Survey says: It’s one of your favorite game shows, and now Family Feud has come to you in instant lottery ticket form. Players have the chance to win big bucks in the palm of their hands. But, even if you don’t scratch off a winner, this game has a second chance that could land you a game show lover’s dream vacation! Family Feud premiered on ABC television on July 12, 1976. A spin-off of the bonus round on the popular Match Game show, host Richard Dawson would ask two families a series of questions and they would have to find the most popular answers from a survey of 100 people. Get the most points, win cash. The show has been on the air with a rotation of hosts including Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O’Hurley, and Steve Harvey almost non-stop, except for a brief recess in the mid 90’s. Under current host Harvey, the Feud is drawing record numbers, although it is now syndicated to local stations. To cash in on the popularity of the show, the New York Lottery has partnered with MDI Entertainment, LLC to create an ultimate game show fan trip to Las Vegas. The ad campaign launched with a several hilarious commercials airing in the state. The Family Feud instant scratch off game provides the player with 12 chances to match up to 6 pre-selected numbers to win a cash prize, from $5 all the way up to a jackpot of $1,000,000 (paid in $50,000 increments for 20 years.)  Revealing a money bag symbol instantly awards the cash prize below it. Revealing a 5x or 10x symbol multiplies the winnings accordingly. Tickets in New York are $5 each (while a version in Michigan costs $2 each, with lower payouts). The player...

Spend a couple of bucks, scratch off the ticket, and win big! That’s the promise of instant lottery ticket games. They advertise big prizes for a few dollars investment. But, can you actually win anything on these? I bought a bunch from two different states to find out. Last year, my good friend Simon and I dropped $20 in a Pennsylvania Lottery ticket machine and ended up scratching off tickets for the better part of an hour. While the biggest amount we hit was only $20, we kept getting free tickets over and over that we kept cashing in. Pennsylvania gave us a lot of play, and our money back, for that $20 investment. But, are other states just as loose with their tickets? The New York Lottery recently installed a flashy, new lottery ticket vending machine at the Herald Square subway station. In addition to dispensing scratch off tickets, players can also purchase regular number games, such as Powerball tickets, from this machine. So yes, you can now legally gamble while riding the subway! I pass this machine every day on my commute to work so I decided that I would give the New York Lottery a try. I dropped $30 into the machine and chose a variety of tickets ranging from $1 to $10, ending up with 11 tickets in all. Several New York commuters cued up behind me to use the machine. Once I arrived home in New Jersey, I stopped in at a local convenience store, purchasing an array of tickets to see what kind of luck the Garden State lottery would give me. I asked for $25 in a variety of tickets. There are no $1 tickets in New Jersey so I had to plop down an additional $1. With that, the clerk handed me 13...