The Arkansas Riches Hot Spot has cooled off finally, now the amount of $1,000 prizes are in line with how many should be gone out of the game. So the card itself goes to a HOLD recommendation. Also, yesterday when I said that a few top prizes should start shedding soon? The $2 Crazy 8s card shed one of its top $18,888 prizes yesterday. Congratulations to whoever scratched that! I am still not sold on that card however, remain a recommended IGNORE.
Next week I will be doing an exhaustive treatise on Powerball odds, stick around for that.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
POTENTIALLY BIG NEWS!
When news flashed across my desk some weeks ago, about POWERBALL and MEGA MILLIONS cross selling tickets in certain states, I paid it little heed. Oh I was busy, or I deemed it not that important, or whatever. Well (and I truly hope the cat isn't out of the bag prematurely on this) I have word that not only will Arkansas start selling POWERBALL tickets on Oct. 31st, but also will start selling MEGA MILLIONS tickets on January 31st of next year...
Since no one has flashed this anywhere else I will put this into the pile on "unconfirmed static" out there in the news waves (along with the rumor of a $20 scratcher that will release with a top prize of a cool Million, by the end of the year). But if and when it IS confirmed, you heard it here first!
I like this, because the competition for your dollars is going to be extreme! Stay tuned....
Since no one has flashed this anywhere else I will put this into the pile on "unconfirmed static" out there in the news waves (along with the rumor of a $20 scratcher that will release with a top prize of a cool Million, by the end of the year). But if and when it IS confirmed, you heard it here first!
I like this, because the competition for your dollars is going to be extreme! Stay tuned....
10.22.09 Update: New scratchers named,
Man it has been awhile since ANY of the top prizes have hit on ANY of the scratcher cards in the lottery. Good luck when you buy your tickets in the next few days because we are due some big winners REAL soon. Especially the $5 $100,000 Cash Bonanza card. The top prize is getting plump when you compare the % of prizes remaining at the top tier with the % of prizes remaining overall. I hesitate to call any top prize a Hot Spot, but if it doesn't shed at least one $100,000 prize before next week, I might have to.
Meanwhile, as the new scratchers are just now getting settled into their acrylic counter prisons, the Arkansas Lottery has given us the tease on their webpage for scratcher release THREE. Including one scratcher that will make the $100,000 top prize in Cash Bonanza seem, well, small!
They are:
Meanwhile, as the new scratchers are just now getting settled into their acrylic counter prisons, the Arkansas Lottery has given us the tease on their webpage for scratcher release THREE. Including one scratcher that will make the $100,000 top prize in Cash Bonanza seem, well, small!
They are:
- Candy Cane Cash (Aw, it's a Christmas theme!) looks to be a $1 ticket
- Stocking Stuffer (See the theme here?) looks to be a $2 ticket
- $50,000 Holiday Cash (Like, I said, it's a theme!) Guessing it HAS to be a $5 ticket.
- $500,000 Jackpot (Jackpot INDEED! Half a million! I am guessing that this is the rumored $10 ticket)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
10.21.09 : A milestone, A winner, and a RECHARGE!
Sometime overnight, the Arkansas Lottery awarded it's 20 millionth dollar in prize money. As of my last number run the prize total stands at $20,496,437. That is $891,149 a day, or $26.91 a minute awarded. Are you getting a share of that? I did, cashed in a 10x winner ($20 winner off a $2 card) today. Which card? Money Madness. Which so far in my estimation is the best buy on the board right now.
The first scratcher that I ever recommended was the $2 Jumbo Bucks card. This card has the best odds among the $2 tier for prizes at the $26-$99 dollar level (what I call the gold level). Well good news! Overnight this card has been RECHARGED, it went from 5 out of 11 top prizes available to 16 out of 22 top prizes available! This card has become attractive again and which is why I have upgraded it in the left column. I have also downgraded further the $1 cards, waste of time people, stop buying them!
To clean up the news for today. Arkansas Riches ($2) Hot spot continues to glow. The new cards have awarded $309,453 so far, not bad for a late debut in the day. Finally, I have heard that by the end of the year, the Arkansas Lottery will introduce a $10 scratcher, information on that when it becomes available as always
The first scratcher that I ever recommended was the $2 Jumbo Bucks card. This card has the best odds among the $2 tier for prizes at the $26-$99 dollar level (what I call the gold level). Well good news! Overnight this card has been RECHARGED, it went from 5 out of 11 top prizes available to 16 out of 22 top prizes available! This card has become attractive again and which is why I have upgraded it in the left column. I have also downgraded further the $1 cards, waste of time people, stop buying them!
To clean up the news for today. Arkansas Riches ($2) Hot spot continues to glow. The new cards have awarded $309,453 so far, not bad for a late debut in the day. Finally, I have heard that by the end of the year, the Arkansas Lottery will introduce a $10 scratcher, information on that when it becomes available as always
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The case of the missing scratchers.
Alright folks, here's the deal. UPS is delivering the scratchers today to the various outposts hither and yon in this fair land of ours. SO as soon as the UPS driver gets to your favorite convenience store, tobacco outlet, bowling alley, what-have-you, the kind proprietor's of said business will log the tickets in and place them inside the acrylic boxes on the counter for you to purchase with hopefully your leisure money and not your rent money.
In short, patience folks, there are PLENTY of tickets to go around! Bringing me to this statement, my intrepid web of secret reporters have reported (as reporters do) that a few people around this state got all irate and ballistic when their store of choice did NOT have the new scratchers. (sigh) People, there is no reason to get all nuclear with the store owner if they don't have the new scratchers. It ain't their fault, they ain't holding out on you. Complain to the Lottery Commission! It was their idea to have these ship the day of, rather than the day before, the starting sale date. A dropped ball and bad PR there Herr Passiguale (sp?).
By the way, my preferred lottery retailer, (Metro in the Union Building, Downtown Little Rock, closest to the Claim Center) does not have them either, but the second they do arrive, they will be logged in and sold to the waiting public. Patience my peeps.
In short, patience folks, there are PLENTY of tickets to go around! Bringing me to this statement, my intrepid web of secret reporters have reported (as reporters do) that a few people around this state got all irate and ballistic when their store of choice did NOT have the new scratchers. (sigh) People, there is no reason to get all nuclear with the store owner if they don't have the new scratchers. It ain't their fault, they ain't holding out on you. Complain to the Lottery Commission! It was their idea to have these ship the day of, rather than the day before, the starting sale date. A dropped ball and bad PR there Herr Passiguale (sp?).
By the way, my preferred lottery retailer, (Metro in the Union Building, Downtown Little Rock, closest to the Claim Center) does not have them either, but the second they do arrive, they will be logged in and sold to the waiting public. Patience my peeps.
10.20.09 Update: Well someone is selling them...
Heard from Cabot, Hot Springs and Little Rock this morning reporting that they have not received the new scratchers as of yet. But someone out there somewhere is selling them.
As of 9:30 AM this morning
$1 Money Bags awarded $10 so far.
$2 Money Madnress awarded $10 so far.
$2 Crazy 8s awarded $30 so far.
$5 $uper 7s awarded $50 so far.
Meanwhile when I am wrong I am wrong, the HOT SPOT on the $2 Arkansas Riches card did not disappear over the night as I thought it would. It is still there, so upgrade on that card until it is gone.
As of 9:30 AM this morning
$1 Money Bags awarded $10 so far.
$2 Money Madnress awarded $10 so far.
$2 Crazy 8s awarded $30 so far.
$5 $uper 7s awarded $50 so far.
Meanwhile when I am wrong I am wrong, the HOT SPOT on the $2 Arkansas Riches card did not disappear over the night as I thought it would. It is still there, so upgrade on that card until it is gone.
Update 10.20.09: Do not funk with the lottery, IF you can find scratchers that is.
From the KATV Website...
A woman is arrested inside the Arkansas Lottery Headquarters Monday afternoon…and KATV’s cameras were there for the arrest. Police say Ruth Dennis, 56, tried to pass a fake winning ticket for the real thing at the claims center. Her friend, John Burch says he gave Dennis and her sister a ride from Camden with a $3,000 ticket.
Lottery director Ernie Passailaigue says the ticket was clearly not real. He says she used the three times lucky scratch tickets and allegedly cut and pasted different numbers to make it appear like a winner.
“There’s no cure for stupid,” Passailaigue said, “And that’s what’s going to happen. People are going to try and defraud the lottery and they’re going to go to jail.
Over
the past three weeks, Passailaigue says Monday’s incident was the first
“fake” ticket arrest in the state. He says the best way to win the
lottery is to play it.
Police say the woman has been charged with one count of fraud in relation to the lottery ticket.
Remember folks, it is ILLEGAL to attempt to defraud a state agency, whether it be the Department of Finance and Administration, the Tax Folks, The Farm Agencies, or the Lottery.
Meanwhile the website has not started rolling the numbers on the new scratchers as of yet. AND I have reports from my army of intrepid field reporters that there are some parts of the state that have not even received the tickets as of yet. AHEM, Yo lottery folks, it is WAY to early in this little experiment for you to be dropping the ball like this! I will have more after lunch.
A woman is arrested inside the Arkansas Lottery Headquarters Monday afternoon…and KATV’s cameras were there for the arrest. Police say Ruth Dennis, 56, tried to pass a fake winning ticket for the real thing at the claims center. Her friend, John Burch says he gave Dennis and her sister a ride from Camden with a $3,000 ticket.
Lottery director Ernie Passailaigue says the ticket was clearly not real. He says she used the three times lucky scratch tickets and allegedly cut and pasted different numbers to make it appear like a winner.
“There’s no cure for stupid,” Passailaigue said, “And that’s what’s going to happen. People are going to try and defraud the lottery and they’re going to go to jail.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The New Scratchers arrive Tuesday, here is what YOU need to know.
Four new scratchers are set to start selling tomorrow 10.20.09. They are Money Bags ($1), Money Madness ($2), Crazy 8's ($2), and $uper 7s ($5). Here is the breakdown and my recommendations on what to buy and what to avoid.
($1) Money Bags - Top Prize $2,000 - Average Prize $2.73
I have maintained from the beginning, that the $1 scratchers are, most of the time, the largest rip-offs on the board. This card is no exception. With a paltry top prize and a WORSE payout schedule than the current $1 3 Times Lucky, I can say it is best to not buy this card. With most $1 scratchers it is this way however. As I have said before, if you have just $1 to play the lottery, do not buy a $1 card, wait until you have another dollar and buy a $2 card.
Initial Recommendation : Don't Buy
($2) Crazy 8's - Top Prize $18,888 - Average Prize $4.84
I am not terribly impressed with this card. It comes out with the fewest top prizes of any of the $2 tier of cards. It has the worst Estimated Value of the $2 tier. It has the best back of the card odds (1 in 3.96 to win) but that is only half the story, (which is why you read this!). And the lowest Average Prize in the $2 tier. All in all there are just much better cards at this tier right now, not saying that this can't change in the future, but as of right now, just ignore this card.
Initial Recommendation : Ignore
($5) $uper 7's - Top Prize $77,777 - Average Prize $11.13
It has a lower top prize than the other $5 offering right now, BUT it has better odds throughout it's prize tiers. Also it has a TON of prizes available at its $40 tier. How much is a ton? Well the estimated odds to win the tier above it ($70) are 1 in 330, to win the tier below it ($30) 1 in 160, the estimated odds to win $40 is 1 in 96. All of these odds are better than the same tiers on the $100,000 Cash Bonanza scratcher. So if you are going to buy a $5 card right now, I say buy this one. This is NOT to say that the $100,000 Cash Bonanza card should be put out to pasture, but more on that below.
Initial Recommendation : Buy
($2) Money Madness - Top Prize $18,000 - Average Prize $5.38
This card makes me smile. It offers FIVE tiers of prizes that are at least $100. No card on the board does that right now, not even the $5 offerings. It's back of the card odds are the highest among the $2 tier, but I think the best assortment of prizes among any of these cards. If you ask me where my first money is landing on the new cards, I would say it is landing right here. It is the Cadillac of the $2 cards and should be on your buying list at the start. I will keep a close eye on this and all cards to see if this changes.
Initial Recommendation : Strong Buy
And the others?
($1) 3 Times Lucky - Remains a Hold. Again, save your money and get a $2 card.
($2) Arkansas Riches - Has been RECHARGED with more prizes, Still has the $1,000 hot spot as well. Remains a Mild Buy.
($2) Jumbo Bucks - I am keeping at a Hold right now. There are just better options out there.
($5) $100,000 Cash Bonanza - Has been RECHARGED, and in a big way. There are now *FIVE* $100,000 lightning strikes out there. Good Hunting, Upgrade to Mild Buy.
UPDATE - Since this morning the Arkansas Riches Hot Spot has hemorrhaged prizes left and right, I expect it to officially cool down by tomorrow morning, recommendation downgraded to HOLD.
UPDATE - Since this morning the Arkansas Riches Hot Spot has hemorrhaged prizes left and right, I expect it to officially cool down by tomorrow morning, recommendation downgraded to HOLD.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Late Weekend News, and what to expect from the new scratchers.
The Arkansas Lottery has recharged both the $100,000 Cash Bonanza scratchers and the Arkansas Riches scratchers. The $100,000 Cash Bonanza scratchers now have *FIVE* $100,000 golden tickets out there somewhere. Come back tomorrow where I will have all that news, PLUS I have run the numbers and have my recommendations about what new scratchers are worth it and which ones to avoid. Stay Tuned!
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