05:25 PM EDT on Tuesday, August 31, 2004

By BRUCE SCHREINER / Associated Press Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A kid’s game—tic tac toe—is the Kentucky Lottery’s newest online offering.

Tic Tac Cash debuted Monday, the first game of its kind nationally, lottery officials said. It offers a $25,000 top prize.

Concepts for other online games are on the drawing board as the lottery tries to recoup millions being lost across the border to the new state lottery in Tennessee.

Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Arch Gleason said the goal is to “keep our games fresh and fun.” He said Tic Tac Cash fits that description.

The game’s play slip resembles a tic tac toe grid. It features eight squares, each containing five numbers, with a “free” square in the middle.

A player can select a number from each box or let a computer make the pick. Each evening, the lottery randomly selects eight winning numbers—one of the five numbers in each square.

“The basis of your winnings is how many lines you can draw on that tic-tac-toe board,” Kentucky Lottery spokesman Chip Polston said.

Each play costs $1. The payoff for one line of numbers is $2. Matching all eight possible lines wins $25,000. Odds of claiming any cash are 1 in 6. The odds of winning the grand prize are about 1 in 390,000.

Ed Weyler, owner of Ed’s Corner Store in downtown Louisville, said players seemed willing to give the game a try.

“You explain it to somebody, and once they see the play slips and see how it’s played, it isn’t confusing,” Weyler said.

Polston said Tic Tac Cash is expected to generate about $7 million in yearly sales. That amounts to a tenth of the looming losses as Tennesseans stay home to play their own lottery.

Other games being considered include an online game in which players who didn’t want to wait for a drawing could find out right away if they won, said Steve Casebeer, the lottery’s senior vice president of marketing and sales.

Another possibility is an online game that costs $2 per play, rather than $1, and offers more prize levels, Casebeer said.

Lottery officials tested a couple of concepts at the Kentucky State Fair. A new online game might be rolled out next spring, Casebeer said.

The lottery turns over its proceeds to the state, and most of the money goes for college scholarships.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)