2008 Press Releases
January 28, 2008
DELAWARE GETS FIRED UP OVER NEW LOTTERY GAME
Hot Lotto® debuts with million-dollar jackpots
Dover, DE -- The Delaware Lottery today introduced HOT LOTTO®, a
new Lotto-style game with guaranteed estimated annuity jackpots of at
least $1 million. Already popular in 12 states and the District of Columbia,
tickets sales for the $1 game begin today across the First State, and
the first drawing will be held Jan. 30. The estimated annuity jackpot
for the Jan. 30 drawing is $4.7 million.
While similar to Powerball® and Multi-Win Lotto, HOT LOTTO® players
select five white ball numbers from 1 to 39 and one orange Hot Ball number
from 1 to 19. A $1 Sizzler® option (like the Powerball® Power Play)
gives gamers a chance to automatically triple lower-tier prizes.
"Delaware, like many smaller states, has a demand for a Lotto game
on par with the jackpots offered by larger state lotteries," said
Wayne Lemons, Delaware Lottery Director. "We've heard the call for
a game with larger top-prizes than Multi-Win Lotto and better odds than
Powerball®. HOT LOTTO® fills this niche and offers players a better
shot to take home estimated annuity prizes in the $1 million to $20 million
range."
Odds of winning the HOT LOTTO® jackpot are one in nearly 11 million,
while the odds of winning the top Powerball® prize are one in 146
million. Drawings for the multi-state game are held twice a week on Wednesday
and Saturday nights. Players can purchase a multi-draw ticket for up to
10 draws at a time. Jackpots begin at an estimated annuity of $1 million
and increase by at least $50,000 per drawing until a winning number is
drawn.
To win the jackpot, players must match all five numbers and the Hot Ball.
Matching five numbers but not the Hot Ball wins $10,000 and matching four
numbers and the Hot Ball wins $500. Any time a player matches the Hot
Ball they win $2 with other prizes ranging between $3 and $50. Player
instructions and overall odds are available at www.delottery.com.
The jackpot prize can be paid out either as a 24 year, 25-payment annuity,
or as a single lump sum in cash. The two biggest jackpots for HOT LOTTO®
were both in 2007, one worth $19.9 million in January and another worth
$12.9 million in July.
Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed
more than $2.6 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed
state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a
variety of games: HOT LOTTO®, POWERBALL®, MULTI-WIN LOTTO, PLAY
3, PLAY 4, and assorted Instant Games.
Winner Privacy is our Policy.
The Delaware Lottery only publishes winner names with their consent.
