Rake in bucks with new lotto

Massachusetts Lottery officials retired the popular game Mass Millions Thursday and unveiled a new game, Cash WinFall, which offers significantly lower jackpots but higher winning odds in hopes that more residents will play.

“[Mass Millions] was tired, the revenues were declining … people are not necessarily interested in winning the big jackpot,” said Lottery Director Joseph Sullivan.

The first Cash WinFall tickets went on sale Thursday, and the first drawing takes place on Monday, Sept. 13 on WCVB-TV Channel 5. The final drawing of Mass Millions took place on Thursday night.

The new game’s jackpot starts at $500,000, with the maximum awards capped at $2 million – a significant change from Mass Millions, which awarded a Cambridge woman $50 million as recently as March. WinFall prizes are also paid in a lump sum, unlike Mass Millions prizes, which were sometimes paid over a period of months or years. If there are no jackpot winners, ticket holders with the greatest number of matching numbers will see their winnings increase tenfold.

“Prizes will sprinkle down, or “WinFall” down,” said Lottery Treasurer Timothy Cahill.

But by spreading the winnings amongst ticket holders, the WinFall jackpots will be significantly lower than the much larger Mass Millions winnings. The lottery is hoping new players will appreciate the more frequent and smaller prizes, Cahill said.

“The key is to attract the casual player,” he said.

Cash Winfall tickets, at $2 a piece, are twice as expensive as Mass Millions tickets. Massachusetts Lottery officials said they hope higher ticket prices will increase revenue, which funds local organizations in 351 towns across the state, including fire departments, police departments and public schools.

Two new commercials promoting Cash WinFall started airing Thursday night.

“It is time to say goodbye to an old friend,” Cahill said.