PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - Dec 15, 2014) - Sales in the MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRES' CLUB lottery game in its current format will be suspended Dec. 26 across the country, lottery officials said today.
"Like all good businesses, lotteries have to try new ideas," said Jeff Hatch-Miller, executive director of the Arizona Lottery. "We incorporated concepts into this game that have been popular elsewhere and that performed well under testing, but they just didn't do as well as expected. We will continue to discuss the possible future of this game and certainly believe in the concept of spreading the winnings around to players."
Originally conceived as a multi-tiered drawing-style game, MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRES' CLUB debuted Oct. 19 in 23 states, but sales came in below industry projections, leading the Texas Lottery Commission to suspend sales of the game in that state following the Dec. 12 drawing. The remaining MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRES' CLUB lotteries participating in the game then made the decision Monday to suspend all sales in its current format later this month.
Rebecca Paul Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. and Co-Chair of the MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRES' CLUB Steering Committee, said that lotteries can learn from the project.
"We look to provide our players with the new and innovative forms of entertainment so as to maximize our proceeds for the good causes we fund. Approached from the right perspective, you can learn something from each product out there," she said. "That's what comes with innovation: Every project gives you the chance to experience and grow. As with any other consumer good, our goal is always to provide a game that players want."
Tickets in the game will be sold until the sales cutoff for the final weekly drawing, which will occur at 11:15 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 26.
Lotteries also plan to continue to research the concepts behind the current game.
"We've repeatedly heard from players who say they want to see more people have a share of the winnings rather than just one gigantic top prize," Hatch-Miller said. "That was the inspiration for the current game, but players didn't respond to it as well as we'd hoped. We'll continue to review this concept, much like other ideas are evaluated and evolve over time."
Players can visit playmmc.com or ArizonaLottery.com for further details about the MONOPOLY MILLIONAIRES' CLUB lottery game.
"We've discussed the fact that lotteries are trying following the same successful business model on the draw-game side that we've used for years with scratch games: We offer different games at different price points to provide the variety and choices that today's consumers want," Hatch-Miller said. "We remain committed to developing games that will offer value to our players and mirror the success we've seen in other lottery games nationwide."
About the Arizona Lottery
The Arizona Lottery operates entirely from the revenue it generates through the sale of its products; it receives no General Fund dollars from the State. Proceeds from sales of Lottery tickets -- nearly $3.4 million per week -- fund a variety of state programs. Since July 1981, the Arizona Lottery has paid out more than $5.8 billion in prizes to players, more than $3 billion in net funding to the state and more than $686 million in commissions to retailers. Learn more at ArizonaLottery.com.
The MONOPOLY name and logos are trademarks of Hasbro. The distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces, are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. for its property trading game and game equipment. ©1935, 2014 Hasbro, Pawtucket, RI 02862. All Rights Reserved.
Contact Information:
CONTACT:
Jennifer Adler
LaneTerralever
(602) 417-1594