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Hot Lotto was a multi-state lottery game administered by the Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which is best known for operating the Powerball game.
Hot Lotto began sales on April 7, 2002; its first drawing was on April 10. Hot Lotto gave smaller lotteries the opportunity to create the "middle-sized" jackpots that are commonplace in single-state games in populous states such as in California, New York, and Florida.
Hot Lotto drawings were held Wednesday and Saturday at MUSL's headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa. Normally, the Hot Lotto drawing was immediately following the 9:59 p.m. Central Time Powerball drawing. Unlike Mega Millions or Powerball, the Hot Lotto drawings were not televised; its drawings used a random number generator (RNG), instead of ball-drawing machines.
The Sizzler option, which tripled non-jackpot prizes, was added in 2008. The basic game, $1 per play, was unchanged until 2013, when the advertised jackpot changed from the annuity value (25 equal yearly payments) to cash, and "taxes-paid"; the annuity option was eliminated, as winners almost always chose cash instead of the long-term payout.
In 2017, it was announced that Hot Lotto would be discontinued due to falling sales and a 2010 fraud scandal first uncovered in 2015; its final drawing was on October 28, 2017. It was replaced by a new version of Lotto America, which launched on November 12, 2017, and held its first drawing three days later.[1][2][3]
- ^ "Hot Lotto to stop selling tickets, North Dakota Lottery says". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
- ^ "Lotto America coming to South Dakota in November". Watertown Public Opinion. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
- ^ Mercer, Bob. "Lotto commission adds new game, increases ticket prices". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2017-10-06.