Cashola, stylized ''Ca$hola'', was a video lottery game offered by the
Multi-State Lottery Association
The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is an American non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 34 member lotteries. MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, ...
(MUSL) from July 2006 to May 2011. Cashola was the first US multi-jurisdictional
video lottery
A video lottery terminal (VLT), also sometimes known as a video gaming terminal (VGT), video slots, or the video lottery, is a type of electronic gambling machine. They are typically operated by a region's lottery, and situated at licensed establis ...
game.
Cashola was played on linked machines at nine lottery-run casinos; three in
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, two in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
, and four in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
. The minimum jackpot was $250,000; it was paid in 30 annual installments, unless the winner chose the
cash option within 60 days of winning. The
progressive jackpot
A progressive jackpot is a jackpot (a gambling grand prize or payout) which increases each time the game is played but the jackpot is ''not'' won. When the progressive jackpot is won, the jackpot for the next play is reset to a predetermined value ...
exceeded $4 million (annuity) for the first time on November 4, 2009. The first 27 jackpot winners (unlike traditional lottery jackpot games, the grand prize could not be split by multiple players, as each Cashola machine was independent); as of February 2, 2009, all 27 chose the cash option. The largest Cashola jackpot, of $4,918,605.91, was won on November 26, 2009, in
Charles Town, West Virginia
Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...
.
To win the jackpot, the maximum amount of $2.25 must have been wagered for that spin. The themes for the Cashola slots varied by machine (e.g. ''Kingdom of Pharaohs, The Big Easy''.) The minimum denomination also differed (there were penny, nickel, and quarter Cashola machines.) Each Cashola machine had five "reels"; for a jackpot to be won, in addition to the maximum wager, the gold-colored "Ca$hola" symbol must have appeared on each of the five "reels" in any of the lines the player "purchased" in that spin (the "Cashola" symbol appearing on each reel did not guarantee a jackpot win.)
Depending on the venue, the minimum age to play Cashola was 18 or 21.
In April 2011, it was announced that Cashola would be retired upon the next jackpot win, its 37th. Other Ca$hola machines then in use by players automatically shut down, issuing each player a voucher for credits in those machines.
Cashola was replaced by a new game called MegaHits. It started operating on July 15, 2011 in the same nine casinos, dividing its jackpot money among five progressive prizes.
External links
Delaware LotteryRhode Island LotteryWest Virginia LotteryMUSL official site
{{U.S. lotteries
Lottery games in the United States