Wild Money
Wild Money is the Rhode Island Lottery's daily in-state jackpot game. Five numbers from 1 to 38. After the main draw, an Extra Ball is selected from the remaining 33 to widen the prize ladder.
How it works: Wild Money
Pick five numbers from 1 to 38, or take a Quick Pick. Tickets cost a dollar. After the main five are drawn, an Extra Ball is drawn from the 33 leftover numbers. Match all five mains for the rolling jackpot; the Extra Ball helps lower tiers.
The real odds of Wild Money
These figures come straight from the game's official number matrix, so they're fixed by math — not by which numbers you pick. A quick pick has exactly the same chance as any other combination, and no generator can change that.
- Match all 5 main numbers
- 1 in 501,942
- Match all 5 numbers plus the bonus
- 1 in 16,564,086
Putting those odds in perspective
- Total possible combinations
- 16,564,086
- Cost to buy every combination
- $16,564,086
- Tickets for a 50% chance of the jackpot
- 11,481,350
- Tickets for a 1% chance of the jackpot
- 166,475
Playing one line per draw, you'd expect to hit the jackpot about once every 16,564,086 draws — roughly once every 45,381 years.
How Wild Money compares
Among the 14 games we generate, Wild Money ranks #9 by jackpot difficulty (1 = hardest to win).
| # | Game | Jackpot odds (1 in) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keno | 1,646,492,110,120 |
| 2 | Powerball | 292,201,338 |
| 3 | Mega Millions | 290,472,336 |
| 4 | Bank a Million | 130,504,920 |
| 5 | Super Lotto Plus | 41,416,353 |
| 6 | Lotto America | 25,989,600 |
| 7 | Lotto Texas | 25,827,165 |
| 8 | Bonus Match 5 | 19,575,738 |
| 9 | Wild Money (this game) | 16,564,086 |
| 10 | Match 6 | 13,983,816 |
| 11 | Classic Lotto 47 | 10,737,573 |
| 12 | Tri-State Megabucks Plus | 4,496,388 |
| 13 | All or Nothing | 2,704,156 |
| 14 | Texas Two Step | 1,832,600 |
Prize tiers
| Match | Approx. odds | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 5 mains | 1 in 501,942 | Jackpot |
| 4 + Extra | 1 in 30,421 | $200 |
| 4 | 1 in 3,043 | $25 |
| 3 + Extra | 1 in 717 | $10 |
A brief history
Wild Money launched in January 2002 as a Rhode Island Lottery draw game. The matrix later expanded from 5-of-35 to 5-of-38, lengthening the headline odds slightly while keeping jackpots in reach for a small-state game. The Extra Ball — drawn from the 33 numbers left after the main five — is still the hook.