Arizona Lottery "Extra!"

I was hoping someone here has more information on this game. The game, and really the whole premise, strikes me as a bit... well, you'll see. Some background:

The Arizona Lottery has an add on game to The Pick (6/44) and Fantasy 5 (5/41) named "Extra!" When you purchase your regular lottery ticket, 6 additional numbers are printed with a dollar amount next to each number. If your "Extra!" number matches one of the numbers on the regular ticket, you win the dollar amount listed for that number. So, for instance on a $3 ticket ($1 + $2 Extra) you'd see:

04 14 36 39 42 44

Extra $2.00
04 - $2
05 - $20
07 - $500
08 - $10
26 - $100
37 - $500

This ticket is a $2 instant winner for matching 04, plus the regular lottery prize. Here's where it loses me: the game lists the odds of winning a cash prize as 1 in 3.8. Given 6 tries, the odds of matching 1 number out of 44 should be 1 in 2.3. Worse, the 5 number game, lists the SAME odds of 1 in 3.8 for "Extra!" even though it should be slightly higher.

To me, the most disturbing fact is that this text is the entire rules for playing the game. I cannot find anywhere that they describe how the numbers are generated or disclose the odds of winning a specific prize:

Quote:

EXTRA! is an add-on game that lets you win instantly when you purchase a ticket for The Pick. All EXTRA! numbers are automatically selected by the computer.

When you purchase a ticket for The Pick, check the EXTRA! box on the selection slip or tell the retailer you want to purchase the EXTRA! option. EXTRA! may be played on every board on the ticket with an additional $1 or $2 charge for each board.

You may choose either the $1 or $2 EXTRA! option. Prize amounts vary based on the purchase price, ranging from $1 to $250 for $1 EXTRA!, and from $2 to $500 for $2 EXTRA!.

Overall odds of winning an EXTRA! prize are 1 in 3.8.


HOW TO WIN

Match your EXTRA! numbers to the numbers you selected for The Pick drawing. If any of the numbers match, you may claim your prize immediately. Match more than one number, and win even more! When the retailer pays your prize, you will receive a replacement ticket with the same numbers you selected for The Pick drawing.

http://arizonalottery.com/ThePick.html

Any insight that anyone can provide would be much appreciated.

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I don't think they disclose enough information to be able to confirm or disprove their figure of 1 in 3.8. One would need to know how they pick their numbers, from what pool size, and how they assign prizes to the numbers they have chosen.

I used the contact us form on their website to see if they can provide more details. After clicking "Submit", I got a 404 page not found error. I'll let you know if they reply.

Quote: miplet

I used the contact us form on their website to see if they can provide more details. After clicking "Submit", I got a 404 page not found error. I'll let you know if they reply.

I'll be amazed if they do. This game appears to have been around in some form since the 90's, but even using the Internet Archive to view old versions of their site, they've never given away any more information than "overall odds of winning a cash prize are 1:3.8." It's not printed on the back of the ticket or the number slip, either. Obviously, this is legal or they wouldn't have been running the game for a dozen years. Whether it is ethical is another question entirely.

Yuck that sounds awful. Pay an extra $2 and maybe just maybe you will win a predetermined amount if the computer favors you.

I'm gonna take a wild stab and GUESS that the Extra! game works like a pull tab or scratch-off in that there is a defined pool of 'tickets' and when you pay the extra $2 the computer pulls a 'ticket'. If the 'ticket' says you win $2 then it prints one of your numbers on the $2 line and a bunch of random numbers for other prizes.

Note that in your example the computer gave you a near miss with 37 paying $500 and you had 36 on your ticket. "Oh man I was sooo close! I'll try again next time"

The prizes are as follows:

$1
$1 $2 $5 $10 $25 $50 $250

$2
$2 $4 $10 $20 $50 $100 $500

If the stated odds of winning a cash prize are 1 in 3.8 true, there is no way all of these prizes are equally weighted. The fact that they don't share their "magic math" used in determining the odds for an individual prize is the worst feature of this game. At least with their scratch off tickets they report the remaining prizes left in the pool. You can load them into excel, extrapolate the number of tickets remaining, and figure out the overall game odds.

Quote: dzfun

If the stated odds of winning a cash prize are 1 in 3.8 true, there is no way all of these prizes are equally weighted.

The pull tab idea makes sense. Think of it as a slot machine or instant electronic lottery. When the seller pushes the button for the bet, the terminal "knows" whether it won or not. If it does, as noted already, it prints the winning ticket. If not, it prints a near miss.

Quote: miplet

I used the contact us form on their website to see if they can provide more details. After clicking "Submit", I got a 404 page not found error. I'll let you know if they reply.

That simply means that the "Thanks for contacting us" page was missing.

You would have gotten a different error if the submission didn't go thru.

HOWEVER, there's no way to know that your inquiry is now on it's way to a person, or to a dead address.

Do they mention what happens if two numbers match? If not, that might be a clue...

I tracked down the odds for EXTRA! You can get them too if you ask a clerk who knows how to retrieve and print them at any lotto terminal. The odds listed are the same for both the Pick & Fantasy 5.

$250 - 1/2000
$50 - 1/685.71
$25 - 1/400
$10 - 1/200
$5 = 1/120
$2 - 1/30
$1 - 1/4.73

So by my calculations, for every $2000 you spend on the EXTRA! you'd average about $1260 in return. Very dirty IMO as the $250 shows up a shit ton compared to the odds of winning it (1/2000).

If you play the extra, you only need to check to see if you have a $1 winning. If so, you will win every time.

My odds of winning after playing 100 games were 1 in 3. Every winning was $1. Not one $1 winning was lost. My advise after 100 plays, if you like turning $1 into $.33, go ahead and play. With some luck, maybe you will get 6, $1 prizes.

I put $2 down on 100 games. It was supposed to double the amount to be won. Why would I get tickets that display $1 if the $1 extra pays $1? $1 should not show up at all on an Extra $2..... Rip Off!!! Like it is programmed to spit out true random numbers.