Oklahoma Pick 3 lottery game to start by November
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and state lottery officials unveiled the designs for the first four types of scratch-off lottery tickets that will go on sale in on October 12.
The four instant tickets — "Lucky 7's," "Rush to Cash," "Oklahoma Gusher" and "25,000 Jackpot" — range in price from $1 to $5 and will be available at about 1,200 locations across the state, said Jim Scroggins, director of the Oklahoma Education Lottery.
"When Oklahomans overwhelmingly voted for the lottery last November, they wanted to do something dramatic for education," Henry said. "That opportunity is close at hand."
Prizes on the instant tickets will range from $1 to $25,000. The maximum prize for the $1 ticket, "Lucky 7's," is $777. The two $2 games - "Rush to Cash" and "Oklahoma Gusher" - feature maximum prizes of $5,000. The $5 game — "25,000 Jackpot" — has a top prize of $25,000.
The chances of winning are greater than one in five, Scroggins said. Players will be able to redeem winning tickets up to $600 at any participating retailer.
Depending on the success of the games, four more instant tickets may be unveiled in mid to late November, Scroggins said.
A media campaign reminding Oklahomans of the lottery's start date is expected to begin Tuesday. On Oct. 12, 30-second spots will begin airing on Oklahoma stations, said Beverly Hughes, director of sales and marketing for the Oklahoma Education Lottery.
Scroggins said plans remain on track to offer a "Pick 3" drawing before November 10. In that game, players will select or receive a randomly generated set of three numbers. There will be a drawing of the winning numbers held every night on KOKH Fox/WB. Players who match all three numbers win $500.
Oklahoma's participation in the multistate Powerball is set to begin January 14.
Henry predicted the lottery will generate $65 million during operation in the first fiscal year, which started July 1. It is expected to generate about $150 million annually for education during its first full year of operation, he said.
"Whatever it is, frankly, it's important to remember that's significant new revenue for education."
Oklahomans approved the education lottery in November 2004 with the support of 64 percent of voters.
A companion measure was approved with 68 percent of the vote. It created a constitutional "lockbox" to prevent lawmakers from dipping into lottery revenue to replace existing education dollars, something that has happened in other states.
