Instant Millions Takes Top Spot

Bejeweled's run has come to an end. Three of the remaining four Top Prizes were claimed last week leaving only one prize outstanding. The claims must have been recent as the OLG has yet to publish where the winners were located. I will update that information on next week's posting. With Bejeweled out of the way, Instant Millions takes over as the clear choice. This is a top heavy game with 2 - $ Million prizes left to be claimed and lots of $5 minimum prize tickets (you win what you paid for the ticket) You presently have one chance in 670,000 to win the Top Prize. I have not had much luck with previous incarnations of this game. I bought two tickets a few weeks ago and came up empty on both. The good news is that I don't have to shell out $10 for tickets for the time being. A little luck would not go unappreciated.

 

Best Games to Win the Top Prize

$1 - $2 Games - Pick 3 ($500)
$3 Games - Scrabble ($75,000)
$4 - $5 Games - Instant Millions ($1,000,000)
$10 - $20 Games - Wild 10s ($10,000)

Best Games to Win Any Prize

$1 - $2 Games - Pick 3, 3.13:1
$3 Games - Bonus Keno, 1.86:1
$4 - $5 Games - Cross Tripler, 3.14:1
$10 - $20 Games - $200 Million, 3.00:1

Best Overall Rated Games

1. Instant Millions
2. Scrabble #1730
3. Wild 10s
4. $200 Million
5. Extravaganza 

Games to Avoid

• Tetris
• Cash For Life Blowout

Both of these games have over 20% of their tickets left to sell. The OLG will continue to flog them for some time. Be alert and avoid them.

Comings and Goings

A new version of the staple game Crossword hit the market this week. This is a jumbo game with over 20 million tickets to be distributed. Players love the game and players must be given what they want, no? The $50,000 Top Prize is normal for $3 games. There are lots of smaller prizes, 16 Top Prizes, and not much in the middle. As with all games, you can't get everything in one place. Here is the prize breakdown as a percentage of total revenue:

$50,000 Top Prize -  1.3%
Prizes of $1000 and greater (not including Top Prize) - 1.1%
Prizes of $100 - $999 - 1.5%
Prizes more than $3 and less than $100 - 48.1%
Prizes of the cost of the ticket - 12.9%
Profit - 35.0%

Readers have asked me if I have ever won a lot of money on Instant tickets. The answer is no. You can see why when looking at the prize breakdown for this game. The game does afford the player with lots of small winners and this is one of the reasons why we play these games. If you want an "All or Nothing" game, stick to Lotto Max.

Personal Play

I stuck to my principles and bought two Bejeweled tickets last week. Given that three Top Prizes were revealed during the week, I should have bought more! I had one winner worth $15. My overall cash rate in 2013 now stands at 40% and my total Return on Investment is 85%.

This week I'm switching to Instant Millions with the hope of winning a big one.

A $2 Million ticket was claimed in Brampton this past week and a $1 Million ticket was claimed in Scarborough. Compensation for the Maple Leafs, I suppose.

Good Luck.

Doug