Lottery's NASCAR game producing ties, winners
By Paul F. Vang
Lots of people are prize winners in the Montana Sports Action auto racing fantasy game even though some of those winners have to share their winnings with other players with the same point totals for the day.
Montana Lottery officials predicted all along that there would be quite a few ties for winning scores with the NASCAR-based game. They were right.
After the Samsung 500 on April 5, the seventh weekend of the 2009 racing season, 17 players ended up in the winner’s circle.
Five players shared the first place pool of $2,251. Eleven players tied for second place, with one player who placed a $10 bet winning $225. The other ten winners, who placed $5 bets, each won $112.50. As it worked out, the third place winner was the big winner for the weekend, winning the third place pool of $900.50—and didn’t have to share with anybody.
Montana Lottery Communications Director Jo Berg said, “We’re moving ahead with improvements to this fall's football game, and one important change will be weekly updates to the player roster.”
Last season, the roster was based on the NFL roster prior to the beginning of the professional football season, even before some last minute trades happened. Now, if a star quarterback gets injured and is out for the season and a replacement comes out of retirement to save the day, the fantasy roster will reflect that change. A Brett Favre comeback, anybody? It is a fantasy game, after all. Just ask Minnesota Vikings fans.
Under Montana's fantasy sports lottery, 74 percent of game bets are paid to the winning players. Of the remaining 26 percent, 61 percent is paid to the Board of Horse Racing to benefit racing purses and upgrade racing facilities. Currently, the Board’s share of the game runs around $800 per week.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, May 2009, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W Granite, Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.