Hot Lotto: A Detailed Examination

Overview

Hot Lotto is administered by the US Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) and can be played in any of the 33 MUSL jurisdictions including for example, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, or West Virginia.

Hot Lotto is drawn twice each week on Wednesday and Saturday evenings by a random number generator and is not televised. Five winning white numbers and one winning orange "hot ball” number are drawn from the random number generator. Anyone who matches the first five numbers drawn (in any order) plus the Hot ball, wins the jackpot. Hot Lotto jackpots start at $1 million and continues to grow until someone wins. The overall odds of winning a prize in Hot Lotto are 1 in16.

There is also an added 'Sizler' option to triple your non-jackpot winnings which began in 2008.

Lottery Schedule

Drawings for this lotto are held on Wednesday, Saturday.

How to Play

To play Hot Lotto  simply pick five white numbers from 1 through 39 and one orange “hot ball” number from 1 through 19. Mark these on your Hot Lotto play slip with a black or blue ball point pen. Alternatively, you can let the computer pick all your numbers for you. A single play costs $1.

Participating Countries

The following countries participate in Hot Lotto: USA

Prize Structure

There are nine prize divisions:

1. Matching all 5 numbers plus the Hot Ball wins the jackpot
2. Matching all 5 numbers wins $10,000
3. Matching 4 numbers plus the Hot Ball wins $500
4. Matching 4 numbers wins $50
5. Matching 3 numbers plus the Hot Ball wins $50
6. Matching 3 numbers wins $4
7. Matching 2 numbers plus the Hot Ball wins $4
8. Matching 1 number plus the Hot Ball wins $3
9. Matching only the Hot Ball wins $2

Grand Prize

$1,000,000 US Dollar.

Jackpots

For an additional $1 per play, you can triple your Hot Lotto winnings (except the jackpot) with a Hot Lotto Sizzler.

Notable Wins

In January 2007, one lucky player, John Hall, who had only played Hot Lotto three times, won a jackpot of $19.97 million.

Distribution of Revenue

If there is no ticket matching all five  numbers and the "Hot Ball", the jackpot prize pool is rolled over into the following drawing, increasing by at least $50,000 every draw.