$3 More Lucky Lines #1776 Moves Into Top Spot

Well, the party is over for the two outstanding games that have existed this past little while. Cash For Life 1165 is now at the bottom of the barrel and the OLG retired Scrabble 1777 this past week. That decision was not in the interest of players as one of the $75,000 Grand Prizes was left and only 228,000 tickets were left to sell. Still, with 7% of the float left, +/- 3%, we knew that the game was nearing its end. I'm going to be introducing a new calculation on games that are retired into future posts. Stay tuned.

We have certainly ended a distinct period of time now that a $3 game has moved to the top of the evaluation method. This area had been a minefield for several months but we now have a game to play. Yes, I know that the ever popular Crossword and Bingo games are in this area but they are rarely recommended plays. That fact annoys me somewhat as I like them too.

The recommended game is #1776 More Lucky Lines. Almost two thirds of its float has been sold yet all three of its Grand Prizes remain outstanding. The $75,000 Grand Prize is good for $3 Games. Your chances to win one are estimated at 360,000:1 and, assuming you don't win a Grand Prize, you should expect a return of 62.6% on your investment. If you're doing worse than that you have the right to complain to the gods.

 

Top Rated Games

1. $3 More Lucky Lines #1776 (37% of float left to sell, +/- 3%)
2. $4 Cash for Life #1161 (44%, +/- 3%)
3. $5 Money Multiplier #1769 (26%, +/- 2%)
4. $10 Prestige #1741 (29%, +/- 7%)
5. $1 Red Hot 50s #1788 (28%, +/- 1%)

Games to Avoid

1. $4 Cash for Life #1165 - Previous game of choice is now a scourge. $500 is most you can win.
2. $3 Tetris #1792 - Top two prize categories gone. OLG must retire this game.
3. $1 Bingo Express #1753 - One $10k prize left and one million tickets to sell.
4. $3 Crossword #3205 - 15 million tickets left to sell. Only 9 , $50,000 Grand Prizes.
5. $1 Cash Cow #1805 - It's new and it sucks.

$1 - $2 Game Update

The horrible $2 Fat Cat game was retired. That's good. The only game worth playing is Red Hot 50s.

$3 Game Update

The only reasonable choice in this area is More Lucky Lines

$4 - $5 Game Update

Apart from the top games in the list above, 20x Lucky is also a reasonable choice.

$10 - $20 Game Update

These games should dominate the ratings given the increased percentage return offered to players. At present, Extraordinary and Prestige are the only two worth buying and a poster has provided us with advance knowledge that a new $10 game is on its way. Really? An extra plug for Extraordinaire from a poster who likes how the game card scratches.

Comings and Goings

Scrabble #1777 and Fat Cat #1729 both went to Scratch Card heaven this past week. Fat Cat will not be missed but the Scrabble game was a good one that I never got to play as I was pounding away on Cash for Life.

New this week is a second Instant Bingo game #3015. Not much to choose between it and the earlier version #3014. Here is the revenue breakdown for the game:

OLG - 35%
Grand Prize(s) - 1.7%
Prizes of $100 or more but less than Grand Prize - 2.7%
Prizes of more than cost of ticket and less than $100 - 48.5%
Win Cost of Ticket - 12.1 %

Chances to win any prize - 3.45:1, 7th of 9 in $3 ticket group.
Chances to win prize greater than cost of ticket - 5.91:1, 6th of 9 in $3 ticket group.

Personal Play

Nine 20x Lucky tickets contained two winners totaling $30. I also threw $4 away on a 649 ticket that hit for $2 with Encore. The guy at the store convinced me to play but I forgot that the ticket cost $3 plus an additional $1 for the Encore. I ain't buying another one of those until the jackpot hits $50 million.

Meanderings

Thanks to the people who leave messages on the board. There was lots of talk this past week over packs of tickets and prize distribution. I honestly don't think that the OLG is involved in "managing" the games that closely. If it turns out that they are, that would be scandalous. These people are all public sector workers and I believe that they operate in the interests of Ontarians. That said, who knows how the printing and distribution of tickets actually works. One poster suggested that each pack of 80 tickets contains the same number of winning tickets. In my mind that should not be the case. Random means random. Maybe the OLG has a different definition for the word than I do.
 
Still no posting as to where exactly the recent Cash for Life winner bought their ticket. It better not be anywhere near me!


Best to all.



Doug

Cash For Life 1165 Meets Its End - Now Worst Game to Play

The party is officially over for Cash for Life 1165. The last Grand Prize was won in Ottawa yesterday. As reported last week, the game had been hollowed out meaning that when that last Grand Prize was won the game would go to the bottom of the list. There are no second prizes, no third prizes, 1 fourth prize of $5000, and 1 sixth prize of $500. The game had an impressive run and I'm glad that the OLG did not retire the game while that last prize was outstanding.

The new top rated game is Scrabble 1777 but a poster today suggested that this game was retired by the OLG today along with CFL 1165. That does not surprise me as only 7% +/- 3% of the float for that game remains and have not seen any of those tickets for a while.

I'll therefore skip to the next game which is $5 20x Lucky #1789. Twenty percent +/- 3% of the float remains for this game. Three of its Grand Prizes of $100,000 remain to be claimed. Your chances to win one are 190,000:1 versus 400,000:1 at the outset of the game.

Games to Play

1. $3 Scrabble 1777 (7% of float left to sell +/- 3%)
2. $5 20X Lucky 1789 (20%, +/- 3%)
3. $3 More Lucky Lines 1776 (42%, +/- 3%)
4. $20 Extraordinary 1742 (91%, +/- 4%)
5. $4 Cash for Life 1161 (47%, +/- 3%)

Note that the Cash for Life game recommended here is not the same one that was recommended previously.

Games to Avoid

1. $4 Cash For Life 1165
2. $3 Tetris 1793
3. $2 Fat Cat 1729
4. $1 Bingo Express
5. $3 Crossword 3205

$1 - $2 Game Update

Red Hot 50s is the top rated game in this group. Next best is Crazy 8s if you are looking for a better Grand Prize ($28,888 versus $50).

$3 Game Update

After spending months in purgatory, this group is coming more to the fore. Two of the top 5 rated games are in this area. Those two are much better than the others.

$4 - $5 Game Update

Apart from the two mentioned on the list of top games, Money Multiplier is also worth a try.

$10 - $20 Game Update

Extraordinary and Prestige are both playable. I fail to understand why the OLG has seven games available for purchase in this price range. They'll be selling these games for a long time.

Comings and Goings

More Lucky Lines 1775 was retired this week. It was a dud so salutations to our OLG friends.

Two new games came on line: $1 Cash Cow and $5 Win Take All.

A poster this week was speculating about the prize distributions for games in general. I measure them as follows: House Percentage - Win the Cost of the Ticket - Win More than Cost of Ticket and less than $100 - Win $100 or more, and less than the Grand Prize - Grand Prize.

Here is how the two new games shape up according to that breakdown:

Cash Cow - 40.0% - 10.4% - 47.6% - .3% - 1.6%.
Win Take All - 33.1% - 10.2% - 45.9% - 6.3% - 4.5%.

Based on this breakdown I expect that if you don't win the Grand Prize and you buy a sufficient number of tickets, you should expect a return of 58% for Cash Cow and 62% for Win Take All.

Personal Play

I can't say that I am unhappy that CFL 1165 is kaput. I purchased 82 of those suckers cashing on 26 of them (32%) returning $198 (60%). From the postings that I have seen of others, I should feel lucky. I don't. The numbers reported by others are very poor.

One poster reported going 0 for 15 on Crossword 3205. Although the game is rated poorly, players should expect to win with one out of every 3.84 tickets and a return of 64% even if they don't win a Grand Prize. The chances of going 0 for 15 are less than 1 in 100 - about the same as winning on four consecutive tickets. That sucks.

Meanderings

Thanks to everyone who measures his or her results and reports it on this blog. It is useful information for others and I enjoy keeping track of those results. The OLG would like us all to be individual players. There is always the chance that we may learn something about ticket distribution based upon this reporting.

I know that the OLG would testify under oath that tickets are distributed randomly but the company that prints the tickets uses algorithms in their production and there may be unintended flaws in those computer programs of which the OLG and the supplier are unaware. I know that the chances are not great but, at the same time, the pursuit is not altogether an exercise in alchemy.


Best to all.


Doug

Cash for Life 1165 Loses a Grand Prize - Remains the Choice

The party is now over. One of the Grand Prizes for Cash for Life 1165 was claimed last week in the east end of the 905 area. Strangely, a friend was on a business call to a company when he learned that one of the company's drivers had won one of the prizes. He took the $675,000 lump sum. The OLG site was updated the next day. I have asked him to see what he can learn about the timing due to the question posted to the site two weeks ago about delays in updating winning tickets. We'll see if he comes up with anything.

Regardless, the game remains the top choice but it is now wobbly. Apart from the remaining Grand Prize, there is only one $5000 prize and one $500 prize left to be claimed above the $120 prize level. I would therefore recommend that anyone playing the game check at the retailer or on the Scratch Odds App to be sure that the Grand Prize is still there. Once it goes, this game will likely become the worst rated game. An estimated 827,000 tickets +/- 4% remain to be sold so be careful.

Top Rated Games

1. $4 Cash for Life 1165 (12% of float remains, +/- 4%)
2. $3 Scrabble 1777 (7%, +/- 3%)
3. $5 Money Multiplier 1769 (32%, +/- 2%)
4. $5 20x Lucky 1789 (22%, +/- 3%)
5. $20 Extraordinaire (91%, +/- 4%)

Games to Avoid

1. Tetris
2. More Lucky Lines #1775
3. Fat Cat
4. Bingo Express
5. Crossword #3205

$1 - $2 Game Update

Bingo Express lost its last Grand Prize last week. The best choice is Red Hot 50s.

$3 Game Update

Scrabble 1777 is a strong choice but may be hard to find. Next best is More Lucky Lines #1776.

$4 - $5 Game Update

This is a strong area with three of the top five rated games. Stick to any of those choices.

$10 - $20 Game Update

The OLG (and ILC) are currently selling seven games in this area and we know that the public cringes spending that much on a ticket. I don't blame them. Prestige, Turbo Cash, and Extraordinaire are all reasonable choices.

Comings and Goings

Nothing to report this week. It's summer holiday time at the OLG.

Personal Play

I expanded my play last week and was predictably punished. Fourteen Cash for Life tickets contained 4 winners totaling $26. Very poor but not as poor as one poster who reports that he purchased 100 tickets and received only 40% of his investment back in winnings. The game returns 67% with 7% going to the Grand Prize winners. Knowing that he did not get the Grand Prize, he should have expected a 60% return and instead only received 40%. That is reason enough to abandon the game!

Meanderings

A reader left a comment this past week asserting that this blog is written by OLG staff to encourage the sale of bad games. That is not the case.

I write this blog as a hobby. My basic advice to anyone is not to buy these tickets or participate in any other OLG activity. Once you have discarded that basic advice, what I try to do is point you to the best choices and away from the poor choices. I am a critic of the OLG although, in fairness, I like to salute them when I feel that it is warranted. I have an interest in Horse Racing and therefore the Slots at Racetrack Program, slot machines in general, Casinos, and OLG Modernization. In all of those matters I have been a critic of the OLG and its strategic direction. On the other hand, my interaction with OLG employees has always been first class.

I thought that writing the blog would be a niche activity as Scratch and Win tickets are a simple form of entertainment for many people. I hope that anyone coming upon it would conclude that it is unbiased and helpful. If they do then I am more than happy.

I hope that your candidate was successful in yesterday's election.


Doug

Cash for Life Family #1165 - A Rare Opportunity

This is getting ridiculous. The game of choice sold 300,000 of the estimated 1.3 million remaining tickets last week without revealing a winner. There remains 1 million tickets containing two Grand Prizes. The game has achieved the highest rating of any game since I began measuring these games. I should point out that the game has been hollowed out a bit. The second place prize of $50,000 and the third place prize of $10,000 have both been claimed. There remains one $5000 prize and one $500 prize before dipping down to the $120 prizes but those two $675,000 prizes are juicy and waiting to be claimed. How good would it be if a reader of this blog was to snag one? A point of caution is that the game is getting to the point where tickets may become hard to find. I am beginning to have to shop around for mine. Still, it's worth the effort. Something has to break soon. And if the OLG has the temerity to retire the game I'll be launching an all out offensive on them. I've invested too much in this game to watch them claim the Grand Prizes.

Top Rated Games

1. $4 Cash for Life 1165 (15% of float remaining, +/- 4%)
2. $3 Scrabble 1777 (8%, +/- 3%)
3. $5 Money Multiplier 1769 (28%, +/- 2%)
4. $20 Extraordinary 1742 (92%, +/- 4%)
5. $1 Red Hot 50s 1788 (41%, +/- 1%)

Games to Avoid

1. $3 Tetris 1793
2. $2 Fat Cat 1729
3. $3 More Lucky Lines 1775
4. $3 QFG Crossword 3204
5. $3 Crossword 3205

Note that the top three of the worst games are double whammy's with both all of their Grand Prizes and Second Prizes claimed. Come on OLG! Give us a break.

$1 - $2 Game Update

Red Hot 50s is the best choice here. Blazing 7's is the next best.

$3 Game Update

Scrabble 1777 is the best choice by far. You may have trouble finding any. Next best is More Lucky Lines 1776 (not 1775).

$4 - $5 Game Update

Our game of choice is the best rated game since this blog began.

$10 - $20 Game Update

Extraordinary, Prestige, and Turbo Cash are all reasonable choices.

Comings and Goings

Two new games came on line this past week. The first is a new version of Cashingo. It is a good looking $3 game with a higher than usual 3.2% of total revenue being returned to the 4 - $75,000 Grand Prize winners.

The second game is Cadillac Riches. Some comments were left on last weeks blog entry about the game. It is an inter-provincial game with a couple of twists. Ontario will receive 4 million of the 6.5 million ticket float. Interestingly, neither Quebec nor Atlantic Canada will participate. I wonder what the story is there?

The game has 5 Cadillac Escalades as second prizes (or $100,000) and 5 Cadillac Coupes as third prizes (or $47,500). There is also an on-line contest for one Cadillac. According to the game sheet no purchase is necessary to enter but you have to enter a code that is on the ticket. Not sure how one does that without buying a ticket but I'm sure that is the case. You can enter up to 50 times a day. While it is true that I spend time writing this blog, I've got better things to do than enter on on-line contest 50 times a day! The game has an unusually low percentage of revenue returned to the Grand Prize winners. In exchange, the prize totals for $100 or more (but less than the grand prize) is very high.

Personal Play

Not good. Ten Cash for Life tickets contained three winners totaling $16. I'm due!

Meanderings

I encourage readers to check Vic's comments of his visit to Casino Lac Leamy in Gatineau. How do you people win money on the slots? I never win with those inventions of the devil. Hats off to those who do.


Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Powerful ceremonies in France.


Doug