53 Rollovers Create Dakota Record

There was no jackpot winner in the South Dakota Hot Lotto game last Saturday 21 October, and this brought the number of draws without a jackpot winner to an astonishing 53! Last Saturday, the consecutive rollovers had turned this fairly modest lottery into a veritable beast, with $11.32 million up for grabs. That figure will now be even higher, setting a new record for the biggest Hot Lotto jackpot ever.

The biggest jackpot before last Saturday was $10.8 million, and this was won in September 2004. Then, in June 2005, the jackpot crept up to $9.13 million. Now, in October 2006, the jackpot has already exceeded both of those earlier milestones, and if the prize isn’t won on Wednesday 25 October it will only get higher!

Hot Lotto was launched in April 2002 and is played in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, West Virginia, New Hampshire, and the District of Columbia. The draw takes place every Wednesday and Saturday. Players are required to pick 5 main numbers from 1-39 and 1 Hot Ball number from 1-19. To win the jackpot, a player must match all six numbers.

There are eight other tiers of prizes in addition to the main jackpot. These are detailed below, along with the odds of winning each:

Match 5 + Hot Ball Win Jackpot	Odds = 1 in 10,939,383
Match 5 Win $10,000	Odds = 1 in 607,744
Match 4 + Hot Ball Win $500	Odds = 1 in 64,349
Match 4 Win $50	Odds = 1 in 3,575
Match 3 + Hot Ball Win $50	Odds = 1 in 1,950
Match 3 Win $4	Odds = 1 in 108
Match 2 + Hot Ball Win $4	Odds = 1 in 183
Match 1 + Hot Ball Win $3	Odds = 1 in 47
Match Hot Ball Only Win $2	Odds = 1 in 39

Hot Lotto costs $1 per play, and the overall odds of winning are 1 in 16.

Article Last Updated: 02/08/2007