Patent Publication Number: US-2006017224-A1

Title: Lottery games having non-numeric characters

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
      This application claims the benefit of the filing date of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/582,325 entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLAYING NEW LOTTERY GAMING SYSTEMS” filed Jun. 23, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated fully herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to lottery games and more particularly to lottery games involving random drawings of characters.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Lottery games are played by individuals on a daily basis. Some lottery games can produce an almost immediate determination of whether a player wins, such as the scratch-off type games where a lottery player purchases a lottery ticket and scratches off one or more fields on the lottery ticket to determine if it is a winning ticket. In this type of lottery game, the scratch-off field itself might alert the lottery player that they have won a prize and the extent of the win or particular prize that was won. In other versions, while the lottery player may scratch off the fields, the determination of whether the player has won is made by a comparison to an already determined list of winning fields or combinations of fields or by a later determined list of winning fields/combinations of fields.  
      Other types of lottery games provide for the determination of a winner based upon randomly drawn numbers corresponding to the number fields of a lottery ticket. These randomly determined numbers are referred to as “drawings” that take place at a predetermined time. Some drawings take place on a daily basis while others take place on a weekly basis or other periodic/regular basis. In this type of lottery game, a lottery player either selects a number for each field of a lottery ticket or has a randomly determined number selected for each field by a lottery ticket computer/ticket machine. The lottery player then takes the lottery ticket containing the selected/generated numbers and waits for the appropriate drawing for which the lottery player has purchased a ticket. Following the drawing, a lottery player then compares the numbers on the lottery ticket against the published winning numbers drawn for the particular lottery game being played at the particular time designated on the lottery ticket. If the numbers or combinations of numbers on the lottery ticket correspond to the numbers drawn, the lottery player is a winner and is entitled to collect the prize that is designated for the particular numbers or combinations of numbers that were drawn.  
      In some lottery games, in addition to selecting the numbers, the lottery player is permitted to pick a wager type, such as a straight wager or a boxed wager. A straight wager requires that the order of each of the numbers in each number field of the lottery ticket must correspond exactly to the order of each of the numbers drawn for those specific number fields in the lottery drawing. A boxed wager allows the lottery player to win if the numbers in each number field of the lottery ticket correspond to the numbers drawn, regardless of the specific order of the drawing. The payouts or prizes associated with the drawing will vary depending upon the wager type. A straight wager could have a higher payout or larger prize than a boxed wager, because the odds against successfully picking a straight wager (with the exact numbers in the exact order of the drawing) are greater than the odds of correctly selecting a boxed wager (exact numbers of the drawing, but appearing in any order).  
      An example of a lottery game involving randomly drawn numbers is the Pennsylvania DAILY NUMBER SM  offered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The DAILY NUMBER SM  involves the selection of a three-digit number by the lottery player which is then printed on a lottery ticket. Each digit of the three-digit number can range from 0-9 for a total of 1,000 possible winning combinations from 000-999. A predetermined betting range is set from $0.50 to $5.00. A lottery player picks the time and date that the lottery player wishes to play the DAILY NUMBER SM  with bets being allowed up to one week in advance of a drawing. Drawings are regularly scheduled, with a first or afternoon drawing taking place every day at 1:35 p.m. and a second or evening drawing taking place every day at 7:00 p.m. The drawings involve the random selection of a ball from three different hoppers, each hopper containing 10 balls numbered from 0-9. A separate ball is selected (one from each hopper) for each of the three spots. When selecting the number, the lottery player is allowed to select the three-digit number or have the computer randomly select a three-digit number for them. Pennsylvania refers to a computer generated number as a QUICK PICK™. The lottery player is also allowed to select the wager type from a predetermined list of wagers that includes straight, boxed, boxed two digits plus one, play front pair, play back pair, play super straight, play super straight plus one. The payout odds for these wager types range from 50 to 1 for the play front pair and play back pair options to 500 to 1 for the straight, play super straight, and play super straight plus one wager types. The information—number, date and wager type are all printed on a lottery ticket. The lottery ticket serves as the lottery player&#39;s receipt in the event of a winning combination. If a player has a winning ticket, the player turns the winning ticket in to the place of purchase or some other designated location by a lottery commission to confirm the prize that corresponds to the lottery ticket information. For this example, the payout equals the odds for a particular bet, multiplied by the actual bet. Payouts for the DAILY NUMBER SM  thus range from $25.00 for a $0.50 bet at 50 to 1 odds, up to $2,500 for a $5.00 bet at 500 to 1 odds. Note that the payout odds for this example are one half of the actual odds. The balance (approx. the other one half of the actual odds) goes to the lottery host, in this case the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  
      Similar to the DAILY NUMBER SM  is The BIG 4 SM  lottery game. The BIG 4 SM  lottery game involves the selection of a four-digit number, with each of the four digits ranging from 0-9. This provides a total of 10,000 possible numbers ranging from 0000-9999. The winning or payout odds for this game range from 200 to 1 up to 5,000 to 1 for the various wagers permitted. For this game, the wagers include—straight, boxed, box two pairs, box one pair plus two digits, and box four different digits. Similar to the DAILY NUMBER SM , the bets range from $0.50 up to $5.00. The BIG 4 SM  has a first/afternoon drawing each day in the afternoon at 1:35 p.m. and each a second/evening drawing each evening at 7:00 p.m. The lottery player&#39;s ticket for The BIG 4 SM  would have four number fields (for the four digit number) instead of the three number fields of the DAILY NUMBER SM .  
      Some lottery games have the prizes determined based upon the pool of monies wagered in a particular lottery game. This structure of payout is also referred to as a “pari-mutuel” system. Moreover, some payout structures are referred to as a “fixed” payout. An example of a lottery game using both the pari-mutuel and fixed payout systems is the Pennsylvania CASH 5 SM  lottery game. In the CASH 5 SM  lottery game, a player selects (or has the computer select) five separate numbers with each number ranging from 1-39. In the CASH 5 SM  lottery game, fifty percent of the gross sales are allocated to the total winnings pool. A winning ticket occurs if a player matches anywhere from two of five numbers of the drawn five numbers. If a match occurs, the lottery player is awarded a predetermined percentage of the respective winning subset pool (a pari-mutuel payout), with the exception that a match of only two of the five drawn numbers wins a predetermined distribution of $1.00 (a fixed payout)—which is also the cost of the lottery ticket for this game. If there are multiple winners for any of the other match levels (3 of five numbers, 4 of five numbers or 5 of five numbers), the winners for each level divide the allocated prize award for that particular level by the numbers of winners at that level.  
      Another type of lottery game is the Pennsylvania POWERBALL®, a multi-state game. The POWERBALL® lottery drawing takes place twice weekly. This is a progressive lottery game starting at a $10 million dollar jackpot that grows each drawing until there is a winner. POWERBALL® involves six numbers—five numbers plus the POWERBALL® number. Each of the five numbers range from 1-53 and the POWERBALL® number ranges from 1-42. POWERBALL® allows the lottery player to play up to 26 drawings in advance. If designated an advance drawing(s), the player marks the number of advance draws desired in the “advance draws” column of the ticket. A bet is required for each drawing selected. Predetermined combinations of drawing numbers correspond to predetermined prizes. The grand prize or jackpot is awarded if all five balls plus the power ball correctly match all numbers drawn for the designated drawing. If five balls (but not the 6 th , POWERBALL®) match, a predetermined prize of $100,000 is awarded. If four balls and the POWERBALL®) match a predetermined prize of $5,000 is won. In the POWERBALL®, multiple winners at each prize level are each awarded the predetermined, fixed prize at that level, except for the grand prize/jackpot, which is a pari-mutuel event (based on amount wagered and number of jackpot winners).  
      The POWERBALL® lottery has an additional variation called the POWER PLAY®. For an additional $1.00, the cost of the ticket, the POWER PLAY® entitles the lottery player to enroll in the POWER PLAY® number selection. The POWER PLAY® number is a multiplier that ranges from 2-5. Before the POWERBALL® numbers are drawn, the POWER PLAY® multiplier is drawn. This allows the lottery player the chance to multiply their winnings between two and five times the regular prize levels, depending upon the POWER PLAY® number selected. The instructions and payouts for these Pennsylvania lottery games are listed on the Pennsylvania lottery website at “palottery.com.” This website and each web page of the website is incorporated by reference, as if fully set forth herein.  
      The states that host lottery games will typically use the lottery revenue to help the state with its various programs or budget. For example, Pennsylvania revenue uses portions of the revenues for benefit programs for the Commonwealth&#39;s older residents. For this reason, it is beneficial for a state or lottery organization to continue to attract lottery players to its lottery games. Providing additional games or new games may serve to attract new users or attract additional bets from existing players. With the ability in many states to play lottery games from other states (and countries), it is desirable to have new lottery games available.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is embodied in a method for a lottery game in which characters are drawn. The characters are drawn from character sets in accordance with a template. The template has multiple character positions associated with the character sets with at least one of the sets including non-numeric characters. Winners of the lottery game are determined by comparing characters selected by players to the drawn lottery characters. In an exemplary embodiment the template represents a license plate. Also disclosed are a lottery ticket, a play slip, and a lottery game entry machine in accordance with the lottery game. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention is best understood from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, with like elements having the same reference numerals. When a plurality of similar elements are present, a single reference numeral may be assigned to the plurality of similar elements with a small letter designation referring to specific elements. When referring to the elements collectively or to a non-specific one or more of the elements, the small letter designation may be dropped. The letter “n” may represent a non-specific number of elements. This emphasizes that according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not drawn to scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. Included in the drawings are the following figures:  
       FIG. 1  is a picture of an actual license plate for use with the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a diagram depicting license plate formats for multiple states grouped into multiple regions in accordance with aspects of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is an illustration of a simulated license plate for use with the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is an illustration of an exemplary lottery ticket and an exemplary designated template for the lottery ticket in accordance with aspects of the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart of exemplary steps for playing a lottery game in accordance with aspects of the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is an illustration of another exemplary lottery ticket and designated template in accordance with aspects of the present invention;  
       FIG. 7  is an illustration of another exemplary lottery ticket and designated template in accordance with aspects of the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is an illustration of an exemplary lottery machine in accordance with aspects of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 9  is an illustration of an exemplary play slip in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is a lottery game in which characters are drawn from one or more character sets in accordance with a designated template by an authority that is hosting the lottery game (herein “the lottery host”). As described in further detail below, the designated template has multiple character positions with each character position associated with one of the one or more character sets, and at least one of the character sets includes one or more non-numeric characters such as alphabetic characters. The non-numeric characters may be English characters, Japanese characters, French characters, or characters of other countries. A lottery player (herein “the player”) wins the lottery game based upon whether characters selected by the player, which are typically displayed on a lottery ticket issued to the player, match the drawn characters. The player can select one or more of the characters manually or select to have them manually generated by a computer.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, the designated template represents a license plate. The license plate may be a representation of an actual license plate or of a simulated license plate. Although the template is described below with reference to either an actual license plate or a simulated license plate, it is contemplated that the template may be essentially any defined number of character positions with a non-numeric character valid in at least one of the character positions.  
       FIG. 1  depicts an actual license plate format  100  that may be represented by a designated template. Illustrated license plate  100  includes multiple character positions (represented by seven character positions  102   a - g ) and a state identifier  104 . Illustrated license plate  100  is a representation of a license plate used in the state of Pennsylvania, with the illustration for the license plate  100  obtained on Jun. 20, 2005 from a website maintained by the department of motor vehicles for the state of Pennsylvania at www.dmv.state.pa.us/license_plates/index.shtml. In accordance with regulations for the state of Pennsylvania regarding the license plate character format for non-commercial vehicles, alphabetic characters (i.e., A-Z) are valid for each of the first three character positions (i.e., character positions  102   a - c ) and numeric characters (i.e., 0-9) are valid for each of the last four character positions (i.e., character positions  102   d - g ). Although a Pennsylvania license plate is depicted it will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein that essentially any state, region, or country license plate may be represented by a designated template.  
      A summary of various state license plate character formats for non-commercial vehicles is summarized in  FIG. 2  (with the various states identified by their two digit postal code).  FIG. 2  groups the license plate character formats into four regions (an east region  202 , a west region  204 , a north region  206 , and a south region  208 ) with each region including ten states. In  FIG. 2 , a capital letter “L” is used in a character position to indicate an alphabetic character is valid in that positions and a capital letter “N” is used in a character position to indicate a numeric character is valid in that position. For example, the format for a non-commercial license plate in Ohio (OH) is LLNNLLL (e.g., AB12CDE). Additionally, some states may have character positions with constant character values. For example, the first character of a non-commercial license plate in California (CA) is always a numeric character “4.” Although the illustrated formats indicate that a numeric character is invalid in a character position in which an alphabetic character is valid and that an alphabetic character is invalid in a character position in which a numeric character is valid, it is contemplated that an alphabetic character and a numeric character may both be valid in a single character position. Further, although the above example, and the following description, describe formats for non-commercial automobile license plates, it is contemplated that other types of vehicle license plate formats may be used, e.g., those for commercial vehicles, motorcycle, etc.  
       FIG. 3  depicts a simulated license plate format  300  that may be represented by a designated template. Simulated license plate  300  includes multiple character positions (represented by six character positions  302   a - f ), e.g., designated by the lottery host. In an exemplary embodiment, alphabetic characters (e.g., A-Z) are designated as valid for each of the first three character positions (i.e., character positions  302   a - c ) and numeric characters (e.g., 0-9) are valid for each of the last three character positions (i.e., character positions  302   d - f ). It is contemplated that both a numeric character and an alphabetic character may be valid in one or more of character positions  302 . In addition, it is contemplated that a subset of alphabetic characters and/or numeric characters may be valid in one or more character positions  202  (e.g., A-M and/or 1-5). Further, it is contemplated that the designated template may include more or less character positions  202  than the six illustrated in simulated license plate  300 .  
      Simulated license plate  300  may be used as the designated template when multiple states are involved, for example. Since each state may have a different format for its license plate, simulated license plate  300  provides a generic template that enables the same game to be played in multiple states with a single character drawing. For example, with reference to  FIG. 2 , each state may be associated with a template  210  having a common format (e.g., LLL-NNN-ST, where ST stands for a state geographic identifier position that is described below).  
      There is shown in  FIG. 4  an exemplary lottery ticket  400  for use with an exemplary lottery game in accordance with the present invention (referred to herein as “game variant one”). Lottery ticket  400  serves as a receipt for a lottery player playing the lottery game after the player has selected characters in accordance with a designated template  401  and paid a required fee (described below). Designated template  401  includes seven character positions  402   a - g  with the first three character positions  402   a - c  being letters and the last four character positions  402   d - g  being numbers (i.e., LLL-NNNN). As will be discussed in further detail below, assuming 26 valid letters and 10 valid numbers, there are 175,760,000 combinations of these characters (i.e., 26*26*26*10*10*10*10=175,760,000).  
      In an exemplary embodiment, lottery ticket  400  includes an illustration on a background  403  of lottery ticket  400  that is associated with a theme of the lottery game. For example, if the theme of the lottery game is license plates, then background  403  of lottery ticket  400  may be an illustrative representation of an actual license plate (such as is illustrated in  FIG. 1 ) or of a generic license plate (e.g., an artists rendition of a license plate).  
      Lottery ticket  400  includes a first game display area  404   a  for a first game (game “A”), a second game display area  404   b  for a second game (game “B”), and a third game display area  404   c  for a third game (game “C”). More or fewer game display areas  404  may be employed on a single lottery ticket  400 . Each illustrated game display area  404  includes a game identifier field (e.g., game identifier field  406   a  for game A, game identifier field  406   b  for game B, and game identifier field  406   c  for game C), a player character field (e.g., player character fields  408   a - c ) that displays characters selected by a player in accordance with designated template  401 , and a fee field (e.g., fee fields  410   a - c ) that displays associated fees for the selected characters.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, a player may select only one character for each character position  402  per game giving the player one way to match all character positions of designated template  401 . In an alternative exemplary embodiment, a player may select one or more characters (e.g., up to all characters) in one or more character positions  402  in a single lottery character selection for the lottery game. Multiple selections represent alternative character selections that provide the player with multiple ways to match all character positions of designated template  401 .  
      Illustrated lottery ticket  400  in second game display area  406   b  indicates that a player has selected all characters for third character position  412  (represented by the word “ALL” in brackets), four characters for seventh character position  414  (represented by the characters “4,” “5,” “6,” and “9” in brackets), and one character for each of the remaining character positions (e.g., the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth character positions) for the second game (game B). Whereas the player only has one way to match all drawn character positions of template  401  for the first game (game A, i.e., 1*1*1*1*1*1*1=1), the player has 104 ways to match all drawn character positions of template  401  for the second game (game B, i.e., 1*1*26*1*1*1*4=104).  
      Fee fields  410  present the fees associated with the selected player characters illustrated in respective player character displays  408 . In an exemplary embodiment, the fees are related to the number of ways to match all character positions of designated template  401 . In  FIG. 4 , the base fee is assumed to be $1.00 for each way to match all character positions. For example, in game A there is one way to match all drawn character positions and, therefore, the fee is $1.00. In game B there are 104 ways to match all drawn character positions and, therefore, the fee is $104.00. In game C there are 3,120 ways to match all drawn character positions (i.e., 3*1*26*10*1*4*1=3,120) and, therefore, the fee is $3,120. The illustrated fee amounts are for illustrative purposes only and the actual fees charged may vary substantially from those presented herein. For example, the base fee may be $0.10 to enable players to afford more combinations with payouts adjusted accordingly.  
      Illustrated lottery ticket  400  further includes a game name field  420 , a state identifier field  422 , a game time field  424 , and one or more security code fields (represented by two security code fields  426   a  and  426   b ). Game name field  420  displays the name of the lottery game, e.g., “LICENSES-2-WIN&gt;” in the illustrated embodiment. State identifier field  422  identifies the state where the player purchases the lottery ticket and/or the state of the lottery host, for example. The state may be identified using a two digit postal code, e.g., PA for Pennsylvania. Game time field  424  displays the day/date and, optionally, the time of the drawing, e.g., if multiple drawings take place on a given day. This corresponds to a defined day/date/time for the particular lottery game that is referenced.  
      Security code fields  426  facilitate authentication of lottery ticket  400 . In the illustrated embodiment, two security code fields  426   a  and  426   b  are depicted. More or fewer security code fields  426  may be employed at the discretion of the lottery host. Suitable methods for developing security codes and authenticating a lottery ticket  400  will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein.  
      The actual layout of the lottery ticket for the present invention may vary from exemplary ticket  400  shown in  FIG. 4 . Factors that can result in differences include, but are not limited to, the template designated for the lottery game. The actual layout will ultimately depend upon the requirements dictated by the lottery host in accordance with this invention.  
       FIG. 5  depicts a flow chart  500  of exemplary steps for playing a lottery game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is described with reference to  FIG. 4 . At block  502 , a player selects characters (herein “player characters”) in accordance with a template  401  designated for the lottery game. In an exemplary embodiment, the player selects one character for each character position, such as shown in  FIG. 4  for game A. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the player may select more than one character for one or more of the character positions such as shown in  FIG. 4  for games B and C, e.g., by specifying one or more alternate characters for one or more positions and/or by selecting all the characters for one or more character positions. In exemplary embodiments, the player may select characters through the use of a play slip (described below) that is inserted into a reader coupled to a lottery machine (described below) or by entering the selections directly into the lottery machine either personally or by directing an operator of the lottery machine. A player selection may include the player selecting to have one or more character positions randomly selected.  
      A fee is calculated at block  504  for the player to play the selected characters. In an exemplary embodiment, the fee is based on the characters selected by the player. For example, as described above, the fee may be based on the number of ways the selected characters may match all drawn characters of the designated template.  
      At block  506 , payment is received from the player and, at block  508 , a lottery ticket, such as lottery ticket  400  of  FIG. 4 , is dispensed to the player. It is contemplated that the lottery ticket may be a physical lottery ticket or an electronic lottery ticket that is transferred over a global network (e.g., the Internet) to a computer, a telephone network to a cellular telephone, or other such networks to devices from which the player is playing the lottery game.  
      A lottery host then draws characters (herein “lottery characters”) at block  510  in accordance with designated template  401 . In an exemplary embodiment, the characters are randomly/pseudo-randomly drawn in a manner that will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein. One or more of the lottery characters may be drawn by obtaining those characters from another lottery game. For example, a first set of character may be drawn using the evening drawing of the Pennsylvania Daily Number™ or the evening drawing of The BIG 4 SM . A second set of numbers may then be independently drawn or received from another lottery game and combined with the first set to generate the lottery characters. Various other methods for drawing the lottery characters will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein and are considered within the scope of the present invention.  
      Then, at block  512 , the drawn lottery characters and the selected player characters are compared to determine winners of the lottery game. In an exemplary embodiment, a player wins the lottery game if all selected player characters and all drawn lottery characters match, which is referred to herein as a grand prize winner or a jackpot winner. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, there may be different levels of winners. For example, the grand prize winner may be considered a first level winner, a player whose selected character positions match six out of seven character positions may be considered a second level winner, etc. Additional winners may be determined based on other criteria, e.g., matching all numeric character positions or matching all alphabetic character positions, etc.  
      Optionally, at block  512 A, the drawn lottery characters are compared to character positions on actual license plates that are registered to owners. The registered owner may be designated as a bonus winner (e.g., a winner of $10,000) if all character positions of their license plate matches all drawn lottery character positions. In an exemplary embodiment, the owner must be a player of the particular lottery game in which the lottery characters match the actual license plate. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the bonus winner is determined regardless of whether they are a player, e.g., to generate attention for the lottery game.  
      Finally, at block  514 , a payout for the lottery game is dispersed to the winners of the lottery game. The present lottery game can be played with a variety of payout possibilities. A jackpot or grand prize may be dispersed to the first level winner. In an exemplary embodiment, lesser amounts may be distributed to lower level winners. If there are multiple winners at a particular level, the payout for that level may be split equally among those players. The payout amount for each level can be a set amount (i.e. $500,000) or pari-mutuel, i.e., the payout is determined by the actual betting. The latter puts the lottery host in a position of less risk, because the payout cannot exceed a set percentage of the amount wagered (and collected by the lottery host). Additionally, if a bonus winner is determined at block  512   a , a bonus prize is dispersed. The bonus prize may be a fixed amount or pari-mutuel.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, at block  516  through block  524 , if there are no winners of the jackpot, the jackpot “rolls over” to increase the jackpot payout in a subsequent game. At block  516 , the lottery host determines if the jackpot is dispersed at block  514 . If the jackpot was dispersed, processing proceeds at block  518  with a rollover counter being reset. If the jackpot was not dispersed, processing proceeds at block  520 .  
      At block  520 , which is reached if the jackpot was not dispersed, the lottery host determines if the rollover counter has exceeded a predetermined number to determine if the jackpot has rolled over more that a predefined number of times. This ensures that the jackpot does not rollover indefinitely, which may result in players losing interest in playing subsequent games. If the rollover counter has exceeded the predetermined number, processing proceeds at block  522 . If the rollover counter has exceeded the predetermined number, processing proceeds at block  524  with the jackpot rolling over for a subsequent game and the rollover counter being incremented, e.g., by one.  
      Then, at block  522 , which is reached if the jackpot has rolled over a predetermined number of times with no first level winners, the jackpot is dispersed to lower level winners. In an exemplary embodiment, if the jackpot rolls over for the predetermined number of drawings, the jackpot is dispersed on a sliding scale basis to players of the lottery game. For example, if there are no players that select character positions that match all drawn lottery character positions for 15 games in a row, all accumulated funds are dispersed after the 15 th  game with 40 percent distributed to players correctly matching six out of seven character positions, 30 percent distributed to players correctly matching five out of seven character positions, 20 percent distributed to players correctly matching four out of seven character positions, and 10 percent distributed to players correctly matching three out of seven character positions. If there are no winners at a particular level, e.g., no players correctly matching four out of seven character positions, the percentage distribution is reallocated at lower levels, e.g., with 20 percent distributed to players correctly matching three out of seven character positions an 10 percent distributed to players correctly matching two out of seven positions. Various alternative methods for dispersing the jackpot will be understood by one of skill in the art and are considered within the scope of the present invention.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, one or more other rollover categories in addition to the jackpot may optionally be defined for one or more other the winning levels (including the bonus prize). These other rollover categories may be processed as described above for the jackpot in block  516  to block  524 .  
      Another exemplary lottery ticket  600  and an associated designated template  601  are shown in  FIG. 6  for use is describing various alternative exemplary embodiments of a lottery game in accordance with the present invention that build upon the exemplary embodiment described above with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Exemplary lottery ticket  600  includes many features that are found in lottery ticket  400  ( FIG. 4 ). The common features are numbered identically and are not described again in detail.  
      Designated template  601  for lottery ticket  600  includes six character positions  602   a - f , rather than seven for lottery ticket  400  ( FIG. 4 ), with the first three character positions  602   a - c  being letters and the last three character positions  602   d - g  being numbers (i.e., LLL-NNN). As described in further detail below, there are 17,576,000 combinations of these characters (i.e., 26*26*26*10*10*10=17,576,000).  
      In accordance with one alternative exemplary embodiment of a lottery game (referred to herein as “game variant two”), designated template  601  further includes a state or country geographic identifier  603  (represented by the capital letters “ST”). State or country geographic identifier  603  may be used to specify a particular state or country in addition to the character positions  602 . For example, a player may be allowed to select one or more states from a subset of states within the United States (e.g., one or more of ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, and DE), and the lottery game may include drawing one of the states from the subset. Likewise, countries may be used, e.g., all countries in Europe. State geographic identifier  603  adds an additional level of interest to the lottery game and increases the number of potential combinations over the use of character positions  602  alone. For example, if there are 10 states from which a player may select, the number of combinations increases to 175,760,000 (i.e., 17,576,000*10=175,760,000) from a lottery game with six character positions and no geographic identifiers. Game variant two can be implemented using the steps in flow chart  500  of  FIG. 5  modified to accommodate state/country identifier  603 , which can be treated as an additional character position, in a manner that will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein.  
      In accordance with another alternative exemplary embodiment of a lottery game (referred to herein as “game variant three”), designated template  601  further includes a region geographic identifier  605  (represented by capital letters “RE”) in addition to, or instead of, state or country geographic identifier  603 . Region geographic identifier  605  may be used to specify a particular region in addition to the character positions  602 . For example, a player may be allowed to select one or more regions from a set of regions (e.g., North, South, East, West), and the lottery game may include drawing one of the regions from the set. Region geographic identifier  603  adds an additional level of interest to lottery games and increases the number of potential combinations over the use of character positions  602  alone. For example, if there are 4 regions from which a player may select, the number of combinations increases to 70,304,000 (i.e., 17,576,000*4=70,304,000) over the selection of six character positions  602   a - f  and increases to 703,040,000 (i.e., 175,760,000*4=703,040,000) over the selection of six character positions  602   a - f  and the selection of state/country geographic identifier  603 . Game variant three can be implemented using the steps in flow chart  500  of  FIG. 5  modified to accommodate region identifier  605  and/or state/country identifier  603 , which can be treaded as one or more additional character positions, in a manner that will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein.  
      Similar to lottery ticket  400  ( FIG. 4 ), lottery ticket  600  includes a first game display area  604   a  for a first game (game “A”), a second game display area  604   b  for a second game (game “B”), and a third game display area  604   c  for a third game (game “C”). Each illustrated game display area  604  includes a game identifier field (e.g., game identifier field  606   a  for game A, game identifier field  606   b  for game B, and game identifier field  606   c  for game C), a player character and geographic identifier field (e.g., player character and geographic identifier fields  608   a - c ) that displays characters and geographic identifiers selected by a player in accordance with template  601 , and a fee field (e.g., fee fields  610   a - c ) that displays associated fees for the selected characters and geographic identifiers.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, a player may select only one character for each character position  412  and one state/country/region for respective state/country/region geographic identifier positions  603 / 605  per game. This gives the player one way to match all character positions and geographic identifier positions of designated template  601 . In an alternative exemplary embodiment, a player may select one or more characters (e.g., up to all characters) and/or geographic identifiers in one or more character positions  602  and one or more geographic identifier positions  603 / 605 . Multiple selections represent alternative character and geographic identifier selections that provide the player with multiple ways to match all character and geographic identifier positions of designated template  601 .  
      Illustrated lottery ticket  600  in second game display area  604   b  indicates that a player has selected all characters for third character position  612  (represented by the word “ALL” in brackets), four characters for sixth character position  614  (represented by characters “4,” “5,” “6,” and “9” in brackets), one character for each of the remaining character positions (e.g., first, second, fourth, and fifth character positions), one state for state/country geographic identifier position  616  and all four regions for region geographic identifier position  618  for the second game (game B). In this embodiment, the player has 312 ways to match all drawn character and geographic identifier positions of template  601  for the second game (game B, i.e., 1*1*26*1*1*4*1*4=312).  
      Fee fields  610  present the fees associated with the selected player characters illustrated in respective player character displays  608 . In an exemplary embodiment, the fees are related to the number of ways to match all character and geographic identifier positions of designated template  601 . In  FIG. 6 , the fee is assumed to be $1.00 for each way to match all character geographic identifier positions. In game A, there are 6 ways to match all drawn character and geographic identifier positions and, therefore, the fee is $6.00. In game B, there are 312 ways to match all drawn character and geographic identifier positions and, therefore, the fee is $312.00. In game C, there are 187,200 ways to match all drawn character and geographic identifier positions and, therefore, the fee is $187,200. The illustrated fee amounts are for illustrative purposes only and the actual fees charged may vary substantially from those presented herein within the scope of the present invention.  
      In accordance with another alternative exemplary embodiment of a lottery game (referred to herein as “game variant four”), lottery ticket  600  includes a region indicator  630  that indicates regions where selected player characters are valid. In accordance with this embodiment, a drawing of lottery characters occurs in multiple regions concurrently with each region independently accumulating ad distributing payouts. For example, if there are four regions (e.g., North, South, East, and West), each of the four regions may draw lottery characters and distribute payouts to winners. In addition, when a player selects player characters, the player may select to have the player characters entered in one or more of the regions. Assuming there are four regions, the illustrated lottery ticket  600  indicates that the player has selected to have the player characters entered for each drawing in all four regions (e.g., North, South, East, and West). In an exemplary embodiment, a player may be charged additional fees for is entering their selected characters and geographic identifiers in more than one region. The number of regions may be used as a multiplier, e.g., if four regions are selected, the fee would be four times as much as if only one region is selected. For example, in game display area  606   a , fee field  610   a  indicates a fee of $6.00. For four selected regions, however, the fee would be $24.00 (i.e., $6.00*4=$24.00).  
      As described above,  FIG. 2  depicts four regions  202 / 204 / 206 / 208  with ten states in each region. In accordance with game variant four, each region may hold its own drawing of characters in accordance with a designated template. In addition, a player may select characters and elect to have the selected characters entered into one or more of the four regions. The player may only win if the selected characters match a winning number of drawn characters in a region that the player has elected. For example, if the player elects East and West regions  202 / 204  and the selected characters match a winning number of drawn characters in East region  202 , the player is a winner. If the selected characters match a winning number of drawn characters in North region  206 , however, the player is not a winner because the player did not enter that region.  
      Referring back to  FIG. 6 , in accordance with another alternative exemplary embodiment of a lottery game (referred to herein as “game variant five”), lottery ticket  600  includes an multiple-pool indicator  640  indicating that the player has selected to participate in a multiple region lottery game (identified by the name POWER-POOL™ in the illustrated embodiment). In this embodiment, another drawing of lottery characters (referred to herein as “the multi-region drawing”) is performed in addition to the drawing in each region as described above with reference to game variant four. Thus, if there are four regions, each having their own drawing of lottery characters, there will be a total of five drawings. A player may elect to have their player character entered for one or more of these drawings. As described above, the number of drawings in which the player enters may serve as a multiplier of the fee for the player&#39;s selected characters.  
      In game variant five, the payout for the multi-region drawing may be based on a separately maintained pool of collected fees for players entering the multi-region drawing and/or on a pool of collected fees from each of the regions within the pool. If the pool includes collected fees from the individual regions, the payout to winners of the multi-region drawing may be reduced if there are winners in the individual regions. For example, referring to  FIG. 2 , if there is a jackpot winner in one of the regions (e.g., East region  202 ) and a jackpot winner for the multi-region drawing, the multi-region drawing winner may split the jackpot prize from East region  202  with the winner in that region and take the entire jackpot prize from the remaining regions (e.g., West, North, and South regions  204 / 206 / 208 ).  
      There is shown in  FIG. 7  an exemplary lottery ticket  700  and an associated designated template  401  for use is describing an add-on lottery game in accordance with the present invention (referred to herein as “game variant six”) that builds upon the exemplary embodiments described above with reference to  FIGS. 4, 5 , and  6 . Exemplary lottery ticket  700  includes many features that are found in lottery ticket  400  ( FIG. 4 ). The common features are numbered identically and are not described again in detail. Lottery ticket  700  includes an add-on game identifier  702  (which is labeled with the name POWER-UP-1-2-3-4™ in the illustrated embodiment).  
      In accordance with this embodiment, a player may select characters for a subset of the character positions of designated template  401 . For example, the player may select character for the first character positions of designated template  401  (e.g., designated POWER-UP1), the first two character positions of designated template  401  (e.g., designated POWER-UP2), the first three character positions of designated template  401  (e.g., designated POWER-UP3), the first four character positions of designated template  401  (e.g., designated POWER-UP4), etc.  
      In lottery ticket  700 , the player characters selected for this add-on game are displayed in a second line of each player character field  408  and the corresponding fee for the selected characters is listed after the fee for characters selected for each character position of designated template  401 . For example, in first game display area  404   a , the first two character positions of designated template  401  are selected by the player. In this example, the player selects the letter “N” for first character position  710  and all letters for second character position  712 . Assuming twenty-six valid letters, the player has 26 alternative combinations for matching both character positions. If the player is charged $1.00 for each potentially matching combination, the fee would be an additional $26.00.  
       FIG. 8  depicts a portion of a lottery machine  800  in accordance with various aspects of the present invention. Lottery machine  800  includes a keypad  802  and a display  803 . In addition to conventional lottery machine keys, keypad  802  may include one or more of a “LICENSES-2-WIN™” key  804 , an “ALL” key  806 , a “WITH” key  808 , a “RND” key  810 , a “LETTERS” key  812 , a “STATES” key  814 , and a “REGIONS” key  816 . Keypad  802  further includes separate keys for individual letters, state, and regions (not shown). Alternatively, existing keys may be programmed to perform additional functions. For example, one or more of the number keys may be associated with one or more letter, e.g., number “4” key  820  may be associated with the letters “G,”. “H,” and “I.” In this example, pressing key  820  once may yield the number “4,” pressing key  820  a second time within a predefined period of time may yield the letter “G,” pressing key  820  a third time within a predefined period of time may yield the letter “H,” and pressing key  820  a fourth time within a predefined period of time may yield the letter “I.” Various other key implementation methods will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, “WITH” key  808  is used to designate a change in selection from one character or geographic identifier position to the next. Alternative character selections may be made by keying the characters successively without pressing a non-character/geographic identifier key in between. “RND” key  810  is used to designate a random selection of one or more characters. To generate more than one random number for a particular position, a number may be entered prior to depressing “RND” key  810 . For example, to select three random numbers for a particular position, the numeral “3” may be entered prior to depressing “RND” key  810 . In this example, if the particular positions is an alphabetic character position, three random alphabetic character are chosen for that position, e.g., the letters D, K and P [D-K-P].  
      In an exemplary embodiment, display  803  may display a graphical user interface (GUI) of a keypad including keys that perform the function of one or more of the keys described above. For example, in one embodiment the GUI may present all valid alphabetic characters, numeric characters, states, and regions that are valid for selection. In another embodiment, the GUI may display valid characters, state, and regions for a particular character position when that character position is to be selected. For example, referring to  FIG. 6 , initially the GUI may display a first character set (e.g., all alphabetic character) as the first three character positions  602   a - c  are selected. The GUI may then automatically transition to displaying a second set of character (e.g., all numeric characters) after the first three character positions  602   a - c  are selected to enable the selection of the next three character positions  602   d - f . Likewise, the GUI may automatically transition to displaying states for selection of state geographic identifier position  603  and to displaying regions for selection of region geographic identifier position  603 . Additionally, display  803  may display selected characters as they are entered into lottery machine  800  for visual verification.  
      Exemplary method for purchasing a lottery ticket using exemplary lottery machine  800  are now described. A player verbally conveys character and optionally geographic identifiers to an operator of lottery machine  800 . Alternatively, the player may be the operator of lottery machine  800  and may key selections directly into lottery machine  800 .  
      In a first example, a player wants to select N-X-V-2-9-6-9 in accordance with a designated template such as described above with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Prior to entering the characters, the player selects the base fee amount, e.g., $1.00, and the desired game, e.g., “LICENSES-2-WIN™.” To enter this selection, the operator of lottery machine  800  would depress the keys as follows $1 KEY  818 , “LICENSES-2-WIN™” KEY  804 , N (e.g., via keypad  802  and/or display  803 ), “WITH” KEY  808 , X, “WITH” KEY  808 , V, “WITH” KEY  808 ,  2 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  9  “WITH” KEY  808 ,  6 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  9 , “SEND” KEY  822 . This entry would ultimately result in the issuance of a lottery ticket such as lottery ticket  400  having the format: N-X-V---2-9-6-9 for the LICENSES-2-WIN™ game.  
      In a second example, a player wants to select N-V-[ALL]-4-5-6-[4-5-6-9] in accordance with a designated template such as described above with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , with alternative selections bracketed. To enter this selection, the operator of lottery machine  800  would depress the keys as follows: $1 KEY  818 , “LICENSES-2-WIN™” KEY  804 , N, “WITH” KEY  808 , V, “WITH” KEY  808 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  4 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  5 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  6  “WITH” KEY  808 , [4-5-6-9], “SEND” KEY  822 . This entry would ultimately result in the issuance of a lottery ticket such as lottery ticket  400  having the format: N-V-[ALL]---4-5-6-[4-5-6-9] for the LICENSES-2-WIN™ game.  
      In a third example, a player wants to select [A-B-C]-V-[ALL]-[ALL]-4-[3-6-7-9]- 5  in accordance with a designated template such as described above with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , with alternative selections bracketed. To enter this selection, the operator of lottery machine  800  would depress the keys as follows: $1 KEY  818 , “LICENSES-2-WIN™” KEY  804 , [A-B-C], “WITH” KEY  808 , V, “WITH” KEY  808 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  4 , “WITH” KEY  808 , [3-6-7-9], “WITH” KEY  808 ,  5 , “SEND” KEY  822 . This entry would ultimately result in the issuance of a lottery ticket such as lottery ticket  400  having the format: [A-B-C]-V-[ALL]---[ALL]-4-[3-6-7-9]-5 for the LICENSES-2-WIN™ game.  
      In a fourth example, a player wants to select: A-B-[ALL]-4-[7-8-9]-[2-3]-[ME,NY,PA] in accordance with a designated template  601  such as described above with reference to  FIG. 6  that includes a state geographic identifier  603  without a region geographic identifier  605 , with alternative selections bracketed. To enter this selection, the operator of lottery machine  800  would depress the keys as follows: $1 “KEY”  818 , “LICENSES-2-WIN™ KEY  804 , A, “WITH” KEY  808 , B, “WITH” KEY  808 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  4 , “WITH” KEY  808 , [7-8-9], “WITH” KEY  808 , [2-3], “STATES” KEY  814 , “WITH” KEY  808 , [ME,NY,PA], “SEND” KEY  822 . This entry would ultimately result in the issuance of a lottery ticket such as lottery ticket  600  having the format: A-B-[ALL]---4-[7-8-9]-[2-3]---[ME,NY,NJ] for the LICENSES-2-WIN™ game.  
      In a fifth example, a player wants to select: 3 RND-[M-B-A]-10 RND-6-5-[ALL]--[PA,VT] in accordance with a designated template  601  such as described above with reference to  FIG. 6  that includes a state geographic identifier position  603  without a region geographic identifier position  605 , with alternative selections bracketed. To enter this selection, the operator of lottery machine  800  would depress the keys of the keypad  802  as follows: $1 “KEY”  818 , “LICENSES-2-WIN™” KEY  804 ,  3 , “RND” KEY  810 , “LETTERS” KEY  812 , “WITH” KEY  808 , [M-B-A], “WITH” KEY  808 ,  1 ,  0 , “RND” KEY  810 , “LETTERS” KEY  812 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  6 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  5 , “WITH” KEY  808 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 , [PA,VT], “SEND” KEY  822 . This entry would ultimately result in the issuance of a lottery ticket having the format: [A-Z-X]-[M-B-A]-[C-Y-G-H-U-L-E-X-Y-A]---6-5-[ALL]---[PA,VT] for the LICENSES-2-WIN™ game.  
      In a sixth example, a player wants to select: 3 RND-[M-B-A]-ALL-6-5-[ALL]--[ALL]-[WEST] in accordance with a designated template  601  such as described above with reference to  FIG. 6  that includes a state geographic identifier position  603  and a region geographic identifier position  605 , with alternative selections bracketed. To enter this selection, the operator of lottery machine  800  would depress the keys of the keypad  802  as follows: $1 “KEY”  818 , “LICENSES-2-WIN™” KEY  804 ,  3 , “RND” KEY  810 , “LETTERS” KEY  812 , “WITH” KEY  808 , [M-B-A], “WITH” KEY  808 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  6 , “WITH” KEY  808 ,  5 , “WITH” KEY  808 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 , “STATES” KEY  814 , “ALL” KEY  806 , “WITH” KEY  808 , “REGION” KEY  816 , WEST, “SEND” KEY  822 . This entry would ultimately result in the issuance of a lottery ticket having the format: [A-Z-X]-[M-B-A]-[ALL]---6-5-[ALL]---[ALL]---[EAST] for the LICENSES-2-WIN™ game.  
      Lottery machine  800  includes a housing  850  that supports keypad  802  and display  803 . In an exemplary embodiment, housing  850  may be configured as a self service terminal. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, housing  850  may be configured as a conventional lottery machine. Various other configuration will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein.  
       FIG. 9  depicts an exemplary play slip  900  that may be filled out by a player to select player character and geographic identifiers. Play slip  900  may be read by a reader (not shown) coupled to a lottery machine  800  in a manner that will be understood by one of skill in the art to enter the player&#39;s selections.  
      Illustrated play slip  900  includes a game identifier  901  and multiple game selection areas (represented by a first game selection area  902   a , a second game selection area  902   b , and a third game selection area  902   c ). In an exemplary embodiment, each game selection area  902  is substantially identical and, thus, only first game selection area  902   a  is described below.  
      First game selection area  902   a  includes multiple character position selector areas (represented by six character position selector areas  904   a - f ), a state geographic identifier selector area  906 , and a region geographic identifier selector area  908 .  
      The first three character position selector areas  904   a - c  are alphabetic character selector areas and, thus, each include a letters selection area  910 . One or more letters may be selected from letters selection area  910  by circling/marking-out the actual letter. Alternative, one or more letter may be randomly selected for a character position for the first game by selecting a corresponding quick pick (QP) indicator  912  or for all three games by selecting a random (RND) indicator  914 . All letters may be selected by selecting an all indicator  916 .  
      The last three character position selector areas  904   d - f  are numeric character selector areas and, thus, each include a number selection area  918 . One or more numbers may be selected from a numbers selection area  918  by circling/marking-out the actual number. Alternative, one or more numbers may be randomly selected for a character position for the first game by selecting a corresponding quick pick (QP) indicator  920  or for all three games by selecting a random (RND) indicator  922 . All letters may be selected by selecting an all indicator  924 .  
      State geographic selector area  906  includes a state selection area  926 . One or more states may be selected from states selection area  926  by circling/marking-out the actual state. Alternative, one or more states may be randomly selected for a character position for the first game by selecting a corresponding quick pick (QP) indicator  928  or for all three games by selecting a random (RND) indicator  930 . All states may be selected by selecting an all indicator  932 .  
      Region geographic selector area  908  includes a region selection area  934 . One or more regions may be selected from region selection area  934  by circling/marking-out the actual region. Alternative, one or more states may be randomly selected by selecting a random (RND) indicator  936 . All states may be selected by selecting an all indicator  938 .  
      Exemplary payouts and payout calculations are shown below for exemplary lottery games in accordance with the present invention. Note that the payouts are determined based upon paying out half of the odds multiplied by a $1.00 bet. Different payouts will be understood by those skilled in the art depending upon different bets and different payout strategies. For example, instead of a fixed payout amount, it is possible to include a payout tied to the amount bet (a pari-mutuel system) and the various prize levels used so that the payout can never exceed the amount bet (or percentage reserved for payouts of the amount bet). In addition, while a number of wager types are illustrated, the sponsor may not choose to use all listed wager types and may choose to only accept a single wager type or a predetermined set of wager types. In addition, there may be other wager types other than those listed such as the inclusion of a multiplier field or another wild card field, similar to the POWERBALL® of the Pennsylvania lottery.  
      Game variant one odds are shown in table 1 below. The number of ways to win were calculated using the formula C(n,r)*(x-1)**(n−r)*C(s,t)*(y−1)**(s−t), where C(n,r) is the combinations formula for n objects r at a time (n=3 and r=0,1,2,3) for the three alphabetic characters in the designated template  401  and C(s,t) is the combinations formula for s objects t at a time (s=4 and t=0,1,2,3,4) for the four numeric characters in the designated template  401 . The number of possible characters for the alphabetic characters is represented by x and the number of possible characters for the numeric characters is represented by y. Assuming there are 26 possible alphabetic characters and 10 possible numeric characters (0-9), x=26 and y=10, respectively. The number of ways to lose is calculated by subtracting the number of ways to win from the total number of alphabetic and numeric character combinations (e.g., 26*26*26*10*10*10*10=175,760,000) The probability of winning is calculated by dividing the number of ways to win by the total number of alphabetic and numeric character combinations. The odds to win to one are calculated by calculating the inverse of the probability of winning and subtracting one.  
                               TABLE 1                       # OF WAYS   # OF WAYS   # OF WAYS TO   PROBABILITY OF           TO MATCH   TO WIN   LOSE   WINNING   ODDS TO WIN: 1                                                    MATCH-7: 3 L + 4-N   1   175,759,999   0.00000000569   175759999       MATCH-6: 2 L + 4-N   75   175,759,925   0.00000042672   2343465.667       MATCH-6: 3 L + 3-N   36   175,759,964   0.00000020482   4882221.222       MATCH-5: 1 L + 4-N   1875   175,758,125   0.00001066796   93737.66667       MATCH-5: 2 L + 3-N   2700   175,757,300   0.00001536186   65095.2963       MATCH-5: 3 L + 2-N   486   175,759,514   0.00000276513   361645.0905       MATCH-4: 3 L + 1-N   2916   175,757,084   0.00001659081   60273.34842       MATCH-4: 2 L + 2-N   36450   175,723,550   0.00020738507   4820.947874       MATCH-4: 1 L + 3-N   67500   175,692,500   0.00038404643   2602.851852       MATCH-4: 0 L + 4-N   15625   175,744,375   0.00008889964   11247.64       MATCH-3: 3 L + 0-N   6561   175,753,439   0.00003732931   26787.5993       MATCH-3: 2 L + 1-N   218700   175,541,300   0.00124431042   802.657979       MATCH-3: 1 L + 2-N   911250   174,848,750   0.00518462676   191.877915       MATCH-3: 0 L + 3-N   562500   175,197,500   0.00320038689   311.4622222       MATCH-2: 2 L + 0-N   492075   175,267,925   0.00279969845   356.181324       MATCH-2: 1 L + 1-N   5467500   170,292,500   0.03110776058   31.14631916       MATCH-2: 0 L + 2-N   7593750   168,166,250   0.04320522303   22.14534979       TOTALS   15,380,000   160,380,000   0.08750568958   10.42782835                  
 
      Exemplary payout distributions for game variant one are shown in table 2 below. The exemplary payouts were determined assuming a $1.00 base fee amount.  
                                           TABLE 2                                   Number                                   of Ways       MAJOR   MATCH #   MATCH #   to win               Approximate       PRIZE   OF   OF   per game   PROBABILITY OF   ODDS of winning   Distributions of   Prize Payout       NUMBER   LETTERS   NUMBERS   played   winning per play   per play TO 1:   winnings pool   (Pari-Mutuel)                                                                 1 7/7   3   4   1   0.00000001   175,759,999.0000   23.03725%   JACKPOT        2 6/7   3   3   36   0.00000020   4,882,221.2222   2.04825%   $100,000.00        3 6/7   2   4   75   0.00000043   2,343,465.6667   2.04825%   $48,000.00        4 5/7   3   2   486   0.00000277   361,645.0905   1.10630%   $4,000.00        5 5/7   2   3   2700   0.00001536   65,095.2963   1.30653%   $850.00        6 5/7   1   4   1875   0.00001067   93,737.6667   1.30653%   $1,225.00        7 4/7   3   1   2916   0.00001659   60,273.3484   1.30653%   $787.00        8 4/7   2   2   36450   0.00020739   4,820.9479   1.30653%   $63.00        9 4/7   1   3   67500   0.00038405   2,602.8519   1.34500%   $35.00       10 4/7   0   4   15625   0.00008890   11,247.6400   1.33400%   $150.00       11 3/7   3   0   6561   0.00003733   26,787.5993   1.30653%   $350.00       12 3/7   2   1   218700   0.00124431   802.6580   1.24430%   $10.00       13 3/7   1   2   911250   0.00518463   191.8779   2.07400%   $4.00       14 3/7   0   3   562500   0.00320039   311.4622   0.96000%   $3.00       15 2/7   2   0   492075   0.00279970   356.1813   0.84000%   $3.00       16 2/7   1   1   5467500   0.03110776   31.1463   3.11000%   $1.00       17 2/7   0   2   7593750   0.04320522   22.1453   4.32000%   $1.00       TOTALS           1826675   0.08750569   10.4278   50.00000%                  
 
      In an exemplary embodiment, for each drawing, 50% of gross sales is allocated to a total winnings pool, with all prized awarded on a pari-mutuel basis. (Example: if there is only one winner, that person wins the entire prize category amount; if there are 10 winners, the prize category amount is divided into ten equal shares.)  
      Exemplary payout distributions for game variant one if a predefined number of drawings occur without a jackpot winner are shown in table 3 below.  
                                       TABLE 3                                   Number of                   MAJOR PRIZE   MATCH   MATCH #   Ways to win       NUMBER 15th   # OF   OF   per game   PROBABILITY OF   ODDS of winning   Distributions of       DRAWING ONLY   LETTERS   NUMBERS   played   winning per play   per play TO 1:   winnings pool                                                            1   3   3   36   0.00000020   4,882,221.2222   40.00%       2   2   4   75   0.00000043   2,343,465.6667   30.00%       3   3   2   486   0.00000277   361,645.0905   20.00%       4   1   4   1875   0.00001067   93,737.6667   10.00%       5   2   3   2700   0.00001536   65,095.2963       6   3   1   2916   0.00001659   60,273.3484       7   3   0   6561   0.00003733   26,787.5993                  
 
      In an exemplary embodiment, if there is no winner in a specific major prize number pool, the winnings pool percentages will roll-down until there is a least one winning ticket in that prize number pool.  
      Game variant two odds are shown in table 4 below. The number of ways to win were calculated using the formula C(n,r)*(x-1)**(n−r)*C(s,t)*(y−1)**(s−t)*C(a,b)*(z−1)**(a−b), where C(n,r) is the combinations formula for n objects r at a time (n=3 and r=1,2,3) for the three alphabetic characters in the designated template  601 , C(s,t) is the combinations formula for s objects t at a time (s=3 and t=0,1,2,3) for the three numeric characters in the designated template  601 , and C(a,b) is the combinations formula or a objects b at a time (a=1 and b=0,1) for the state geographic identifier in the designated template  601 . The number of possible characters for the alphabetic characters is represented by x, the number of possible characters for the numeric characters is represented by y, and the number of possible state geographic identifiers is represented by z. Assuming there are 26 possible alphabetic characters, 10 possible numeric characters (0-9), and  10  possible state identifiers (e.g., ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE), x=26, y=10, and z=10, respectively. The number of ways to lose is calculated by subtracting the number of ways to win from the total number of alphabetic, numeric, and state combinations (e.g., 26*26*26*10*10*10*10=175,760,000) The probability of winning is calculated by dividing the number of ways to win by the total number of alphabetic, numeric, and state combinations. The odds to win to one are calculated by calculating the inverse of the probability of winning and subtracting one.  
                               TABLE 4                           # OF WAYS   # OF WAYS TO   PROBABILITY OF           # OF WAYS TO MATCH   TO WIN   LOSE   WIN   ODDS TO WIN: 1                                                    MATCH-7: 3 L + 3-N + State   1   175759999   0.000000006   175,759,999.00       MATCH-6: 3 L + 3-N + No-State   9   175759991   0.000000051   19,528,887.89       MATCH-6: 3 L + 2-N + State   27   175759973   0.000000154   6,509,628.63       MATCH-6: 2 L + 3-N + State   75   175759925   0.000000427   2,343,465.67       MATCH-5: 3 L + 2-N + NO-State   243   175759757   0.000001383   723,291.18       MATCH-5: 2 L + 3-N + NO-State   675   175759325   0.000003840   260,384.19       MATCH-5: 2 L + 2-N + State   2,025   175757975   0.000011521   86,794.06       MATCH-4: 3 L + 0-N + State   729   175759271   0.000004148   241,096.39       MATCH-4: 0 L + 3-N + State   15,625   175744375   0.000088900   11,247.64       MATCH-4: 2 L + 2-N + NO-State   18,225   175741775   0.000103693   9,642.90       MATCH-4: 2 L + 1-N + State   18,225   175741775   0.000103693   9,642.90       MATCH-4: 1 L + 2-N + State   50,625   175709375   0.000288035   3,470.80       MATCH-3: 3 L + 0-N + NO-State   6,561   175753439   0.000037329   26,787.60       MATCH-3: 0 L + 3-N + NO-State   140,625   175619375   0.000800097   1,248.85       MATCH-3: 2 L + 1-N + NO-State   164,025   175595975   0.000933233   1,070.54       MATCH-3: 1 L + 2-N + NO-State   455,625   175304375   0.002592313   384.76       MATCH-3: 1 L + 1-N + State   455,625   175304375   0.002592313   384.76       MATCH-2: 1 L + 0-N + State   1,366,875   174393125   0.007776940   127.59       MATCH-2: 0 L + 1-N + State   3,796,875   171963125   0.021602612   45.29       MATCH-2: 1 L + 1-N + NO State   4,100,625   171659375   0.023330820   41.86       MATCH-1: 0 L + 0-N + State   11,390,625   164369375   0.064807835   14.43       TOTALS   21,983,945   153,776,055   0.125079341   6.99493                  
 
      Exemplary payout distributions for game variant two are shown in table 5 below.  
                                               TABLE 5                                       Number of                                       Ways to win   PROBABILITY           Approximate       Prize   MATCH #   MATCH #   State   per game   OF winning   ODDS of winning   Distributions of   Prize Payout       Level   LETTERS   NUMBERS   Match?   played   per play   TO 1:   winnings pool   (Pari-Mutuel)                                                                     1 7/7   3   3   YES   1   0.00000001   175,759,999.0000   18.87699%   JACKPOT        2 6/7   3   3   NO   9   0.00000005   19,528,887.8889   1.03693%   $202,500.00        3 6/7   3   2   YES   27   0.00000015   6,509,628.6296   1.03693%   $67,500.00        4 6/7   2   3   YES   75   0.00000043   2,343,465.6667   1.03693%   $24,300.00        5 5/7   3   2   NO   243   0.00000138   723,291.1811   1.03693%   $7,500.00        6 5/7   2   3   NO   675   0.00000384   260,384.1852   1.03693%   $2,700.00        7 5/7   2   2   YES   2025   0.00001152   86,794.0617   1.03693%   $900.00        8 4/7   3   0   YES   729   0.00000415   241,096.3937   1.03693%   $2,500.00        9 4/7   0   3   YES   15625   0.00008890   11,247.6400   0.45000%   $50.00       10 4/7   2   2   NO   18225   0.00010369   9,642.8957   0.52000%   $50.00       11 4/7   2   1   YES   18225   0.00010369   9,642.8957   0.52000%   $50.00       12 4/7   1   2   YES   50625   0.00028803   3,470.8025   1.00800%   $35.00       13 3/7   3   0   NO   6561   0.00003733   26,787.5993   0.37350%   $100.00       14 3/7   0   3   NO   140625   0.00080010   1,248.8489   0.56000%   $7.00       15 3/7   2   1   NO   164025   0.00093323   1,070.5440   0.56000%   $6.00       16 3/7   1   2   NO   455625   0.00259231   384.7558   1.03700%   $4.00       17 3/7   1   1   YES   455625   0.00259231   384.7558   1.03700%   $4.00       18 2/7   1   0   YES   1366875   0.00777694   127.5853   2.33300%   $3.00       19 2/7   0   1   YES   3796875   0.02160261   45.2907   4.32000%   $2.00       20 2/7   1   1   NO   4100625   0.02333082   41.8618   4.66600%   $2.00       21 1/7   0   0   YES   11390625   0.06480783   14.4302   6.48000%   $1.00       TOTALS               21,983,945   0.12507934   6.9949   50.00000%                  
 
      In an exemplary embodiment, for each drawing, 50% of gross sales is allocated to a total winnings pool, with all prized awarded on a pari-mutuel basis. (Example: if there is only one winner, that person wins the entire prize category amount; if there are 10 winners, the prize category amount is divided into ten equal shares.)  
      Exemplary payout distributions for game variant two if a predefined number of drawing occur without a jackpot winner are shown in table 6 below.  
                                           TABLE 6                       PRIZE               Number of                   LEVEL   MATCH #   MATCH #   MATCH   Ways to win           Distributions       15th   OF   OF   STATE?   per game   PROBABILITY OF   ODDS of winning   of winnings       DRAWING   LETTERS   NUMBERS   Yes or NO   played   winning per play   per play TO 1:   pool                                                                1   3   3   NO   9   0.00000005   19,528,887.8889   40.00%       2   3   2   YES   27   0.00000015   6,509,628.6296   30.00%       3   2   3   YES   75   0.00000043   2,343,465.6667   20.00%       4   3   2   NO   243   0.00000138   723,291.1811   10.00%       5   2   3   NO   675   0.00000384   260,384.1852       6   3   0   YES   729   0.00000415   241,096.3937       7   2   2   YES   2025   0.00001152   86,794.0617       8   3   0   NO   6561   0.00003733   26,787.5993       9   0   3   YES   15625   0.00008890   11,247.6400                  
 
      In an exemplary embodiment, if there is no winner in a specific major prize number pool, the winnings pool percentages will roll-down until there is a least one winning ticket in that prize number pool.  
      Game variant three odds are shown in table 7 below. The number of ways to win were calculated using the formula C(n,r)*(x−1)**(n−r)*C(s,t)*(y−1)**(s−t)*C(a,b)*(z−1)*C(m,p)*(zz−1)**(a−p)*C(m,p)*(zz−1)**(m−p), where C(n,r) is the combinations formula for n objects r at a time (n=3 and r=0,1,2,3) for the three alphabetic characters in the designated template  601 , C(s,t) is the combinations formula for s objects t at a time (s=3 and t=0,1,2,3) for the three numeric characters in the designated template  601 , C(a,b) is the combinations formula for a objects b at a time (a=1 and b=0,1) for the state geographic identifier in the designated template  601  and C(m,p) is the combinations formula for m objects p at a time (m=1 and p=0,1) for the region geographic identifier in the designated template  601 . The number of possible characters for the alphabetic characters is represented by x, the number of possible characters for the numeric characters is represented by y, the number of possible state geographic identifiers is represented by z, and the number of possible region geographic identifiers is represented by zz. Assuming there are 26 possible alphabetic characters, 10 possible numeric characters (0-9), 10 possible state identifiers (e.g., ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE), and four possible region identifiers (e.g., North, South, East, and West), x= 26 , y=10, z=10, and zz=4, respectively. The number of ways to lose is calculated by subtracting the number of ways to win from the total number of alphabetic, numeric, state, and region combinations (e.g., 26*26*26*10*10*10*10*4=703,040,000) The probability of winning is calculated by dividing the number of ways to win by the total number of alphabetic, numeric, state, and region combinations. The odds to win to one are calculated by calculating the inverse of the probability of winning and subtracting one.  
                               TABLE 7                           # OF WAYS   # OF WAYS   PROBABILITY OF   ODDS TO       # OF WAYS TO MATCH   TO WIN   TO LOSE   WIN   WIN: 1                                                    MATCH-8: 3 L + 3-N + State + Reg   1   703039999   0.000000001   703,039,999.00       MATCH-7: 3 L + 3-N + State + NO-Reg   3   703039997   0.000000004   234,346,665.67       MATCH-7: 3 L + 3-N + NO-State + Reg   9   703039991   0.000000013   78,115,554.56       MATCH-7: 3 L + 2-N + State + Reg   27   703039973   0.000000038   26,038,517.52       MATCH-7: 2 L + 3-N + State + Reg   75   703039925   0.000000107   9,373,865.67       MATCH-6: 3 L + 3-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   270   703039730   0.000000384   2,603,850.85       MATCH-6: 3 L + 2-N + State + NO-Reg   81   703039919   0.000000115   8,679,505.17       MATCH-6: 3 L + 2-N + NO-State + Reg   243   703039757   0.000000346   2,893,167.72       MATCH-6: 2 L + 2-N + State + Reg   2,025   703037975   0.000002880   347,179.25       MATCH-6: 3 L + 1-N + State + Reg   243   703039757   0.000000346   2,893,167.72       MATCH-6: 1 L + 3-N + State + Reg   1,875   703038125   0.000002667   374,953.67       MATCH-6: 2 L + 3-N + State + NO-Reg   225   703039775   0.000000320   3,124,621.22       MATCH-6: 2 L + 3-N + NO-State + Reg   675   703039325   0.000000960   1,041,539.74       MATCH-5: 3 L + 2-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   7,290   703032710   0.000010369   96,437.96       MATCH-5: 2 L + 3-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   20,250   703019750   0.000028803   34,717.02       MATCH-5: 2 L + 2-N + State + NO-Reg   6,075   703033925   0.000008641   115,725.75       MATCH-5: 2 L + 2-N + NO-State + Reg   18,225   703021775   0.000025923   38,574.58       MATCH-5: 2 L + 1-N + State + Reg   18,225   703021775   0.000025923   38,574.58       MATCH-5: 1 L + 2-N + State + Reg   50,625   702989375   0.000072009   13,886.21       MATCH-5: 3 L + 0-N + State + Reg   729   703039271   0.000001037   964,388.57       MATCH-5: 0 L + 3-N + State + Reg   15,625   703024375   0.000022225   44,993.56       MATCH-4: 3 L + 0-N + State + NO-Reg   2,187   703037813   0.000003111   321,462.19       MATCH-4: 3 L + 0-N + NO-State + Reg   6,561   703033439   0.000009332   107,153.40       MATCH-4: 0 L + 3-N + State + NO-Reg   46,875   702993125   0.000066675   14,997.19       MATCH-4: 0 L + 3-N + NO-State + Reg   140,625   702899375   0.000200024   4,998.40       MATCH-4: 3 L + 1-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   65,610   702974390   0.000093323   10,714.44       MATCH-4: 1 L + 3-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   506,250   702533750   0.000720087   1,387.72       MATCH-4 :2 L + 2-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   546,750   702493250   0.000777694   1,284.85       MATCH-4: 2 L + 0-N + State + Reg   54,675   702985325   0.000077769   12,857.53       MATCH-4: 0 L + 2-N + State + Reg   421,875   702618125   0.000600073   1,665.47       MATCH-4: 1 L + 1-N + State + Reg   455,625   702584375   0.000648078   1,542.02       MATCH-3: 3 L + 0-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   196,830   702843170   0.000279970   3,570.81       MATCH-3: 2 L + 1-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   4,920,750   698119250   0.006999246   141.87       MATCH-3: 2 L + 0-N + State + NO-Reg   164,025   702875975   0.000233308   4,285.18       MATCH-3: 2 L + 0-N + NO-State + Reg   492,075   702547925   0.000699925   1,427.73       MATCH-3: 1 L + 2-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   13,668,750   689371250   0.019442350   50.43       MATCH-3: 0 L + 2-N + State + NO-Reg   1,265,625   701774375   0.001800218   554.49       MATCH-3: 0 L + 2-N + NO-State + Reg   3,796,875   699243125   0.005400653   184.16       MATCH-3: 1 L + 1-N + State + NO-Reg   1,366,875   701673125   0.001944235   513.34       MATCH-3: 1 L + 1-N + NO-State + Reg   4,100,625   698939375   0.005832705   170.45       MATCH-3: 1 L + 0-N + State + Reg   1,366,875   701673125   0.001944235   513.34       MATCH-3: 0 L + 1-N + State + Reg   3,796,875   699243125   0.005400653   184.16       MATCH-3: 0 L + 3-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   140,625   702899375   0.000200024   4,998.40       MATCH-2: 2 L + 0-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   492,075   70254792S   0.000699925   1,427.73       MATCH-2: 0 L + 2-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   3,796,875   699243125   0.005400653   184.16       MATCH-2: 1 L + 1-N + NO-State + NO-Reg   4,100,625   698939375   0.005832705   170.45       MATCH-2: 1 L + 0-N + NO-State + Reg   12,301,875   690738125   0.017498115   56.15       MATCH-2: 1 L + 0-N + State + NO-Reg   4,100,625   698939375   0.005832705   170.45       MATCH-2: 0 L + 1-N + State + NO-Reg   11,390,625   691649375   0.016201959   60.72       MATCH-2: 0 L + 1-N + NO-State + Reg   34,171,875   668868125   0.048605876   19.57       MATCH-2: 0 L + 0-N + State + Reg   11,390,625   691649375   0.016201959   60.72       TOTALS   119,411,834   583628166   0.169850697   4.88752                  
 
      Exemplary payout distributions for game variant three are shown in table 8 below.  
                                                   TABLE 8                                           Number of               Approximate       MAJOR   MATCH #   MATCH #           Ways to   PROBABILITY   ODDS of   Distributions   Prize       PRIZE   OF   OF   STATE   REGION   win per game   of winning per   winning per   of winnings   Payout       NUMBER   LETTERS   NUMBERS   MATCH?   MATCH?   played   play   play TO 1:   pool   (Pari-Mutuel)                                                                         1 8/8   3   3   YES   YES   1   0.000000001   703,039,999   17.76868%   JACKPOT        2⅞   3   3   YES   NO   3   0.000000004   234,346,666   0.42672%   $1,000,000.00        3⅞   3   3   NO   YES   9   0.000000013   78,115,555   0.42672%   $330,000.00        4⅞   3   2   YES   YES   27   0.000000038   26,038,518   0.42672%   $110,000.00        5⅞   2   3   YES   YES   75   0.000000107   9,373,866   0.42672%   $40,000.00        6 6/8   3   3   NO   NO   270   0.000000384   2,603,851   0.42672%   $11,000.00        7 6/8   3   2   YES   NO   81   0.000000115   8,679,505   0.42672%   $37,500.00        8 6/8   3   2   NO   YES   243   0.000000346   2,893,168   0.42672%   $12,500.00        9 6/8   2   2   YES   YES   2,025   0.000002880   347,179   0.42672%   $1,500.00       10 6/8   3   1   YES   YES   243   0.000000346   2,893,168   0.42672%   $12,500.00       11 6/8   1   3   YES   YES   1,875   0.000002667   374,954   0.42672%   $1,600.00       12 6/8   2   3   YES   NO   225   0.000000320   3,124,621   0.42672%   $13,000.00       13 6/8   2   3   NO   YES   675   0.000000960   1,041,540   0.42672%   $4,500.00       14⅝   3   2   NO   NO   7,290   0.000010369   96,438   0.42672%   $400.00       15⅝   2   3   NO   NO   20,250   0.000028803   34,717   0.42672%   $150.00       16⅝   2   2   YES   NO   6,075   0.000008641   115,726   0.42672%   $500.00       17⅝   2   2   NO   YES   18,225   0.000025923   38,575   0.42672%   $150.00       18⅝   2   1   YES   YES   18,225   0.000025923   38,575   0.42672%   $150.00       19⅝   1   2   YES   YES   50,625   0.000072009   13,886   0.42672%   $60.00       20⅝   3   0   YES   YES   729   0.000001037   964,389   0.42672%   $4,000.00       21⅝   0   3   YES   YES   15,625   0.000022225   44,994   0.42672%   $200.00       22 4/8   3   0   YES   NO   2,187   0.000003111   321,462   0.42672%   $1,000.00       23 4/8   3   0   NO   YES   6,561   0.000009332   107,153   0.42672%   $450.00       24 4/8   0   3   YES   NO   46,875   0.000066675   14,997   0.42672%   $60.00       25 4/8   0   3   NO   YES   140,625   0.000200024   4,998   0.42672%   $20.00       26 4/8   3   1   NO   NO   65,610   0.000093323   10,714   0.42672%   $40.00       27 4/8   1   3   NO   NO   506,250   0.000720087   1,388   0.42672%   $5.00       28 4/8   2   2   NO   NO   546,750   0.000777694   1,285   0.42672%   $5.00       29 4/8   2   0   YES   YES   54,675   0.000077769   12,858   0.42672%   $50.00       30 4/8   0   2   YES   YES   421,875   0.000600073   1,665   0.42672%   $7.00       31 4/8   1   1   YES   YES   455,625   0.000648078   1,542   0.42672%   $6.00       32⅜   3   0   NO   NO   196,830   0.000279970   3,571   0.42672%   $15.00       33⅜   2   1   NO   NO   4,920,750   0.006999246   142   0.42672%   $1.00       34⅜   2   0   YES   NO   164,025   0.000233308   4,285   0.42672%   $18.00       35⅜   2   0   NO   YES   492,075   0.000699925   1,428   0.42672%   $6.00       36⅜   1   2   NO   NO   13,668,750   0.019442350   50   1.94400%   $1.00       37⅜   0   2   YES   NO   1,265,625   0.001800218   554   0.54000%   $3.00       38⅜   0   2   NO   YES   3,796,875   0.005400653   184   0.54000%   $1.00       39⅜   1   1   YES   NO   1,366,875   0.001944235   513   0.58320%   $3.00       40⅜   1   1   NO   YES   4,100,625   0.005832705   170   0.58300%   $1.00       41⅜   1   0   YES   YES   1,366,875   0.001944235   513   0.58320%   $3.00       42⅜   0   1   YES   YES   3,796,875   0.005400653   184   0.54000%   $1.00       43⅜   0   3   NO   NO   140,625   0.000200024   4,998   0.42672%   $20.00       44 2/8   2   0   NO   NO   492,075   0.000699925   1,428   0.42672%   $6.00       45 2/8   0   2   NO   NO   3,796,875   0.005400653   184   0.54000%   $1.00       46 2/8   1   1   NO   NO   4,100,625   0.005832705   170   0.58300%   $1.00       47 2/8   1   0   NO   YES   12,301,875   0.017498115   56   1.75000%   $1.00       48 2/8   1   0   YES   NO   4,100,625   0.005832705   170   0.58300%   $1.00       49 2/8   0   1   YES   NO   11,390,625   0.016201959   61   1.62000%   $1.00       50 2/8   0   1   NO   YES   34,171,875   0.048605876   20   4.86000%   $1.00       51 2/8   0   0   YES   YES   11,390,625   0.016201959   61   1.62000%   $1.00       TOTALS                   119,411,834   0.169850697   4.8875   50.00000%                  
 
      In an exemplary embodiment, for each drawing, 50% of gross sales is allocated to a total winnings pool, with all prizes awarded on a pari-mutuel basis. (Example: if there is only one winner, that person wins the entire prize category amount; if there are 10 winners, the prize category amount is divided into ten equal shares.)  
      Exemplary payout distributions for the game variant three if a predefined number of drawing occur without a jackpot winner are shown in table 9 below.  
                                               TABLE 9                       MAJOR PRIZE                   Number of                   NUMBER 15th   MATCH #   MATCH #           Ways to       ODDS of   Distributions       DRAWING   OF   OF   STATE   REGION   win per   PROBABILITY OF   winning per play   of winnings       ONLY   LETTERS   NUMBERS   MATCH?   MATCH?   game played   winning per play   TO 1:   pool                                                                    1   3   3   YES   NO   3   0.000000004   234,346,665.67   40.00%       2   3   3   NO   YES   9   0.000000013   78,115,554.56   30.00%       3   3   2   YES   YES   27   0.000000038   26,038,517.52   20.00%       4   2   3   YES   YES   75   0.000000107   9,373,865.67   10.00%       5   3   2   YES   NO   81   0.000000115   8,679,505.17       6   2   3   YES   NO   225   0.000000320   3,124,621.22       7   3   2   NO   YES   243   0.000000346   2,893,167.72           3   1   YES   YES   243   0.000000346   2,893,167.72       8   3   3   NO   NO   270   0.000000384   2,603,850.85       9   2   3   NO   YES   675   0.000000960   1,041,539.74       10   3   0   YES   YES   729   0.000001037   964,388.57       11   1   3   YES   YES   1,875   0.000002667   374,953.67       12   2   2   YES   YES   2,025   0.000002880   347,179.25                  
 
      In an exemplary embodiment, for each drawing, 50% of gross sales is allocated to a total winnings pool, with all prizes awarded on a pari-mutuel basis. (Example: if there is only one winner, that person wins the entire prize category amount; if there are 10 winners, the prize category amount is divided into ten equal shares.)  
      Exemplary odds and payout distributions for the game variant six are shown in table 10 below.  
                                   TABLE 10                                           Approximate           MATCH #   MATCH #       ODDS of   Prize Per $ 1.00           OF   OF   PROBABILITY OF   winning per play TO   Payout       WAYS TO WIN   LETTERS   NUMBERS   winning per play   1:   (Pari-mutuel)                                                        1ST POSITION: L   1   0   0.038461538   25.0000   $13       1ST POSITION: N   0   1   0.100000000   9.0000   $5       2 ND  POSITION: L-L   2   0   0.001479290   675.0000   $338       2 ND  POSITION: L-N   1   1   0.003846154   259.0000   $130       2 ND  POSITION: N-L   1   1   0.003846154   259.0000   $130       2ND POSITION: N-N   0   2   0.010000000   99.0000   $50       3rd POSITION: L-L-L   3   0   0.000056896   17,575.0000   $8,788       3rd POSITION: L-L-N   2   1   0.000147929   6,759.0000   $3,380       3RD POSITION: L-N-L   2   1   0.000147929   6,759.0000   $3,380       3RD POSITION: N-L-L   2   1   0.000147929   6,759.0000   $3,380       3RD POSITION: N-N-L   1   2   0.000384615   2,599.0000   $1,300       3RD POSITION: N-L-N   1   2   0.000384615   2,599.0000   $1,300       3RD POSITION: L-N-N   1   2   0.000384615   2,599.0000   $1,300       3RD POSITION: N-N-N   0   3   0.001000000   999.0000   $500       4th POSITION: L-L-L-L   4   0   0.000002188   456,975.0000   $228,488       4th POSITION: L-L-L-N   3   1   0.000005690   175,759.0000   $87,880       4th POSITION: L-L-N-L   3   1   0.000005690   175,759.0000   $87,880       4th POSITION: L-N-L-L   3   1   0.000005690   175,759.0000   $87,880       4th POSITION: N-L-L-L   3   1   0.000005690   175,759.0000   $87,880       4th POSITION: L-L-N-N   2   2   0.000014793   67,599.0000   $33,800       4th POSITION: L-N-L-N   2   2   0.000014793   67,599.0000   $33,800       4th POSITION: N-L-L-N   2   2   0.000014793   67,599.0000   $33,800       4th POSITION: L-N-N-L   2   2   0.000014793   67,599.0000   $33,800       4th POSITION: N-L-N-L   2   2   0.000014793   67,599.0000   $33,800       4th POSITION: N-N-L-L   2   2   0.000014793   67,599.0000   $33,800       4th POSITION: N-N-N-L   1   3   0.000038462   25,999.0000   $13,000       4th POSITION: N-N-L-N   1   3   0.000038462   25,999.0000   $13,000       4th POSITION: N-L-N-N   1   3   0.000038462   25,999.0000   $13,000       4th POSITION: L-N-N-N   1   3   0.000038462   25,999.0000   $13,000       4th POSITION: N-N-N-N   0   4   0.000100000   9,999.0000   $5,000       TOTALS           0.16065522   5.2245                  
 
      Odds and payout distributions for other game variants will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein.  
      While the particular embodiments to the present invention have been disclosed herein, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure. Changes, modifications, or different embodiments may be incorporated within the scope of the following claims.