives smaller lotteries an opportunity to create the "middle-sized" jackpots found in jurisdictions with large populations, such as in California and Texas.
Hot Lotto drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday, the same nights as Powerball, at MUSL's headquarters in Urbandale
, Iowa
. Normally, the Hot Lotto drawing is immediately following the 9:59 p.m. Central Time Powerball drawing. Unlike Powerball, the Hot Lotto drawings are not televised, and are drawn with a random number generator (RNG), instead of a rubber ball/gravity mix or air mix and ping-pong ball machine. (Hot Lotto drawings had been televised until early 2006. While Powerball drawings moved to Florida in 2009 with the Florida Lottery
joining that game, the Hot Lotto drawings remain in Iowa
.)
The player wins as follows:
Overall odds of winning are 1:16.
The Hot Ball cannot "cross over" to be used to match any of the five regular numbers or vice versa.
, except a lower-tier prize is tripled (if the option was chosen for that game) rather than PowerPlay's variable multiplier. (In North Dakota
, the option is known as Triple Sizzler).
MUSL's use of the word Sizzler resulted in the Sizzler
steakhouse chain threatening to sue. The Idaho Lottery waited until after the issue was settled before offering the tripler.
system; except under special circumstances, only the jackpot pool (among the prize categories) is shared among multiple winners.
The minimum jackpot prize is $1 million annuity disbursed in 25 equal payments over 24 years. If there is no selection matching all five correct numbers and the "Hot Ball", the jackpot prize pool is rolled over into the following drawing, increasing by at least $50,000 each time. (When Hot Lotto began, the minimum rollover was $100,000; it was reduced later in 2002.)
Jackpot winners have the option of receiving the annuity prize (mentioned above), or the present-day cash value (see below.) The latter is the then-current value of the annuity, which is 55% to 65% of the annuity value depending on prevailing interest rates. In general, Hot Lotto members give jackpot winners time in which to choose either cash or the annuity; the usual choice is cash (a jackpot ticket defaults to annuity if the ticket holder(s) fail to make the choice within the 60 days, except in Idaho (30 days); furthermore, unlike other Hot Lotto Group members, Idaho "starts the clock" with the drawing, rather than when the ticket is claimed.) Depending on where a Hot Lotto ticket is purchased, winners (jackpot or otherwise) have from 90 days to 1 year in which to claim their prize (see below).
Joined since the game started:
The minimum age to purchase a Hot Lotto ticket is 18, except in Iowa, where it is 21.
Subscription play for Hot Lotto is available only within North Dakota. However, all jurisdictions offering Hot Lotto allow advance play; the number of draws varies by member. New Hampshire also is considering selling Hot Lotto subscriptions.
Since Hot Lotto is a multi-jurisdictional game, a jackpot winner selecting "cash option" does not necessarily collect their prize in lump sum
. This is because each of the 15 members hold on to the accumulating jackpot money until after the jackpot is won. A cash option winner first receives a check representing the cash in the jackpot pool accumulated from the winning MUSL member; then a second check for the remainder of the cash value, for the funds accumulated from the jackpot pool from each of the other lotteries.
The District of Columbia, then Idaho, added the Sizzler option after it became available in January 2008.
Despite the 2010 cross-selling expansion of Mega Millions and Powerball, none of the 12 original Mega Millions members have committed to Hot Lotto.
Multi-State Lottery Association
The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 33 member lotteries MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, including Powerball, Mega Millions), video lottery, and instant ...
(MUSL), which also operates the Powerball
Powerball
Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...
game. Hot Lotto is available in some of the 33 MUSL jurisdictions; Maine is the latest to join, in October 2009. The first drawing was on April 10, 2002 as part of MUSL celebrating the 10th anniversary of Powerball. Hot Lotto gives smaller lotteries an opportunity to create the "middle-sized" jackpots found in jurisdictions with large populations, such as in California and Texas.
Hot Lotto drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday, the same nights as Powerball, at MUSL's headquarters in Urbandale
West Des Moines, Iowa
West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 46,403; a special census taken in the spring of 2005 counted 51,744 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 53,889 residents lived there in...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Normally, the Hot Lotto drawing is immediately following the 9:59 p.m. Central Time Powerball drawing. Unlike Powerball, the Hot Lotto drawings are not televised, and are drawn with a random number generator (RNG), instead of a rubber ball/gravity mix or air mix and ping-pong ball machine. (Hot Lotto drawings had been televised until early 2006. While Powerball drawings moved to Florida in 2009 with the Florida Lottery
Florida Lottery
The Florida Lottery is a government-run organization in Florida, USA. With numerous on-line and scratch-off games available, players have a wide variety of prize levels to choose from. Since it began, the Florida Lottery has continued to add variety to its portfolio of games...
joining that game, the Hot Lotto drawings remain in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.)
Playing the game
To participate, a player pays $1 and picks five numbers from 1-39, plus one additional number (the “Hot Ball”) from 1-19 drawn from a second, separate pool, or asks for terminal-selected numbers, known by some lotteries as "quick-picks", for the five white numbers, the "Hot Ball", or all six. (The "Hot Ball" in any game, on a ticket and/or actually drawn, can be a duplicate of one of the five "white" numbers.) Players also have the option of wagering $2 on any set of five numbers and the Hot Ball, winning triple the normal amount for any prize except the jackpot; this is called "Sizzler".The player wins as follows:
| Matches | Payoff | with Sizzler | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 numbers plus Hot Ball (0+1) | $ 2 | $ 6 | 1: 39 |
| 1 number plus HB (1+1) | $ 3 | $ 9 | 1: 47 |
| 2 numbers plus HB (2+1) | $ 4 | $ 12 | 1: 183 |
| 3 numbers without HB (3+0) | $ 4 | $ 12 | 1: 108 |
| 3 numbers plus HB (3+1) | $ 50 | $ 150 | 1: 1,950 |
| 4 numbers without HB (4+0) | $ 50 | $ 150 | 1: 3,575 |
| 4 numbers plus HB (4+1) | $ 500 | $ 1,500 | 1: 64,349 |
| 5 numbers without HB (5+0) | $ 10,000 | $ 30,000 | 1: 607,744 |
| All 5 numbers plus HB (5+1) | Jackpot Progressive jackpot A progressive jackpot is a jackpot for a gaming machine where the value of the jackpot increases a small amount for every game played... |
N/A | 1: 10,939,383 |
Overall odds of winning are 1:16.
The Hot Ball cannot "cross over" to be used to match any of the five regular numbers or vice versa.
"Sizzler"
The Sizzler option for non-jackpot prizes began in January 2008. The Sizzler is similar to Powerball's PowerPlayPowerplay
"Power play" is a sporting term used in various games.*In ice hockey, a team is said to be on a power play when at least one opposing player is serving a penalty, and the team has a numerical advantage on the ice...
, except a lower-tier prize is tripled (if the option was chosen for that game) rather than PowerPlay's variable multiplier. (In North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, the option is known as Triple Sizzler).
MUSL's use of the word Sizzler resulted in the Sizzler
Sizzler
Sizzler is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Culver City, California. The chain serves steak, seafood, and salad , as well as similar items.-History:...
steakhouse chain threatening to sue. The Idaho Lottery waited until after the issue was settled before offering the tripler.
Prize payouts
Prizes are determined by a modified parimutuelParimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
system; except under special circumstances, only the jackpot pool (among the prize categories) is shared among multiple winners.
The minimum jackpot prize is $1 million annuity disbursed in 25 equal payments over 24 years. If there is no selection matching all five correct numbers and the "Hot Ball", the jackpot prize pool is rolled over into the following drawing, increasing by at least $50,000 each time. (When Hot Lotto began, the minimum rollover was $100,000; it was reduced later in 2002.)
Jackpot winners have the option of receiving the annuity prize (mentioned above), or the present-day cash value (see below.) The latter is the then-current value of the annuity, which is 55% to 65% of the annuity value depending on prevailing interest rates. In general, Hot Lotto members give jackpot winners time in which to choose either cash or the annuity; the usual choice is cash (a jackpot ticket defaults to annuity if the ticket holder(s) fail to make the choice within the 60 days, except in Idaho (30 days); furthermore, unlike other Hot Lotto Group members, Idaho "starts the clock" with the drawing, rather than when the ticket is claimed.) Depending on where a Hot Lotto ticket is purchased, winners (jackpot or otherwise) have from 90 days to 1 year in which to claim their prize (see below).
Hot Lotto participants
Original members (game began in April 2002):- IowaIowa LotteryThe Iowa Lottery is run by the government of Iowa. It is a charter member of, and home to, the Multi-State Lottery Association , which administers its games on behalf of the member lotteries...
- MinnesotaMinnesota State LotteryThe Minnesota Lottery is the official lottery association in Minnesota. The minimum age to purchase Minnesota Lottery tickets is 18.As a result of the 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown, sales of Minnesota Lottery tickets were suspended on July 1, 2011...
- MontanaMontana LotteryThe Montana Lottery is run by the government of Montana. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . The Montana Lottery has a large number of games, such as scratch tickets, Powerball, Hot Lotto, Wild Card 2, and Montana Cash....
- New HampshireNew Hampshire LotteryBegun in 1964, the New Hampshire Lottery is the oldest US mainland-based lottery. New Hampshire's games include Mega Millions, Powerball, Hot Lotto, and numerous scratch tickets.New Hampshire is part of the Multi-State Lottery Association , which it joined in 1995...
- South DakotaSouth Dakota LotteryThe South Dakota Lottery is run by the government of South Dakota. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . The Lottery is headquartered in Pierre; it is a self-funded endeavor...
- West VirginiaWest Virginia LotteryThe West Virginia Lottery is run by the government of West Virginia. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . It offers games such as Powerball, Mega Millions, and scratch tickets...
Joined since the game started:
- District of ColumbiaD.C. LotteryThe D.C. Lottery is run by the city of Washington, the US capital. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . Games offered include Powerball, DC Daily 6, DC-5, DC-4, Keno, Mega Millions and numerous scratch tickets.The D.C. Lottery began in 1982...
(April 2004) - North DakotaNorth Dakota LotteryThe North Dakota Lottery is run by the government of North Dakota. The Lottery began in 2004. It is unique among US lotteries in that it is allowed only to offer multi-jurisdictional games, i.e., North Dakota-only games cannot be sold. As a result, all of its games are part of the Multi-State...
(June 2004) - KansasKansas LotteryThe Kansas Lottery is run by the government of Kansas. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association .In November 1986, voters approved a constitutional amendment authorizing the creation of a government-run lottery. The Kansas Legislature passed the "Kansas Lottery Act" in 1987,...
(March 2006) - New MexicoNew Mexico LotteryThe New Mexico Lottery is run by the government of New Mexico. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . Its games include Mega Millions, Powerball, Pick3, and Roadrunner Cash. ....
(November 2006) - IdahoIdaho LotteryThe Idaho Lottery, which began on July 19, 1989, is run by the government of Idaho. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association...
(October 2007) - OklahomaOklahoma LotteryThe Oklahoma Lottery, which began on October 12, 2005, is operated by the government of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Lottery is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association .As with most US lotteries, the minimum age to purchase a ticket is 18.-History:...
(January 3, 2008) - DelawareDelaware LotteryThe Delaware Lottery is run by the government of Delaware. Unlike most US lotteries, Delaware offers video lottery; its other games include Mega Millions, Powerball, Cash 5, Play 3, and Play 4....
(January 28, 2008) - VermontVermont LotteryThe Vermont Lottery began fiscal operations as an enterprise fund in October 1977, following a 1976 referendum, and the enactment of Public Act No. 82 by the 1977 General Assembly. It is run by the Vermont Lottery Commission headquartered in Berlin...
(July 2009) - MaineMaine LotteryThe Maine Lottery is run by the government of Maine. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association , whose flagship game is Powerball....
(October 2009)
The minimum age to purchase a Hot Lotto ticket is 18, except in Iowa, where it is 21.
Subscription play for Hot Lotto is available only within North Dakota. However, all jurisdictions offering Hot Lotto allow advance play; the number of draws varies by member. New Hampshire also is considering selling Hot Lotto subscriptions.
Since Hot Lotto is a multi-jurisdictional game, a jackpot winner selecting "cash option" does not necessarily collect their prize in lump sum
Lump sum
A lump sum is a single payment of money, as opposed to a series of payments made over time .The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development distinguishes between "price analysis" and "cost analysis" by whether the decision maker compares lump sum amounts, or subjects contract prices...
. This is because each of the 15 members hold on to the accumulating jackpot money until after the jackpot is won. A cash option winner first receives a check representing the cash in the jackpot pool accumulated from the winning MUSL member; then a second check for the remainder of the cash value, for the funds accumulated from the jackpot pool from each of the other lotteries.
The District of Columbia, then Idaho, added the Sizzler option after it became available in January 2008.
Despite the 2010 cross-selling expansion of Mega Millions and Powerball, none of the 12 original Mega Millions members have committed to Hot Lotto.