MM's low sales

Reply #12

Just6ntlc — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 13:33:46 GMT

I think MM should go to a 5/56+1/52. I saw MM go to 5/52+1/52, so I suggest adding 6 more MBs to make it more difficult to win a jackpot. MM Sales were down because of NJ shut down their lotto for a while. In addition, CA SLP went to 110 million after 23 rolls without a winner.

Reply #11

Rip Snorter — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 02:05:51 GMT

Maybe.

On the other hand, maybe the customers just aren't so stupid as the marketing people believe they are.

No way of knowing whether a big jackpot multi-state game would sell like hotcakes, or wouldn't, if they offered a straight-from-the-shoulder description of what they actually have to sell.

A cash value game, rolls, at least 50 percent of which go back into the next jackpot.

Maybe with the odds just as they are people would buy.

Nobody has tried it.

We probably all agree... [ More ]

Reply #10

ryanm — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 22:34:03 GMT

With Mega Millions' odds as long as they are, and the fact that no matter how long the odds are a game can still go on a hot streak, it's no wonder that MM isn't letting any more states join.

Reply #9

KY Floyd — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 18:28:34 GMT

If the authorities did decide to change the game doubling the price of a ticket is probably a worse choice than changing the odds. The odds are already high enough that very few people take them seriously. Either you play or you don't. I don't expect many people would stop playing or even change their buying pattern much if the odds increased by 10 or 20%. Doubling the cost of aticket, OTOH, will probably result in a significant reduction in tickets sales to the people who aren't regular play... [ More ]

Reply #8

dvdiva — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 04:37:54 GMT

There is a far easier fix and that's to raise the ticket price to $2.

Another matrix change may not go over well. If they are going to make a change it would be to add a white ball.

5/56 + 1/46 (now) = 1:175 mil.

5/57 + 1/45 = 1:188 mil (Same number of balls just higher odds)

5/57 + 1/46 = 1:192 mil (As high as I see it going.)

5/56 + 1/47 = 1:179 mil.

Adding a Mega ball doesn't really change the odds to make it worth while. Then it would match Heinz 57.

Except it would be... [ More ]

Reply #7

Rip Snorter — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 02:04:57 GMT

I don't recall which it was at the moment, but one of the two, Gargantuan, or Pentagruel, had 41 rolls last year and paid 6 jackpots.

You figure it out.

J

Reply #6

ryanm — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 23:57:38 GMT

Actually, if Mega Millions got won at the opening level too many times, they'd probably end up like Powerball and allocate less sales to the jackpot than the maximum that their rules allow, because they'd have to fund their prize reserves due to repeatedly paying out more than 50% of draw sales for the "guaranteed" jackpots and the states would be damned if they had to take money out of their own program funds. The same thing would happen if Mega got an extroardinarily high amount of second pla... [ More ]

Reply #5

Rip Snorter — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 23:54:11 GMT

There's a way to make those jackpot sizes larger, and it doesn't involve changing the matrix.

It doesn't involve extending the annuity to $100 years to make the jackpot appear larger while actual cash awarded and available on the day of the draw remains the same.

The word 'ROLL' implies some of the money from previous unawarded draws is ROLLED into the next draw to increase the jackpot size beyond ticket sales for that draw.

What a concept, huh?

J

Reply #4

Rip Snorter — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 23:29:00 GMT

They don't appear to have done too badly (except for the players)

If someone wins this one they'll have to pay out $12M, and ticket sales probably won't be more than twice that amount

Fri, Jul 7, 2006 $22 Million $8 Million

Roll! $10M clear profit

Tue, Jul 4, 2006 $14 Million $2 Million

Roll! All ticket sales clear profit!

Fri, Jun 30, 2006 $12 Million ($11 Million) Roll - clear profit

Win had to pay out maybe $12 M of maybe $20 M ticket sales.

Tue, Jun 27... [ More ]

Reply #3

bellyache — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 23:23:03 GMT

I think the only way we'll see a $400 million dollar jackpot or higher, is to add a couple more balls and I know a lot of people would be against that, including me.

Reply #2

Coin Toss — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 23:07:49 GMT

The St Louis Post-Dispatch ran a story that predicted possible $500,000,000 jackpots when California joined Mega Millions.

Of course that story didn't say a thing about an expanded matrix.

Reply #1

dvdiva — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 22:12:48 GMT

I doubt the string of low jackpots could have anything to do with it.

I'm only wondering when they can fix the game so it can generate the jackpots we were told we'd have when it came to this state. It was advertised that jackpots of $400 million was possible. When it was sold to CA that number was even higher.

While Elvis getting out of a UFO on the White House lawn is a possiblity, I hope that's not the kind of odds they were looking at when they made the sales pitch.

MM's low sales

Bradly_60 — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 22:03:30 GMT

Well they predicted the slow sales right. With the holiday and the third largest sales lottery out of commission they only sold $10,000,000 in tickets for July 4, 2006 drawing. They haven't sold that few tickets since late 2004.

Brad