News writer
Washingtonians' wallets may literally ‘POP’ with the arrival of the state’s first Cash POP draw game.
By the same token that Washington State’s ubiquitous apples come in a vast number of varieties, why shouldn’t the state’s lottery have a wide array of games available to players?
With the introduction of its new, modernized Cash POP game, the State of Washington helps round out its slate of lottery offerings - a group currently inclusive of Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, Pick 3, and Keno - in addition to the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions games.
When the Cash POP game arrives in the Pacific Northwest, the State of Washington will join ten other U.S. states already offering their version of the game: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
*Note: Maine will likely bring the count to 12 as they have announced plans to roll out a Cash POP game in the near future.
A product of IGT, a global solutions provider in the lottery/gaming sector, the Cash POP game was conceived in response to players wanting the ability to customize their play interactions, e.g., amounts wagered, numbers played, and odds/ paths to winning prizes.
Immensely popular as a result, Cash POP games, according to an IGT spokesperson’s statement on the company’s website, “Deliver the variety that players and lotteries are looking for in terms of flexibility and simplicity.”
In addition to ‘popping’ over the new Cash POP’s game release, lottery players in the State of Washington may also snap and crackle with delight should they come away as one of the game’s potential big winners.
The way in which Washington's Cash POP game differs from other states is that typically, players can wager between $1 and $10. However, In the State of Washington's game, players may only wager $5 per number, also known as a ‘POP.’
At the time of ticket purchase, players select one or more ‘POPs’ between the numbers 1 and 15. And, with the option of playing all 15 ‘POPs’ per ticket, players can essentially guarantee their chances of being a winner.
Once printed, tickets reveal the assigned prize per ‘POP,’ a dollar amount that can range anywhere between $25 and $500. To win, players check their ‘POPs’ against the numbers printed on the ticket, and should matches be found, they receive the assigned prize.
According to the State of Washington Lottery’s website, the odds of winning a Cash POP prize are 1 in 15. On the lower end, the odds of winning $25 are 1 in 40, and on the higher side, players have a 1 in 7.5 thousand chance of winning the top $500 prize.
Drawings of Cash POP games are scheduled to occur seven nights a week at 8:00 p.m. PST/10 p.m. EST. Tickets will be sold up until 7:45 pm for that night’s drawing, and players have the option of purchasing upwards of five consecutive draws.
Beginning in 1982, the State of Washington's lottery recently celebrated its 40th anniversary by surpassing the billion-dollar revenue mark.
In doing so, they were able to make historic donations to their beneficiaries, with the primary recipient being the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account— a major funder of early childhood education, college grants, and additional critical programs throughout the state.
Of their remarkable success, Acting Director of Washington State’s lottery, Joshua Johnston, stated:
“It’s been a terrific year for Washington's lottery and our beneficiaries…. Everyone here is really proud and motivated to see what we can do in the year to come.”
Hence, with the arrival of the Cash POP game, Washington State appears right on track to exceed its previous year’s revenue figures and do so in a very big, burstable way.
