Washington Lottery retiring Quinto game

Sunday, February 25, 2007 posted 11:58 PM EST

After 16 years in play, Quinto's last cards will be drawn St. Patrick's Day.

The Washington State Lottery Commission voted in January to "retire" the game.

The Commission began talking about replacing Quinto, a card-themed lottery game drawn three times a week in which players try to match their cards, both by suit and number, to the Quinto cards.

Quinto will be replaced with Hit 5, another draw game in which players try to match their five numbers, from one to 39, to those drawn.

The game, like Quinto, will be drawn on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

According to commission minutes, the jackpot for the new game will start at $100,000 and grow until someone wins.

Hit 5 tickets will cost $1 each and players who match four numbers will receive $100. If three numbers are matched, the player will receive $10, and if two numbers are matched, they break even, winning $1.

According to statistics from the commission's 2006 report, Quinto sales have steadily dropped since 2001, when $40.8 million in tickets was sold.

Last year, Quinto tickets accounted for just $23 million, compared to Lotto, which sold $61.8 million in tickets and Mega Millions' $60 million.

But when it comes to the lottery, scratch tickets are still the most popular. Last year, the state sold more than $305.5 million in scratch tickets.

Tickets for the last Quinto game will be sold until 7:45 p.m. March 17 and the drawing will take place at 8 p.m. Quinto tickets will be redeemable up to 180 days after the last draw, giving ticket holders until Sept. 13 to collect any winnings.

Over its lifetime, Quinto has generated more than $570 million in revenue for the state, lottery officials said.

"Quinto has done very well for Washington," Chris Liu, Washington State Lottery director, said in a prepared statement. "The game is ending at a time when our customers have asked for more winning opportunities."

Any remaining Quinto jackpot will be rolled over into the new Hit 5 game.

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