Red Hot Raffle kicking off

The Red Hot Raffle game in the Michigan lottery offers a unique twist for metro Detroit players: It's possible that when they try to buy a Red Hot Raffle ticket, they'll get turned down.

Unlike other games, total Red Hot Raffle ticket sales are limited to 500,000. The intent, says lottery spokeswoman Andi Brancato, is to ensure players that they will have a decent chance at more than 26,000 prizes. The limit in sales demonstrates that the odds of winning at least something are 1 in 19.

OK, Red Hot Raffle tickets are $10 and 25,000 of the prizes are $20. Still, the $10 profit could be used for one of those "any pizza, any size, any toppings, just 10 bucks" promotions that are the recent rage.

Another 1,000 winners will get $100, and then 100 winners will receive $10,000 apiece, and finally, 10 lucky folks will reap $100,000 each.

There's no immediate rush for metro Detroit state lottery players. By 10 a.m. June 30, according to the Lottery Bureau, 96,407 Red Hot Raffle tickets had been purchased. Things probably won't heat up until the magic 500,000 sales cap approaches in early August.

P.S. You don't get to pick your number in Red Hot Raffle. The first ticket sold is 000001 and the final ticket sold is 500000, based on statewide sales.

Sources:

http://www.michigan.gov/lottery
http://www.michigan.gov/lottery/0,1607,7-110--238564--,00.html