New York Lotto

New York Lotto

An American Lottery Staple: The New York Lotto


How to Play 


The New York Lotto has been around since 1967, exactly 50 years. Each individual ticket costs $1 and comes with two plays, with a total of 10 plays available per slip, which costs $5. To win the jackpot, correctly match the six winning numbers between 1 and 59. The New York Lotto’s live TV drawings take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11:20 PM. 

The available game features includes the Play It Again feature, which allows players to buy duplicates of the tickets they have purchased within the past 30 days, which costs the same as the originally purchased ticket. This is a great time-saver. The bonus number helps improve your odds of taking home the 2nd tier prize. 

Here’s a rundown on the chances of winning a New York Lotto prize per $1 play. 

1st Prize – 1 in 22.5 million

2nd Prize – 1 in 3.75 million

3rd Prize – 1 in 72.2 million

4th Prize – 1 in 1.08 thousand

5th Prize – 1 in 48

new york lotto winner

New York Lotto Tips


Here are a few tried-and-true tips to help you increase the odds of taking home a New York Lotto 6/59 prize. 

Odd/Even Numbers – no matter which lotto game you’re playing, try to include a mixed balance of odd and even numbers. Having all odd or all even numbers end up on a winning jackpot ticket is very rare. Use a combination of 2 odd 4 even, 4 odd 2 even, or 3 odd 3 even. 

Omit Groups – There is usually at least one number group that is not included on a winning ticket. For example, numbers in the 20’s and 40’s may not be included. Study groups of numbers and which ones tend to be left out and the ones that pop up consistently. 

Repeated Numbers – Most 6/59 lottery games will have winning tickets that include a number repeated from the previous drawing around 46% of the time. 

Avoid Low Numbers – Calendar numbers like birth dates, anniversaries, and special events are often used by lotto players. But since a calendar month only has the numbers 1 through 31 available, you’re limiting yourself if you use this approach. With 59 numbers available in the New York Lotto, try to include at least one to two higher numbers, like numbers in the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.