Oklahoma Lottery
The Oklahoma Lottery is an American lottery that is operated by the government of Oklahoma. The Lottery, which began operations on October 12, 2005, is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
Players must be 18 or older.
History
In 2003, the Oklahoma State Legislature approved a lottery proposal to go before a vote of the people. Two state questions (SQ 705 and SQ 706) were placed on the 2004 general election ballot in. Those questions, if approved, would set up a lottery commission and create a lottery trust fund. Both questions were approved.[1]
Lottery games
Drawing methods
Originally, Pick 3 and Cash 5 were drawn using traditional drawing machines and numbered balls (which the Lottery purchased from Missouri after the latter switched to computerized drawings. When Oklahoma joined Hot Lotto in 2008, that game had already switched to a random number generator (RNG). On September 20, 2009, Oklahoma changed its two in-house games to RNG drawings. Mega Millions (usually drawn in Georgia) and Powerball (drawn at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida) have always used traditional lottery machines and numbered balls, although both games' multipliers (see below) are drawn by RNG.
Claiming winnings
Pick 3 and Cash 5 winners must claim prizes within 90 days of the drawing date. Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, and Powerball winners must claim within 180 days of the drawing.
Current in-house drawings
Pick 3
Pick 3, drawn daily, began on November 10, 2005. Players must choose three digits from 0 through 9, either selected by the player, or selected by the lottery terminal ("Easy Pick".)
Cash 5
Oklahoma Cash 5 began on November 10, 2005, with drawings Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Saturday drawings were added on July 14, 2007. In July 2009, Cash 5 expanded to nightly drawings.
Hot Lotto (15 states and the District of Columbia)
Hot Lotto is drawn Wednesday and Saturday evenings. Players must select five "white ball" numbers from 1 through 39, and 1 of 19 orange "hot balls". Jackpots begin at $1 million, increasing by at least $50,000 if there is no top prize winner. Hot Lotto also has an option called Sizzler (similar to Powerball's "PowerPlay"), which triples non-jackpot prizes.
Current multi-jurisdictional drawings
Powerball (45 jurisdictions)
Powerball began in 1992; it added Oklahoma on January 12, 2006. Powerball jackpots begin at $40 million; the game is drawn Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 9:59 p.m. Central Time. Powerball drawings were televised on Fox affiliate KOKH (channel 25) and CW affiliate KOCB (channel 34) in Oklahoma City; and on Cox Communications channel 9 in Tulsa through January 2013. Powerball numbers now are televised via Chicago-based cable superstation WGN America (available on most cable, IPTV and satellite providers in the state; it also carries Mega Millions due to the Illinois Lottery's participation in both games) or on the lottery's website.
Mega Millions (45 jurisdictions)
In March 2009, Mega Millions and Powerball began negotiating an agreement to allow each participating U.S. lottery to sell tickets for both games. An agreement was reached on October 13 of that year; two months later, it was announced that Oklahoma would begin selling Mega Millions tickets on January 31, 2010. The first Mega Millions drawing with Oklahoma a participant occurred on February 2, 2010.[2] Unlike Hot Lotto and Powerball (within Oklahoma), Mega Millions players in the state must choose cash or annuity when playing, instead of after winning. Mega Millions drawings are not televised on any local broadcast television station or local origination cable channel in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets; as with Powerball, those playing Mega Millions instead can only see the winning numbers via WGN America on cable and satellite television or on the lottery's website.
Former drawing games
Pick 4
Pick 4 launched in July 2011. Players were required to choose a set of four digits from 0 through 9, either selected by the player, or selected by the lottery terminal. On September 7, 2013, the Oklahoma Lottery announced that it would discontinue Pick 4; the final drawing of that game was held the following week on September 14.[3]
Scratchers
The first Oklahoma Lottery tickets were scratch tickets; "Lucky 7's" was the Lottery's first scratchcard game.
| Game Name | Price | Top Prize | Launch Date | Odds of Winning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucky 7's | $1 | $777 | October 12, 2005 | 1 in 4.73 |
| Blackjack | $1 | $2,100 | February 12, 2008 | 1 in 4.63 |
| OKC Thunder | $2 | $10,000 | December 2, 2008 | 1 in 4.36 |
| Bingo | $2 | $15,000 | February 24, 2009 | 1 in 3.97 |
| 3D Cube Cash | $2 | $15,000 | February 24, 2009 | 1 in 4.23 |
| Blackjack Showdown | $5 | $40,000 | March 31, 2009 | 1 in 3.30 |
| Slots of Fun | $2 | $15,000 | June 23, 2009 | 1 in 4.32 |
| Ace of Spades | $1 | $3,000 | June 23, 2009 | 1 in 4.73 |
| Crossword | $3 | $20,000 | July 28, 2009 | 1 in 3.43 |
| Cash Invasion | $2 | $10,000 | July 28, 2009 | 1 in 4.23 |
| Match 3 Tripler | $1 | $3,000 | July 28, 2009 | 1 in 4.44 |
| 7-11-21 | $1 | $2,100 | July 28, 2009 | 1 in 4.55 |
| World Poker Tour: Texas Hold 'Em | $5 | $25,000 | August 25, 2009 | 1 in 3.31 |
| Monopoly | $2 | $15,000 | September 29, 2009 | 1 in 4.32 |
| Lucky 13 Doubler | $2 | $13,000 | September 29, 2009 | 1 in 4.34 |
| Electric 8s | $1 | $888 | September 29, 2009 | 1 in 4.53 |
| Ghouls Night Out | $1 | $1,500 | September 29, 2009 | 1 in 4.54 |
| $50,000 Jackpot | $5 | $50,000 | October 27, 2009 | 1 in 3.39 |
| Deuces Wild | $2 | $10,000 | October 27, 2009 | 1 in 4.38 |
| Jack Frost | $1 | $2,000 | October 27, 2009 | 1 in 4.46 |
| Peng Win | $1 | $1,000 | October 27, 2009 | 1 in 4.52 |
Jackpot winners
In June 2006, the Oklahoma Lottery had its first jackpot winner when an Oklahoman won $101 million in Powerball.[4] The Powerball drawing of June 27, 2007 produced Oklahoma's second winning jackpot ticket for the game, and the largest to date: $105.8 million (annuitized). It was bought in the Sequoyah County town of Roland. Muldrow residents Don and Joyce Harvey (a married couple that at the time were respectively 64- and 50-years-old) claimed the prize on June 29, 2007; they chose the cash option, and received approximately $33.7 million after withholdings.[5]
July 2, 2008 produced one jackpot winner in Oklahoma for not only Powerball, but also Hot Lotto. It was the first time that the same jurisdiction provided at least one jackpot winner in both games on the same day.
The Oklahoma Lottery game show
The Lottery produced a game show (simply titled The Oklahoma Lottery Game Show) that was taped in Oklahoma City (and produced by Sande Stewart), which aired on KOCB in Oklahoma City, and Cox Communications cable channel 9 in Tulsa from October 2007 to August 2008. The show, which was hosted by Brad Morris and Amber Dickinson, was introduced to combat lower than expected sales as a result of the Lottery not offering video lottery or keno games.[6] Players on the game show were guaranteed to win $500 each, and could win over $50,000. The second and succeeding shows included a "returning champion". The program was cancelled due to low ratings.
References
- ↑ "Oklahomans show two sides in election". KFOR: kfor.com. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ↑ http://www.lottery.ok.gov/press_reader.asp?sourceFile=press_December082009
- ↑ Oklahoma Lottery to end Pick 4, begin Millionaire Raffle, Tulsa World, September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Chad Previch (2007-06-28). "$105 million ticket bought in Roland". Oklahoman. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- ↑ "Update: Muldrow couple claims the big Powerball prize". Tulsa World. 2007-06-29. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
- ↑ Michael McNutt (2007-06-27). "Lottery officials hope new games do a number on sales". Oklahoman. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
External links
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