Hot Spot and Bulls-Eye California Exposed — Are You Good at Keno?
Hot Spot Review
Do you love keno games and do you live in California? If so, you’re in luck, my friend! Hot Spot is one of the California State Lottery games and it’s a keno-style quick-draw game. While this may be sufficient for some people to give the lottery a try, others may need some additional details. Here’s a comprehensive Hot Spot review featuring all of the essential information.
Hot Spot and Bulls-Eye Quick Overview
The quick-draw game is a descendant of a previous keno-style option offered by the California State Lottery. An update in the rules took place in the summer of 2011 when players got an opportunity to choose any number of spots in the range from 1 to 10.
This is the time when a higher top prize was also introduced for the 10-spot play.
Hot Spot drawings take place every single day. The cost of the minimal wager is 1 dollar. If you choose to play a bigger number of spots, you should be prepared to spend more money on the ticket. The most expensive game entry is the 8-spot one and it costs 10 dollars.
Is California Hot Spot a Scam?
Hot Spot is an official entry in the California State Lottery portfolio. The California State Lottery was established in 1984 after California approved the California State Lottery Act. The aim of the act was to generate funding for schools in the state without an increase in taxes.
Ever since those early days, California State Lottery has been expanding its portfolio. Some of the most popular lotteries available in the state include Daily 3, Daily 4, Daily Derby, Fantasy 5, SuperLotto Plus, Mega Millions, and Powerball.
California State Lottery is a completely legitimate entity and you can pick among the game that it operates without ever worrying about a rip-off. Not only that but any money you spend on the purchase of a ticket will also be used to support the educational causes of California. The feel-good factor is a strong one on top of the desire to win some cash, don’t you think?
Is Jackpocket legitimate in California or not?
How to Play Hot Spot?
Hot Spot is a bit more challenging than standard lotteries so please bear with us! Once you’re done with this section, you’ll have a pretty good idea about what it takes to win money with this fun California game.
When buying a ticket, you’ll have to pick the spots (the sets of numbers) that you want to play. The number of spots includes 2, 3, 4, 5, or 8. Once you’re done with the spots, choose your set of numbers in the range from 1 to 80.
The numbers that you mark should be equal to the number of spots that you’ve chosen.
Apart from the standard entry, Hot Spot comes with a Bulls-Eye feature. To play Bulls-Eye, you’ll have to spend an additional dollar on top of the base wager.
The Bulls-Eye functionality is obviously there to give you an additional chance to win. If you match the Bulls-Eye number for the respective drawing, you’ll get an opportunity to win a higher prize. When playing Bulls-Eye, you’ll win a prize if you match solely the Bulls-Eye number or if you match the Bulls-Eye number and additional Hot Spot numbers.
Prizes and Odds
There are multiple ways to win a Hot Spot prize. The top prize is provided for matching 10 numbers and the Bulls-Eye. The prize is 300,000 dollars and the odds of this happening are 1 in 17,823,422. The prize for matching 10 spots without activating Bulls-Eye is 100,000 dollars and the odds are 8,911,711.
| HOT SPOT WAGER ONLY | HOT SPOT & BULLS-EYE WAGER | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match | Odds (1 in:) | Match | Odds (1 in:) | |
| 10 Spot | 10 of 10: 9 of 10: 8 of 10: 7 of 10: 6 of 10: 5 of 10: 4 of 10: 3 of 10: 2 of 10: 1 of 10: 0 of 10: Overall | 1 in 8,911,711 1 in 163,381 1 in 7,385 1 in 621 1 in 87 1 in 19 n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 in 22 1 in 9.1 | 9 + Bulls-eye: 8 + Bulls-eye: 7 + Bulls-eye: 6 + Bulls-eye: 5 + Bulls-eye: 4 + Bulls-eye: 3 + Bulls-eye: 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye Only: n/a | 1 in 17,823,422 1 in 363,070 1 in 18,461 1 in 1,773 1 in 290 1 in 78 1 in 34 1 in 25 1 in 34 1 in 111 1 in 8.0 |
| 9 Spot | 9 of 9: 8 of 9: 7 of 9: 6 of 9: 5 of 9: 4 of 9: 3 of 9: 2 of 9: 1 of 9: 0 of 9: Overall: | 1 in 1,380,688 1 in 30,682 1 in 1690 1 in 175 1 in 31 n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 in 16 1 in 9.7 | 8 + Bulls-eye: 7 + Bulls-eye: 6 + Bulls-eye: 5 + Bulls-eye: 4 + Bulls-eye: 3 + Bulls-eye: 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye Only: n/a | 1 in 3,068,195 1 in 76,705 1 in 4,829 1 in 583 1 in 123 1 in 44 1 in 27 1 in 32 1 in 91 1 in 8.9 |
| 8 Spot | 8 of 8: 7 of 8: 6 of 8: 5 of 8: 4 of 8: 3 of 8: 2 of 8: 1 of 8: 0 of 8: Overall: | 1 in 230,115 1 in 6,232 1 in 423 1 in 55 n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 in 11 1 in 9.2 | 7 + Bulls-eye: 6 + Bulls-eye: 5 + Bulls-eye: 4 + Bulls-eye: 3 + Bulls-eye: 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye only: n/a | 1 in 575,287 1 in 17,807 1 in 1,408 1 in 219 1 in 61 1 in 31 1 in 32 1 in 75 1 in 10 |
| 7 Spot | 7 of 7 6 of 7: 5 of 7 4 of 7: 3 of 7: 2 of 7: 1 of 7: Overall: | 1 in 40,979 1 in 1,366 1 in 116 1 in 19 1 in 6 n/a n/a 1 in 4.2 | 6 + Bulls-eye: 5 + Bulls-eye: 4 + Bulls-eye: 3 + Bulls-eye: 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye only: | 1 in 117,084 1 in 4,553 1 in 463 1 in 96 1 in 38 1 in 31 1 in 64 1 in 11.4 |
| 6 Spot | 6 of 6: 5 of 6 4 of 6: 3 of 6: 2 of 6: 1 of 6: Overall: | 1 in 7,753 1 in 323 1 in 35 1 in 8 n/a n/a 1 in 6.2 | 5 + Bulls-eye: 4 + Bulls-eye: 3 + Bulls-eye: 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye only: | 1 in 25,843 1 in 1,292 1 in 175 1 in 51 1 in 32 1 in 55 1 in 13.3 |
| 5 Spot | 5 of 5: 4 of 5: 3 of 5: 2 of 5: 1 of 5: Overall: | 1 in 1,551 1 in 83 1 in 12 n/a n/a 1 in 10.3 | 4 + Bulls-eye: 3 + Bulls-eye: 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye only: | 1 in 6,202 1 in 413 1 in 79 1 in 37 1 in 49 1 in 16 |
| 4 Spot | 4 of 4: 3 of 4: 2 of 4: 1 of 4: Overall: | 1 in 326 1 in 23 1 in 5 n/a 1 in 3.9 | 3 + Bulls-eye: 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye only: | 1 in 1,632 1 in 154 1 in 47 1 in 46 1 in 20 |
| 3 Spot | 3 of 3: 2 of 3: 1 of 3: Overall: | 1 in 72 1 in 7 n/a 1 in 6.6 | 2 + Bulls-eye: 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye only: | 1 in 481 1 in 72 1 in 46 1 in 26.7 |
| 2 Spot | 2 of 2: 1 of 2: Overall: | 1 in 16.6 n/a 1 in 16.6 | 1 + Bulls-eye: Bulls-eye only: | 1 in 166 1 in 53 1 in 40 |
| 1 Spot | 1 of 1: Overall: | 1 in 4 1 in 4 | Bulls-eye Only: | 1 in 80 1 in 80 |
People who play 9 spots and Bulls-Eye can hope for a maximum prize of 65,000 dollars and 9 spots minus the Bulls-Eye produce a top prize of 30,000 dollars. For eight spots, the prizes are 28,500 and 10,000 dollars for entries with Bulls-Eye and without it, respectively.
Obviously, the prizes grow smaller for the players who have selected a smaller number of spots.
The smallest prize in Hot Spot is 1 one dollar and there are several possible submissions that will produce the respective prize.
The overall odds of winning a prize in Hot Spot are excellent, which is one of the main reasons why the game is so popular. The overall odds for 5 spot 1 in 10.3, Bulls-Eye, for example, are the impressive 1 in 16.
Keep in mind that if there are multiple winners for the respective prize tier, the sum will be split equally among all of the winners.
Some Information for Winners
All players have 180 days from the date of the respective Hot Spot drawing to make a prize claim. If the money isn’t claimed within the specified timeframe, the prize will go towards the California public education fund.
Prizes of 599 dollars or lower can be claimed at any licensed venue in California. Alternatively, players can download a claim form from the official California State Lottery website and mail it to the organization’s headquarters alongside the winning ticket. It’s always a good idea to sign the back of the ticket prior to making the prize claim!
Prizes of 600 dollars or higher can be collected from a lottery district office in California. A full list of the addresses is available on the California State Lottery website. Alternatively, players can use the official claim form and mail their prize request to the California State Lottery headquarters.
There’s a final piece of good news for winners. California is one of the states that have solely federal taxes for lottery prizes. A state tax isn’t applied to the sum, which keeps the sum that players get sufficiently high.
Can You Buy Hot Spot Tickets Online?
Hot Spot is a state-based lottery. This means that ticket purchases are possible solely in the territory of California. Both state residents and visitors can buy Hot Spot tickets from licensed retail venues. Online lottery agents don’t offer Hot Spot tickets for international sales at the time.
A few of the best Hot Spot characteristics include the following:
Why You Should Play California Hot Spot
Pros:
There are daily drawings offering players many chances to win
The minimum ticket cost is 1 dollar
There are many numerical spot combinations to choose among, which allows for a bit of strategizing
The top prize is a solid one
There are dozens of ways to win a prize
Hot Spot features relatively favorable odds of winning any prize
California doesn’t have a state tax on lottery prizes
Hot Spot is run and operated by an official state entity
Some of the funds generated through ticket sales go to support educational initiatives in California
On the downside, here are a few of the most prominent Hot Spot shortcomings:
Why You Shouldn’t Play California Hot Spot
Cons:
The game is only available in the territory of California
The format is a bit complicated and challenging for new players
Lower prize tiers aren’t that impressive
The higher numbers of spots increase the cost of the ticket
Jackpot isn’t as impressive as the ones offered by other lotteries in the US
Is California Hot Spot Legit?
Hot Spot is a little bit complicated and you’ll definitely need a bit of time to get used to the format if you haven’t played keno-style games before. Still, it’s a state-run, completely legitimate opportunity to earn some cash.
What’s the final verdict? Hot Spot is definitely worth trying! If you find yourself confused by all of the spots and available numbers, you can always try some of the other fun and exciting entries included in the portfolio of the California State Lottery. Good luck!
Gabriel castro
I love this game so much! I won many times. my best was when I hit 5 out of 5 without bulls eye. paid $900. I highly recommend this game to everyone.
I have been the playing hotspot for years on average I would hit 5 of 5 numbers every month on average for about 5 years straight. A guy from the ca lotto would talk to me all the time when I was playing at the liquor store I bought my tickets from.
In October 2018 they revamped the hot spot game, since then I have won 5 0f 5 only 2 times, in 30 or so months, my playing has not changed. It does not make sense, you do not go from winning 12 to 15 times a year 5 of 5 to winning 2 times in 2.5 years. So that tells me they control the game numbers more than we will ever know.
Without bulldeye is $450 with bulldeyes is $950
Jay
Easy game. I just won the 4 spot jackpot of $270.
Kristen McGrath
I won 4 number 75 dollar should played hot spot number came up
doug
I always play five spot and hadn’t won for a while, the other day I bought 5 draws and hit two on same ticket and won two more times within next two days 450 bucks each, payable upon request at the counter. I like hotspot.
doug
Don’t know why but the odds have taken a dive. Years ago I hit 5 of 5 twice and it used to be a % of how many were playing. They’ve moved to flat rates across the board and it seems I can ever win now.
Your absolutely right doug! I will second that. The first time I played I was told to pick 5 numbers and to give Sam a dollar. I got all 5 numbers and said well what do I win and Sam said you don’t win like that and I said Bu shi. I got all 5. WinWo$188 that was when it would roll over. I also won quite a few times soon after that but now no 5 out of 5 ever and I usually play 10 bucks every morning.