Lotto America, the Multi-State Lottery Association’s new game, started Sunday, November 12 and the first drawing was held Wednesday, November 15. The initial advertised jackpot for the first drawing was million. Drawings will be held Wednesday and Saturday nights after 11 p.m. Eastern Time in Tallahassee, Florida, and will not be televised.
Lotto America, Powerball’s original name, will replace Hot Lotto, and unlike that controversial game, will use real lottery ball drawings. No Grand Prize winner came forward in the final Hot Lotto drawing, so its $15 million jackpot was rolled into Lotto America.
Iowa Lottery Chief Executive Officer Terry Rich said, “As we were researching new game possibilities there was one name that kept coming up, so we decided to go vintage. After 25 years, Lotto America is making a comeback, with new features for today’s players.”
The game will offer options at a low $1 price point and will feature jackpots starting at $2 million. Eight other lower-tier prizes range from $2 to $20,000, and the All Star Bonus, which costs another $1, can multiply non-jackpot prizes by up to five times. New Mexico Lottery Chief Executive Officer David Barden noted, “Players are looking for something new with exciting prizes. This new game offers a $2 million starting jackpot, at a ticket cost of just a buck. Mega Millions moved to $2 on October 28th, so the $1 Lotto America game fills the much-welcomed $1 price point.”
Like Powerball, Lotto America numbers will be selected from two separate pools. Players will choose five numbers from a pool of 52 and select the “Lotto America Star Ball” number from a pool of 10. Players who match all six numbers selected in a drawing will win the game’s jackpot. The odds of winning the Lotto America jackpot will be 1 in 26 million, compared to 1 in 292.2 million for winning the Powerball jackpot and 1 in 302.6 million for the newly designed Mega Millions jackpot. Jackpot winners will have the option to be paid in 30 annuitized payments over 29 years or take a one-time, lump-sum cash payment.
Lotto America is offered by state lotteries in Delaware, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Dakota and West Virginia. The New Hampshire Lottery will start offering the game in January 2018.
