Cash4Life
Cash4Life is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery drawing game; as of June 2018, it is offered by nine state lotteries. Ticket sales began on June 13, 2014 in New York and New Jersey; the first drawing took place three days later.
Rules
Each game costs $2 per drawing (players in New Jersey can pay an additional $1 per game to double non-"lifetime" prizes; this option is called Doubler NJ.) Players pick five white ball numbers from 1 through 60 in the main field, plus one number from the second field (the green “Cash Ball”) from 1 through 4. Players have the option to have the terminal randomly select the numbers in both fields, which is known as "Quick Pick" in Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, "Quick Pik" in Georgia[1], and "Easy Pick" in Virginia. Matching all five numbers in the main field plus the Cash Ball wins, or shares ("split-prize liability"), the equivalent of $1,000-per-day-for-life, or $7,000,000 cash, at the winner's option. Second prize, however, can have multiple winners of $1,000-per-week-for-life and/or $1,000,000 cash. New Jersey Lottery regulations require that players choose either the annuity or cash option when playing. First- and second-prize winners who chose the "annuity" option can change to the cash option after winning; however, the "cash" option is binding and cannot be changed. [1] The official cutoff for ticket sales occur approximately 15 minutes prior to each drawing.
New Jersey's Doubler NJ option
Beginning on May 15, 2017, Doubler NJ (available only in New Jersey) can be added to each Cash4Life play for $1 extra. Any non-"for Life" prize is doubled on such a play. Doubler NJ applies to each $3 play on a ticket.
Odds and Prizes
| Matches | Prize | Approximate odds of winning (per $2 play) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Balls (60) |
Cash Ball (4) |
Base Prize | Doubler NJ | |
| 5 | 1 | $1,000/Day for Life (or cash option)†‡ | 1: 21,846,048 | |
| 5 | 0 | $1,000/Week for Life (or cash option)† | 1: 7,282,016 | |
| 4 | 1 | $2,500† | $5,000† | 1: 79,440 |
| 4 | 0 | $500 | $1,000† | 1: 26,480 |
| 3 | 1 | $100 | $200 | 1: 1,471 |
| 3 | 0 | $25 | $50 | 1: 490 |
| 2 | 1 | $10 | $20 | 1: 83 |
| 2 | 0 | $4 | $8 | 1: 28 |
| 1 | 1 | $2 | $4 | 1: 13 |
The overall odds of winning are approximately 1:7.76. The prize pool is 55 percent of sales.[2]
† The top two annuitized prizes, third prize, and the $1,000 Doubler NJ prize each have a liability limit. If there are an excessive number of winners of a "lifetime" prize tier, such prizes will automatically be paid in cash to each winner.[1] Cash option values (which can change periodically) are $7,000,000 for the top prize, and $1,000,000 for second prize.
‡The top prize is "split-prize liability"; in essence, a non-progressive jackpot.
Cash4Life winnings are subject to state and Federal taxes, except for tickets sold in Pennsylvania to its residents; however, a bill introduced in May 2015 would tax Pennsylvania Lottery winnings of $600 or more regardless of residence. (The state of Florida does not tax income, including gambling wins.)
The claim period for Cash4Life winners varies by the lottery which produced the ticket.
Winners of either "lifetime" prize tier can receive cash in lieu of the lifetime annuity. Rules also vary by Cash4Life member: a ticket bought in Florida whose winner prefers the cash option must claim within 60 days of the drawing. New Jersey requires the cash/annuity choice be made when purchasing a ticket; a "cash option" choice is binding, but an "annuity option" ticket can be changed to cash when claiming.
All nine states with Cash4Life allow game sales to players 18 or older.
Drawings
Cash4Life drawings are held live from Studio B (aka the Cash4Life studio) at New Jersey Lottery Headquarters at Lawrence Park Complex in Trenton, New Jersey every Monday and Thursday evening at 9:00 p.m. EST on Livestream.[3] From the game's beginning, through May 10, 2018, most of the drawings were emceed by the former full-time New Jersey Lottery host, Erica Young[4]. On May 14, 2018, Lauren Berman became the new full-time New Jersey Lottery and Cash4Life host[5]. Kaitlyn Cunning occasionally substitutes as the host for Cash4Life. Each drawing is supervised by an auditor from Hamilton, New Jersey-based Mercadien P.C., a CPA and Asset Management firm.[6][7][8] [9]
Two drawing machines are used during each Cash4Life drawing. The larger machine (Magnum II) is used for randomly mixing the 60 white balls by using counter-rotating arms[10][11]. The smaller machine (Messenger Single Digit) mixes the four green Cash Balls by using a clockwise rotating arm[12][13]. Individually, the five white balls (several seconds apart), then the Cash Ball, drop through a hole at the bottom of the appropriate mixing drum. The drawing machines are manufactured by Smartplay International of Edgewater Park, New Jersey[14][15].
On June 17, 2018, it was announced via a survey through New Jersey Lottery's "Game Changers" that there was a proposal about turning Cash4Life into a nightly draw game[16] [17].
Hosts
- Former
- Erica Young [20]
Cash4Life members
Participating lotteries
| Members | Joined | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | February 17, 2017 | |
| Georgia | August 29, 2016 | |
| Indiana | September 19, 2016 | |
| Maryland | January 26, 2016 | |
| New Jersey† | June 13, 2014 | Serves as the flagship lottery for Cash4Life. |
| New York† | June 13, 2014 | Replaced Sweet Million. |
| Pennsylvania | April 7, 2015 | |
| Virginia | May 3, 2015 | Replaced Decades of Dollars, a multi-state game which ended as a Virginia-only game. |
| Tennessee | November 1, 2015 | |
† Original member
1998–2000 MUSL game
Cash4Life was also the name of a significantly different game offered from March 30, 1998 to September 7, 2000 by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The top prize, $1,000-per-week-for-life (no cash option), was won if the player's primary set of two-digit numbers (00 through 99) matched those drawn. It was offered in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.[21]
See also
- Lucky for Life, a similar game that began in Connecticut (as Lucky4Life) in 2009; available in 25 states and the District of Columbia as of September 2017.
References
- 1 2 "Cash4Life Game Rules" (PDF).
- ↑ New Jersey Cash 4 Life Game Rules
- ↑ https://www.njlottery.com/en-us/aboutus/contactus.html
- ↑ https://1drv.ms/v/s!AptgyLLNTnZ9g45-j1Aud4sgCEevUA
- ↑ https://1drv.ms/v/s!AptgyLLNTnZ9g75Bqy1B-_RCbl5ftQ
- ↑ https://www.njlottery.com/en-us/drawgames/cash4life.html#tab-howToPlay
- ↑ "Cash4Life by CASH4LIFE".
- ↑ "New York Lottery: Cash4Life". Nylottery.ny.gov. Retrieved 2014-06-25. (press release)
- ↑ "NJ Lottery Studio Refresh.mp4". 1drv.ms.
- ↑ https://smartplay.com/lottery-products/magnum-ii-lottery-draw-machine/#1502120979536-559013e4-fa65
- ↑ https://1drv.ms/u/s!AptgyLLNTnZ9gstEpZMqXlRmN7fvIg
- ↑ https://smartplay.com/lottery-products/messenger/
- ↑ https://1drv.ms/u/s!AptgyLLNTnZ9gstEpZMqXlRmN7fvIg
- ↑ https://smartplay.com/lottery-products/messenger/
- ↑ https://smartplay.com/lottery-products/magnum-ii-lottery-draw-machine/#1502120979536-559013e4-fa65
- ↑ https://www.njgamechangers.com/c/al/5s5aLMztaQ7Kpk0T6nv9uj/6S0dfTRqGIoLUACpdka5Sb
- ↑ https://1drv.ms/u/s!AptgyLLNTnZ9g7sokyRNpFzLfu3qRA
- ↑ https://1drv.ms/v/s!AptgyLLNTnZ9g5Af72QusYaHzj_vhQ
- ↑ "Cash4Life Live Draw 03/23/2017 - from Cash4Life". Livestream.
- ↑ "Cash4Life Live Draw 04/17/2017 - from Cash4Life". Livestream.
- ↑ Barker, Thomas; Britz, Marjie. Jokers Wild: Legalized Gambling in the Twenty-first Century. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 87. ISBN 9780275965877.