Lottery tweaks Cash 5 game

The Pennsylvania Lottery has made a change to its longest-running jackpot game for the first time in 13 years.

The nightly draw game Cash 5 will now become Cash 5 with Quick Cash, lottery officials announced Wednesday.

The new format offers a chance to instantly win $2 or $6.

“The last time that the Pennsylvania Lottery made any changes to the Cash 5 game was in February of 2008, so it was due for a refresh,” Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said. “We listened to our players and we heard what they wanted: more chances to win and higher jackpots.”

To play, anyone buying a ticket will now receive a separate Quick Cash game ticket, providing a chance to win $2 or $6. The change will increase the costper-play from $1 to $2, a news release said. According to the lottery website, there is a 1-in-5 chance of winning $2 and a 1-in80 chance for $6.

Updated playslips are now available at lottery retailers. Officials anticipate that increased sales will support a higher starting jackpot and that players will experience higher jackpots more often.

“Lottery games, like Cash 5 with Quick Cash, help us generate funds that pay for vital programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians every day,” Svitko said. “These programs provide property tax and rent rebates, transportation, care services, prescription assistance, and local services including senior centers and meals.”

Cash 5 debuted in 1992 as a weekly drawing with a $100,000 jackpot. It became a nightly drawing in 1998, and a decade later, state officials made the last change to the game — increasing the matrix from 5 of 39 numbers to 5 of 43 numbers needed to claim the largest prize.

The estimated jackpot for Cash 5 sat at $1.7 million on Wednesday.

According to the Pennsylvania Lottery website, the last Cash 5 winner from the Lehigh Valley came in September 2020, when a man identified as Thomas R. claimed a prize worth more than

$412,000.