NY Lottery Gives Players a $1 Million Shot

The New York Lottery this year launched a program to promote its new Powerball game that challenges select finalists to hit a hole in one at local golf courses. Anyone who bought a ticket was eligible to enter the Powerball Hole-in-One Sweepstakes. The Lottery has selected the finalists who throughout the month of September will have the opportunity to compete in seven hole-in-one competitions across the state of New York for a $1 million grand prize or secondary prizes worth up to $1,000 in cash.

The goal is to increase excitement for the Powerball game and boost traffic and sales at the more than 16,000 lottery retailers during the promotional period. Participants had to buy a Powerball ticket and enter the sweepstakes at the New York Lottery website by Aug. 24. In a random drawing on Aug. 25, 25 semi-finalists were selected from about 70,000 entries to attempt to get a hole in one at golf courses in Albany, Buffalo, Long Island, New York City and Syracuse. Each golfer gets one chance to shoot a hole-in-one down the 150-yard fairway and win the grand prize. The three participants who get closest to the pin will win one of three runner-up prizes for $250, $500 and $1,000 in cash.  

“It’s all about going out and having some fun,” Debbie Hewitt, director-promotions at New York Lottery, told Buzz. “The idea is to drive some awareness for the game and drive sales while we were at it.” Agency: Pro Motion, St. Louis.