Easy Way to Make Money from Lottery Drawings

When you purchase a regular lottery ticket in the Mega Millions, Powerball, or state competitions your odds of winning is only one in a million-or one in twenty-five or fifty million, as the case may be.

When you play the twice-daily "Numbers" drawings, however, your odds of winning are always the same: 1 in 1,000. Sure, you don't win as much ($500 per winning ticket for "straight" picks; less for "box" picks), but your odds are much higher-high enough that you could win several times per year if you have a bit of luck on your side.

Here are my top tips for making some serious side cash from your Numbers lottery bets:

Only play "straight" - Straight means you only win if your exact number comes in. For example, a $1 bet on 200 straight means that you are only betting on the number 200 coming in. If the number 002 comes in, however, you win nothing. I recommend only playing straight because the pay-off (usually $500) is much greater than that for combo and box plays.

Invest in your favorite numbers - When you are feeling lucky, put multiple bets on the same number coming in: if your birthday is 1/28, for example, you could place $10 on 128 straight for the midday or evening drawing. If this were to come through, you would win ten times $500, or $5,000 cash. Not bad for a $10 bet!

Never play more than you can afford - Luck favors the savvy gambler, not the desperate loser. Never play with more than you can afford to; if you can only afford to bet $1 or $2 per day, then do so. If you can afford to play with more, go ahead, but not at the expense of paying your bills, feeding yourself, or taking care of family members who depend on you.

Check winning numbers right away - Don't lose your tickets or allow them to get wet in the rain or snow. Make a point of checking the winning numbers each day on your state's lottery web site. Winning numbers are also announced on many local TV news stations at 8pm or 11pm.

Play regularly - If you play the same number every day, you are statistically likely to win within 1,000 drawings. As time goes on, put a bit more money on the same number if it hasn't come in for you yet. This way, when your number eventually DOES win, you will make some serious cash.

Individual tickets can be redeemed for up to $500 cash at most participating convenience stores and lottery retailers; if you have multiple winning tickets you will need to visit a lottery office to be paid.