Wild 10s Still the Preferred Choice

Wild 10s improved its position over the past week during which time 60,000 tickets were sold and only 3 of the $10,000 Grand Prizes were claimed. Your chance to win one dropped from 7,700:1 to 7,200:1. The second rated game, Double Cash For Life, sadly surrendered one of its 4 Grand prizes after only exhausting 5% of its ticket float. Players need to remember that when buying a Cash For Life ticket, make sure that it is Game 1162 and not game 1159. The former is a good choice, the latter is a bomb.

Best Overall Rated Games

1. Wild 10s
2. Cash For Life 1162
3. $200 Million
4. Pick 3
5. Texas Hold'Em

Games to Avoid

• Quest For Gold Crossword
• Tetris
• Cash For Life 1159

$1 - $2 Game Update

Pick 3 continues as a good choice in this category. For those looking for a bigger Grand Prize than is offered with Pick 3, try Silver Gold.

$3 Game Update

Texas Hold'Em continues to get stronger in this group. It is substantially better than any other $3 game, at the moment. Two $75,000 Grand Prizes are left to be claimed.

$4 - $5 Games

Double Cash For Life continues to rate high based upon the three remaining large Grand Prizes. Even though one was lost last week, the game remains a good choice.

$10 - $20 Games

If the small but plentiful $10,000 prize does not motivate you to invest $10 in a game, the $200 Million game is also a good one. Neither of Classic White nor Extravaganza are bad plays, but the other two are better choices.

Comings and Goings

$3 Scrabble 1754 was added this week. This is a game with a float of 3,141,600 tickets that includes 3 - $75,000 Grand Prizes. The prize distribution looks good:
Grand Prize - 2.4%
Prizes less than Grand Prize and at least $100 - 3.4%
Prizes more than the cost of the tickets and less than $100 - 46.3%
Prizes worth the cost of the ticket - 12.9%
Profit - 35.1%

More Lucky #1733 and Bonus Banco #1641 were both retired. Bonus Banco was one of only four games that were initiated in 2012. The game still had 45% of its float left including 1 of the 6 -  $50,000 grand prizes. It was a poor game to play and I am thus pleased to see it go. More Lucky continued to be not a bad choice with 1 of its 3 - $75,000 Grand Prizes left to be claimed and 19% of its ticket float left when it was terminated.

The Grand Prize winners for the two retired games hailed from: North York (1 for each game), St Albert, Port Elgin, Scarborough, and Etobicoke.

Personal Play

My bad luck continues. I made a personal error this week when my usual store was sold out of Wild 10s when I arrived. Instead, I picked up four at a magazine stand in a shopping mall. I don't like doing that and I paid the price when I was shut out. Frank in Scarborough had terrible luck at a magazine store in the Scarborough Town Center.I should have learned my lesson from him. My cash rate is now 37% and my Return on Investment has now slipped to 75%.

Thanks to readers who have messaged me about their individual playing styles. One reader was ahead on $200 Million after having bought 16 tickets! I like to hear that.

I also received a message asking how I know how many tickets have been sold. The answer to the question is that I don't - I estimate the number based upon the numbers that the OLG publishes on the Outstanding Prize information sheet.

I need some luck and Independence Day seems as good as any day for me to turn things around.

Doug