Georgia's new $30 lottery tickets selling 'like crazy'

Feb 5, 2014, 10:11 am (14 comments)

Georgia Lottery

Lottery players are lining up to lay down some serious scratch in Georgia and Tennessee, which recently joined a number of states offering instant tickets that cost more than $25 apiece.

"People are buying them like crazy," Tessa Mize, a clerk at the Mega Star gas station in Rossville on Chickamauga Avenue, said of the $30 scratch-off ticket that the Georgia Lottery introduced last week. It has a $10 million grand prize.

Meanwhile, Tennessee Lottery officials are happy with sales of a $25 instant ticket introduced in April that offers a $5 million payout.

"We've been very pleased with sales at this price point," said Rebecca Hargrove, president and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. via email through a spokeswoman. "It's not for everyone, but the payout and the opportunity for the larger prizes is the type of game some players prefer."

The Georgia Lottery opted to introduce its $30 ticket — 50 percent more than the $20 that previously was its priciest — based on market research, lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick said in an email.

"Players have been asking for a higher price point ticket," she said. "Our neighboring states are having great success with tickets at high price points, including Florida and Tennessee, both of which offer $25 tickets. Florida has also offered a $30 ticket. Many states are also offering higher price-point tickets, including Texas, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Connecticut."

Texas ranks at the top for most-expensive scratch-off, at $50 a ticket.

Traditionally, scratch-offs and other lottery tickets cost $1 or $2, each — and gambling experts have theorized that the low price is part of their allure. It's called the "peanuts effect," the willingness to spend "peanuts" for a big payout. For example, $2 for a Powerball ticket with a potential prize of hundreds of millions of dollars.

George Loewenstein, a Carnegie Mellon University economics and psychology professor who has studied gambling, speculates that high-priced scratch-offs play on a different set of human motives.

"The beauty of scratch-off tickets is that they provide immediate gratification, which appeals to a significant group of lottery players," Loewenstein wrote in an email. "However, the $1 scratch-off tickets tend to have relatively small payoffs, like $500 or $1,000. These new, larger, scratch-off tickets are much more expensive, so they don't play on the peanuts effect. However, they are immediate and ... provide more substantial up-side payoffs. Perhaps that explains their appeal — kind of the best of scratch-off and jackpot [but at a cost]."

Adam Goodie, director of the Center for Gambling Research at the University of Georgia, Athens, which studies problem gamblers, said state lotteries always are looking for ways to keep players interested.

"Lotteries everywhere are in a constant effort to find new games that are exciting for players that have perhaps grown tired of the old games," Goodie said.

While $30 per ticket might sound like a lot, he said, "there are folks that are spending that amount of money, anyway."

It might be more appealing to scratch off one $30 ticket instead of 30 $1 tickets, Goodie said.

"Or it looks like the $30 ticket has a huge payoff," he said.

Overall odds do improve as ticket prices increase. The overall odds of winning — and that includes winning another ticket — for Georgia's $30-per-ticket "$10 Million Cash Spectacular" are 1 in 2.77. That compares to overall odds of 1 in 4.64 for its $1 "Fast Cash" scratch-off, which has a top prize of $10,000, according to the Georgia Lottery's website.

The odds are better for a smaller top prize, though. The odds of the $1 scratch-off netting the $10,000 top prize are one in 1.08 million compared to the one in 6.3 million odds of taking home $10 million with the $30 ticket.

Chattanooga Times Free Press

Comments

mypiemaster's avatarmypiemaster

Better for me to play 15 MM with megaplier, or 10 PB with powerplay.

One-Day

It'd be a cold day in hell the day you catch me buying one of those.

Jill34786's avatarJill34786

I have never purchased a scratch off ticket and don't plan on starting anytime soon. I will stick with my occasional PB  or MM ticket.

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

I'm glad that some people purchase these $30 scratch off tickets. When they buy them they help the blood suckers hit their revenue targets and therefore not feel the need to F#$! up with the matrixes of the draw type games that I play. Sad Cheers

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Jester Laugh

I am going to make up a sales agreement for the Brooklyn Bridge & take it down there & sell it for $30,000 LOL

larry3100's avatarlarry3100

A $30 scratch-off ticket- I'll never purchase one. Psychiatrists call all these people who are buying these $30 scratch-off tickets in a frenzy- are having a " neurosis " of the brain or otherwise  called  temporary insanity.

RedStang's avatarRedStang

I think their well worth it. If you don't win you can use them to kill flys, scratch your back, or clean snow off your car.

noise-gate

This piece reminded me of something l read awhile back with a title..

" Who Are the Nation's Biggest Suckers. Lottery Players"

and it added this....

 

Billion-Dollar Losing Bets 

recent report out of  Bloomberg  declares citizens of the state of Georgia some of "the biggest suckers" in America. 

Collectively, Peach State inhabitants spent $3.4 billion on lottery tickets over the past year -- an average of $470.73 per adult. That amounted to a full 1% of their  annual income, ensuring the state a high ranking on  Bloomberg's "sucker index." But it was its low rate of winning lottery payouts (62.9%) that really pushed Georgia over the top and won it the biggest-sucker prize.

Stop chortling, Yankees. With 1.3% of personal income going to its state lottery, Massachusetts is No. 1; New York is No. 3 for lottery-ticket buying. California and Delaware rank among the least generous states for payouts. 

.. Just saying...

Jon D's avatarJon D

Quote: Originally posted by noise-gate on Feb 5, 2014

This piece reminded me of something l read awhile back with a title..

" Who Are the Nation's Biggest Suckers. Lottery Players"

and it added this....

 

Billion-Dollar Losing Bets 

recent report out of  Bloomberg  declares citizens of the state of Georgia some of "the biggest suckers" in America. 

Collectively, Peach State inhabitants spent $3.4 billion on lottery tickets over the past year -- an average of $470.73 per adult. That amounted to a full 1% of their  annual income, ensuring the state a high ranking on  Bloomberg's "sucker index." But it was its low rate of winning lottery payouts (62.9%) that really pushed Georgia over the top and won it the biggest-sucker prize.

Stop chortling, Yankees. With 1.3% of personal income going to its state lottery, Massachusetts is No. 1; New York is No. 3 for lottery-ticket buying. California and Delaware rank among the least generous states for payouts. 

.. Just saying...

And among all the big Billion dollar plus lottery states, where does Cali rank on the sucker scale? Way way down towards the bottom. Good stuff! Thumbs Up

But you can bet CA lottery guys have major East coast envy, and wish they had the sales per capita of the other big states. You can bet it's their goal to increase Cali's place on the scale. Confused

Candlelight777's avatarCandlelight777

Wow hand over $30 for a scratcher and 5 minutes later over and done!.. $30 gone!!  Eek 

Least with drawings you get to have fun picking your numbers and experience some excitement and anticipation waiting for the drawing  White Bounce  Drum

TNPATL

I can't imagine spending that much for a scracth off.  But hey for those that do, Good Luck!!!!!!  I remember when a friend of mine who travels to Illinois said she bought one when that state released a ticket.  It was just crazy to me to spend that much money on a scratch off.

BobP's avatarBobP

"Players have been asking for a higher price point ticket," she said. 

Translation

"Players have been asking for better odds and prizes," she said.

Who gets asked anyway, I'd like to know.  Anyone on LP ever been asked a lottery question by your lottery, ever seen a poll on the official site, at least one not skewed to only acceptable responses.

BobP

One weird tip to win the lottery.  Buy tickets

Lucky4Life's avatarLucky4Life

Quote: Originally posted by BobP on Feb 9, 2014

"Players have been asking for a higher price point ticket," she said. 

Translation

"Players have been asking for better odds and prizes," she said.

Who gets asked anyway, I'd like to know.  Anyone on LP ever been asked a lottery question by your lottery, ever seen a poll on the official site, at least one not skewed to only acceptable responses.

BobP

One weird tip to win the lottery.  Buy tickets

exactly what I was thinking..who in the heck did they poll? 

 

I wouldn't even pay $30 for a raffle lottery ticket and they generally have better odds.

luckyshoes's avatarluckyshoes

I think the state is rubbing their palms together and thinking...if we can get them to buy a $30 ticket then   it ll  be easy to get  a $50 and $100 ticket on the market .

Just say NO

End of comments
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