Cash 3 is drawn every day during a live
broadcast at 1:30 p.m. ET for the midday
drawing, and 7:57 p.m. ET for the evening
drawing.. Three ball machines, each with balls
numbered ranging from 0 through 9 are used. One
ball is drawn from each machine. Anyone who
matches the three numbers (in any order, or only
in order, depending on how exactly the numbers
are played; Cash 3 and Play 4 offer several
different options when playing) they are drawn
wins a guaranteed US$500 jackpot.
Play 4 is
drawn every day during a live broadcast
immediately following the Cash 3 drawings. It is
played the same way as Cash 3, except four ball
machines are used. Anyone who matches the four
numbers (in any order, or only in order,
depending on how exactly the numbers are played;
Cash 3 and Play 4 offer several different
options when playing) wins a guaranteed US$5,000
jackpot. Recently, more ways to play involving
multiple-number tickets have been introduced.
See the lottery website for further details and
results.
Fantasy 5 is drawn every day during a live
broadcast at 11:15 p.m. ET. A single ball
machine is used with balls numbered from 1
through 36 (Before July 16, 2001, it was 1
through 26, and before 1993, it was 1 through
39). Five balls are drawn from the machine.
Anyone who matches all five numbers in any order
wins or shares a top prize pool of around
US$200,000. If no one matches all five, the pool
rolls down to the 4-out-of-5 winners. On
September 15, 2008, the rolldown feature in
Fantasy 5 was modified. See the Rollover and
Rolldown section below.
Mega Money is drawn each Tuesday and Friday
during a live broadcast at 11:00 p.m. ET. Two
ball machines are used, one with white balls
numbered ranging from 1 through 44 and another
with pink balls numbered ranging from 1 through
22 (Before January 28, 2004, it was 1 through 32
for both). Four balls are drawn from the white
machine, and one number (called the "Mega Ball")
is drawn from the pink machine. Anyone who
matches all four white numbers in any order plus
the mega ball wins or shares the jackpot. The
minimum jackpot is estimated at US$500,000
annuity value. Jackpots can roll over up to $2
million, but freeze at $2 million. Any excess
funds roll down to the lower prize levels. There
is a cash option, but in order to receive the
lump sum, the ticket must be claimed within 60
days of the drawing.
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Main article:
Florida Lotto
Florida Lotto is drawn each Wednesday and
Saturday during a live broadcast at 11:00 p.m.
ET. A single ball machine is used with numbered
balls ranging from 1 through 53 (before October
24, 1999, it was 1 through 49). Anyone who
matches all six numbers in any order wins or
shares the jackpot.
In March 2008, two new jackpot levels were
added to the game, allowing players to purchase
$2 and $3 plays for larger jackpots. The base
jackpot, a $1 play, remains the same—starting at
a guaranteed US$3 million and increasing with
each rollover if no one matches the six-of-six
winning numbers. A $2 play offers players the
opportunity to win the base jackpot plus $10
million from the $2 jackpot prize pool; and, a
$3 play offers players the opportunity to win
the base jackpot, the additional $10 million
jackpot and an extra $15 million from the $3
jackpot prize pool—for a total of $25 million
added to the base jackpot. Players who match the
six-of-six winning numbers will share the base
jackpot as well as the bonus jackpot in the
applicable jackpot prize pool. If no ticket
matches all six winning numbers, the base
jackpot rolls over and the cash in the base
jackpot prize pool is carried over to the next
drawing. The $2 and $3 jackpot prize pools are
fixed amounts and are not carried over.
Powerball
(available January 4, 2009; first
drawing with Florida January 7, 2009)
Though the Florida Lottery’s expenses and
payouts vary from year to year, approximately 50
to 60 percent of its net revenue makes up the
games’ prize pools, 30 to 40 percent is
transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust
Fund, six percent is paid to retailers in the
form of commissions, two percent is paid to the
Lottery’s on-line and Scratch-Off ticket vendors
and the remaining two percent covers operational
costs, including advertising.
All Cash 3, Play 4, and Fantasy 5 jackpot
winners receive their winnings as a one-time,
lump-sum payment. Any winnings of less than
US$600 may be redeemed at an authorized Florida
Lottery retailer; higher winnings must be
redeemed at a Lottery district office or at
Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. All Mega
Money and Florida Lotto jackpots of more than
US$250,000 must be redeemed at Florida Lottery
headquarters. Mega Money jackpot winners may
choose between an annuity of 20 payments that
roughly equals the advertised jackpot, or a
lump-sum cash payment, which is about 2/3 of the
advertised jackpot (less federal income tax
withholding). Florida Lotto jackpot winners may
choose between an annuity of 30 payments that
roughly equals the advertised jackpot, or a
lump-sum cash payment, which is about 1/2 of the
advertised jackpot less federal income taxes.
For both Mega Money and Florida Lotto, the cash
option must be exercised within 60 days of the
applicable drawing. Florida does not have a
state income tax; however, like all U.S. lottery
prizes, they are taxable by the federal
government.
Winners of Florida Lottery On-line games
(Florida Lotto, Mega Money, Fantasy 5, Play 4,
and Cash 3) must claim their prize within 180
days of the applicable drawing results. Eighty percent
of unclaimed jackpot money is transferred to the
Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, while 20
percent of the jackpot is transferred to a prize
pool for funding future prizes.