I have never heard of the Big National Lottery. Please enlighten me.

Sandra

-- Sandra Cunningham (sandra5@insightbb.com), May 20, 2002

Answers

Powerball is a lotto game which is a combined large jackpot game and a cash game. Every Wednesday and Saturday night at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, we draw five white balls out of a drum with 49 balls and one red ball out of a drum with 42 red balls. Players win by matching one of the 9 Ways to Win. The jackpot (won by matching all five white balls in any order and the red PowerBall) is either an annuitized prize paid out over 25 years or a lump sum payment. You no longer have to select the payment option at the time of purchase. The tax law has changed to give you up to 60 days until after you claim the prize to decide whether you want cash or the annuity option. The second prize (won by matching five white balls in any order) is $100,000 paid in cash. Any time you match the red PowerBall, you win. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game is better than 1 in 35.

What is the Mega Millions? Mega Millions is an enhanced version of the BIG GAME, featuring semi- weekly multi-million dollar jackpots and lots of cash prizes. Minimum jackpots are $10 million and just keep growing and growing until somebody wins! Plus, there are many more cash prizes to be won each week from $2 to $175,000.

Cash In Hand is the game that pays you the $500,000 top prize all at once (less applicable taxes). It's not an annuity game, so your winnings aren't spread out over a period of years. You get $500,000 all at once. Just like that.

Lotto is Maryland's Classic Jackpot Game that's better than ever. And when you play, you still get 2 chances to win for only $1. To play, just select any 6 numbers from 1 to 49. To win, the numbers you select must match the winning numbers selected on television, IN ANY ORDER. If you match 6 out of 6 numbers, you're a jackpot winner. Match 5 out of 6 numbers and you're a second prize winner. Match 4 out of 6 numbers and you're a third prize winner. Match 3 out of 6 numbers and you're a fourth prize winner. NEW CASH OPTION You can now choose to receive your Lotto Jackpot prize in one lump sum, rather than over 25 years. Simply ask your Lottery retailer for "Cash Option" or mark the "Cash" box on the front of your Lotto play slip. If you choose "Cash", and win the Lotto Jackpot, you'll receive a one-time payout equal to the prize pool portion which would have been used to purchase the annuity.

us Match 5 is an exciting numbers game presented by the Maryland Lottery. Every evening, the Lottery will select five winning numbers ranging from 1 to 39. A Bonus Ball will then be drawn from the remaining 34 numbers. The Bonus Ball provides you with extra chances to win.

Play in our lotto pool with others to increase the chances for everyone to win! http://www.thelottopool.com

-- Webmaster (webmaster@thelottopool.com), May 20, 2002.