Texas Lottery
The History of Cash 5
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Originally Posted: 7-21-02
Revised: 8-6-02
"Money Pages"
Cash 5 Money Page, Click here
Lotto Texas Money Page, Click here
Pick3 Money Page, Click here
Texas 2 Step Money Page, Click here
- Special Story -
How the Cash 5 Fared at the End of One Week
The answers to your questions as I see them.
Click here to read.
A Little History About the Cash 5 Game
10-13-95 - Cash Five Introduced - Played on Tuesday's and Friday's.
Great success, great prizes. Great sales for the TLC too.
11-25-96 - Began playing Cash 5 four nights per week. (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri)
Flopped ... prizes shrunk. Many still played but cut their spending per game
so they could afford to play 4 times per week instead of twice weekly.
But many players quit too. Sales figures support this statement.
3-6-02 - Texas Lottery Commissioners approve proposing new
Cash 5
rules.
Changes include reducing the number of balls from 39 to 37,
paying a guaranteed $2 prize for matching 2 of 5 numbers, lowering
the 3 of 5 and
4 of 5 prizes and to play the game 6 nights per week
instead of 4 nights.
(Monday through Saturday)
3-22-02 - Proposed rule is published in the Texas Register.
A 30 day comment period begins.
3-28-02 - 4 AM - I posted the Cash 5 proposed rule changes on my web site
and players responded with tremendous opposition to playing Cash Five
six nights
per week and lowering the prizes in favor of adding a $2 prize.
4-4-02 - A comment hearing is held in Austin at Lottery Headquarters.
No one attends. (I had major surgery on 3-38-02 so I was unable to attend)
4-22-02 - I faxed the Texas Lottery Commission a sampling of the comments I had
received from players. The fax was roughly 100 pages and it consisted of emails and
faxes but more importantly, it consisted of a form that was completed by players
and submitted to my web server. Basically, I sent 2, 3, and 4 pages consisting
of 3 and 4 comments per page for numerous days during the comment period.
It was more than enough to show players were opposed to the rule changes.
4-25-02 - The Commissioners adopt the rule change ...
read the 2 minute discussion. Click here.
4-29-02 - I posted the Texas Lottery's response to the players comments. Counsel did
not agree with the players. Click here to read the rebuttal. I think the Texas Lottery has
their own philosophy on how to run a success business ... "Run the business however
you want ... never try to satisfy your paying customers. Never put everything
on the table, always leave the cold hard facts out of the presentation. If you
can't get it the honest way, then scam the people. Nobody will know!" :)
The TLC's Best Kept Secret About the New Cash Five ...
A new point of sale piece for Cash 5 hits the stores
about 2 weeks prior to the start of 5/27. It read in part:
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| Match | Prize | Odds of winning | |
| 1st prize | 5 of 5 | Pari-Mutuel* | 1:435,897 |
| 2nd prize | 4 of 5 | Pari-Mutuel* | 1:2,724 |
| 3rd prize | 3 of 5 | Pari-Mutuel* | 1:88 |
| 4th prize | 2 of 5 | $2 Guaranteed | 1:9 |
| Overall odds are 1 in 8. Prize pool equals 50% of sales. *Pari-mutuel prize category - divided equally amoung multiple winners. Prizes may be higher or lower than these published prize amounts. All prizes will be paid in a single payment. Hey, there's no "published" prize amounts shown anywhere on this brochure! Why not? What, the TLC doesn't think players should know that if they match 3 of 5 numbers beginning July 29th, they'll only win approx $10 instead of $20 to $30 and those who match 4 of 5 numbers will only win approx. $137 instead of $500 to $600? What - is the theory behind not publishing the prize amounts so players won't know until they win something? Good plan, at least make the game look good for a little while then deal with the angry players and sales decline later. Huh?
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7-29-02 - Cash 5 will be played 6 nights per week, Monday through Saturday.
Game offers lower prizes ... just what we all play for ... less money ...
but, they will now give us $2 for matching 2 numbers ... WOW!
The TLC
knows players will give the $2 back and this is how
sales will increase ... not to mention how the
"unclaimed prize fund" will increase too!
- Sarcastic Remarks Over -
Some interesting tidbits ...
As of July 29, 2002 ...
Match 2 of 5 numbers - win guaranteed $2
Match 3 of 5 numbers - win approx. $10
Match 4 of 5 numbers - win approx $137
Match 5 of 5 numbers - win approx the same as it has been
Here's how the new 5/37 payouts are figured ... it's as easy as 1-2-3 ...
Players receive 50% of sales - Let's pretend sales were $550,000 which means there's
$275,000 in the "prize pool." Since there is a new $2 "guaranteed" prize - the
TLC opted to take those prizes right off the top of the players prize pool - the 50%.
(They should do this for Lotto Texas & Texas 2 Step but they don't)
So, let's say there were 64,924 people who won $2 each. The total for them is $129,848.
Now you deduct $129,848 from the players prize pool ($275,000) which leaves
$145,152
in the "residual prize pool." (They now have 2 prize pools)
The 5 of 5 winners share from the "residual prize pool" is 40.15% which
means the 5 of 5 winner(s) will receive or divide $58,278.
The 4 of 5 winners share is 18.08% of the "residual prize pool." Let's say there
are 278 winners so they will divide $26,243 by 278 meaning each will receive $94.
The 3 of 5 winners share is 41.77% of the "residual prize pool." Let's say there are
6488 winners so they will divide $60,629 by 6488 meaning each will receive $9.
The TLC
rounds down to even dollars and supposedly, the excess
funds are used in the next draw. However, players would be better
off if we recieved the "exact" amount, including the cents, due us.
This would "insure" players receiving 50% of sales.
If there are no 5 of 5 winners, the money in the 5 of 5 pool is moved down to
the 4 of 5 prize pool and is divided by the 4 of 5 winners. This means the
4 of 5 winners share becomes 58.23% of the "residual prize pool."
Just for your information, under the old rule, players received 50% of sales.
The 5 of 5 winners divided 20%, the 4 of 5 winners divided 30% and the
3 of 5 winners divided 50% of the prize pool.
Like Lotto Texas 6/54, the TLC increased the percentage the top
prize winner received and lowered the middle prize.
The Balls & Machines
The TLC replaced all Cash 5 balls and will be using the old
"air driven" Texas Million drawing machines to conduct this drawing.
The TLC is switching from "hard rubber balls" to "ping pong"
style balls. They have purchased 6 sets of balls and have named them
"12" "13" "14" "15" "16" & "17"
They are using the old Texas Million machines and plan to have
a new machine in rotation in August 2002. These machines
mix the balls with "air," not "paddles" and will be
called "G" "H" "I"
The Odds
Old rule - 5/39 - For every 575,757 tickets sold, one should be a winner.
New rule - 5/37 - For every 435,897 tickets sold, one should be a winner
Links Regarding the 2002 Cash 5 Changes
To read the March 6, 2002 Commissioners Meeting where
they voted to propose a new Cash 5 rule, click here.
(Here you'll see the reasons the staff wanted these changes
and what they did NOT tell the Commissioners.)
To read the proposed rule itself ... click here.
Here you can see how the percentages changed for each prize
category and how they devised a way to pay the $2 guaranteed
prizes. Actually, this is how they should do all "guaranteed"
prizes. Especially for Lotto Texas & Texas 2 Step. This way,
they could do away with the "reserve fund" which would
then make the payouts fair. But I'm sure they don't want
to do this, then they would NOT get the excess funds!
To read my letter of opposition (pdf) ... click here.
The Lotto Report
P. O. Box 495033
Garland, Texas 75049-5033
(972) 686-0660
(972) 681-1048 (Fax)