Lottery retailers seen as part of
state budget solution

by Acting Commissioner Jim Kipp

At the request of Michigan Lottery Daily 3 & 4 EXTRA players, on February 4, 2003, the Lottery changed the prize payout structure of the Daily 3 & 4 EXTRA game.

When a player purchases a Daily 3 or 4 ticket, he or she simply pays an additional dollar for an EXTRA play. The EXTRA numbers are chosen at random and printed at the bottom of the player’s wager. Players then win instant cash prizes by matching the EXTRA numbers with their regular Daily 3 or 4 number combination.

In late 2002, the Lottery conducted a survey of Daily 3 and 4 EXTRA players to help determine ways to improve the game. The response was tremendous—players said they want bigger prizes more often. In response, we have changed the EXTRA prize structure so that every winning ticket pays out a $50 prize. As a result, the odds of winning a $50 prize are much easier—1 in 80, versus 1 in 1,970 in the old version of the game.

To accommodate the new prize structure, the way EXTRA tickets will win also changed. Each winning ticket only matches in one of the Daily 3 or 4 columns. There will no longer be any multiple-column matches. Also, all prize amounts printed under each column will read $50, whether it is a match or not.

Be sure to tell your Daily 3 and 4 players about the new and improved EXTRA game.

State of the State
When Governor Jennifer Granholm delivered the annual State of the State address on February 5, she touched on many important issues affecting Michigan’s citizens at this time. One of those issues is education. Because Michigan law requires that the state’s school budget be balanced, the law recently forced a $127 million cut in school aid.

“A cut to education is a cut to the heart—to this heart,” Granholm said in her State of the State address. “It was painful, even if mandated by law.”

Granholm is working with all areas of state government to ensure that the state has a balanced budget. In her address she said, “You are all invited to be a part of the solution.”

As a Michigan Lottery retailer, you are aware that all of the Lottery’s net revenue is transferred directly to the state School Aid Fund, which supports K-12 public education in this state. In the past 30 years, the Lottery has transferred over $11 billion to the state School Aid Fund.

The Michigan Lottery is in a unique situation in state government, as our mission is to sell tickets in an effort to generate as much money as possible for the state School Aid Fund. That mission would be impossible to accomplish without the work you do every day as dedicated Lottery retailers.

The assistance you provide players in learning about new games and Lottery promotions and “asking for the sale” generates over $1.6 billion in Lottery ticket sales each year, which equated to an over $613 million contribution to the state School Aid Fund in fiscal year 2002.

In fiscal 2003, the Lottery fully expects the state School Aid Fund contribution to rise. Drawings were expanded to seven days a week for many games and two new games—Change Play and WINFALL—have quickly become player favorites, both increasing ticket sales.

I want to thank you for all of your hard work and encourage you to continue “asking for the sale.” The work you do as Lottery retailers not only allows players to win great cash prizes, it also helps generate much-needed funds that help educate the children of Michigan. You should be proud of the work you do and to “be part of the solution” to the state’s current budget crisis.

Winfall
WINFALL made its debut on Sunday, January 19, 2003, and created great player excitement in just a few short days.

In the first five drawings alone, more than 114,000 players won great cash prizes. There were no winning tickets that correctly matched all six winning numbers to win the $5-million jackpots advertised for each drawing, so the money from those jackpots rolled down to the match five, four and three level winners each night.

We have received many positive comments on the game from players across the state, and it’s quickly becoming a player favorite. I encourage you to prominently display your point-of-sale materials for this game and be sure to “ask for the sale.”

$2,000,000 Celebration
A lucky 48-year-old Plainwell man became Michigan’s newest multi-millionaire, thanks to the “$2,000,000 Celebration” instant game grand-prize drawing conducted on Friday, January 31, at the Michigan Library and Historical Center in Lansing.

The top-prize winning ticket was drawn from a pool of 1,572 players who had previously claimed $1,000 prizes in the “$2,000,000 Celebration” instant game. The grand-prize winner purchased the $1,000 winning ticket that automatically entered him into the grand-prize drawing at Meijer #191 in Plainwell.

The “$2,000,000 Celebration” game is different from other Michigan Lottery instant games that have been offered in the past because the $2,000,000 top prize was awarded through a drawing instead of being offered as an instant scratch-off prize.

Due to the positive player response to this type of game, the Lottery will be introducing another grand-prize drawing instant ticket in April 2003.

Free Rolldown
Beginning on March 23, 2003, “Buy One, Get One Free” Michigan Rolldown coupons will be inserted into select home-delivered newspapers across the state in an effort to boost ticket sales.

Each coupon is good for one free Michigan Rolldown “easy pick” ticket with the purchase of an “easy pick” wager.

Both wagers will be eligible for the next available drawing. The coupons will expire on April 20, 2003.

New Instants
In March, the Lottery will debut five new instant games. The $1 “Triple Tac Toe,” with a top prize of $3,333, and the $5 “Bring Home The Bucks,” with a top prize of $200,000, will both hit counters on March 6.

On March 13, the $1 “Roll ‘Em” instant game debuts, offering a top prize of $7,000. The $2 “Magic Money,” with more than 20 top prizes of $20,000, goes on sale on March 20.

Finally, the $10 “Extreme Green” ticket, which offers a $500,000 top prize, will be available on March 27.

Return to March Michigan Retailer Page one • MRA home