Xzotto Sucks - Here's Why...
I've had a couple of people ask me about Xzotto.
A friend recommended it to them, but they wanted to get an expert opinion before spending any money... so can you guess my opinion yet..? ;-)
They say it's a lottery pool. Well, actually they don't say that, but their members tend to!
The site actually says:-
create a lottery pool that reaches across the street or around the world
Note the vital use of the word 'create'...
Xzotto Misses The Point By Impressive Margins!
I think somewhere in the design stage somebody lost the plot.
Here's what I mean.
As a lottery player I want to win the lottery.
As an enlightened lottery player, I know those junk systems based on analysing past results are a waste of money.
So I'm really looking for a better chance of winning. Cool, that's the idea of a lottery pool.
So what does Xzotto offer?
You join for free. You buy your lottery tickets through them at normal price. You don't get any pooling of tickets. You only get to keep 50% of your winnings.
Huh?
Seriously. No increase to your chances of winning, and you lose half your winnings.
That is what you really get, I've checked with them!
But that's not a lotto pool?
Yeah, I know!
It's also WORSE than buying a ticket at your local store.
YEAH, I KNOW!
So What's All This Monthly Subscription Stuff About Then?
In short - it's one of those business opportunity things. You pay US$25 per month for the 'Team Management Software'.
Yes, US$300 per year. Forever.
And yes, this sounds an awful lot like just the software needed to run the business opportunity itself...
You still don't get any lottery tickets or pooling for that. But you do get US$5 a month for all the other people you get to subscribe to the software.
And if the people you introduce, and the people they introduce also buy tickets - note the 'IF' - then you get to keep some of their winnings.
But That Sucks Too, Doesn't It!?
Pretty much.
Suck Reason 1
US$25 per month (forever) is a lot to pay for ANY software. Even Microsoft failed to sell subscriptions to it's full blown Office software at only US$69 per YEAR. And if you really want software to manage a lottery pool, use a spreadsheet, free!
Suck Reason 2
It's still not a lottery pool. You have to build your own pool by introducing other people. If you wanted to do that, why bother with Xzotto?
So Why Join?
Xzotto has generated a few thousand members. No, I don't know how either.
I suspect they have all been sucked in by the premise of 'making a quick buck', so the lottery side is totally irrelevant to them. They could be subscribing to a Zac Efron fan club for all they care.
But if any Xzotto players can explain why Suck Reasons 1 and 2 are wrong, please do comment below.
Seriously. Open debate. But please don't just say "I hate you, you don't understand" like a sullen teenager.
Do you think you get value for money? Is the software genuinely of value, and worth that much? Or is it just acceptable losses until you find enough other people you want to put in the same position... (house of cards style)!?
Xzotto Launches Floating 5 (Still Sucks...)
Xzotto, the lottery pool that isn't, have launched a new website (still badly explained) and a new feature - called 'Floating 5'.
Glimmer Of Hope..?
To be fair this is the first glimmer of any sense from Xzotto. But I do just mean glimmer so don’t get excited yet folks. On the face of it you would be forgiven for thinking it's a cool idea.
So What is Floating 5
Well the deal is you pay $30 to join, plus $25 per month - same as before. Plus $4 or $5 per month ticket costs as you have to buy tickets to be included in Floating 5.
Now if a Xzotto members ticket wins, they get to keep 50% of the prize (I know, but stay with me here…). Then 35% goes to the 7 people above them.
Finally three lots of 5% are randomly given to someone else. The 5% bits are Floating 5.
Somewhat Confusing, So Is That Good Then..?
Well, this now makes it a lottery within a lottery (still not a lottery pool!). So if someone else wins, now you play another lottery to see if you win any of their prize money.
So if (as I'm told) there are 3,000 members, that means if one of them wins, then you have a 3-in-3000 chance of getting 5% of their prize. Because there are 3 of those 5% bits and 3000 members who could be chosen. Which is the same as a 1-in-1000 chance.
Just a Bit More Mega Millions Maths...
Now normally the Mega Millions jackpot is odds of 1-in-175 million (so not a good game to choose anyway). And my calculator says that the chances of both a Xzotto Member hitting the jackpot AND you then getting a 5% share of it is therefore 1-in-60 Million.
Get the latest Mega Millions Fun Facts & Statistics Here
Disappointed!
Which is actually the same increase in chances as buying 3 tickets yourself...
Except 3 tickets per draw would cost you half as much. And you’d get to keep all of the prize instead of just 5%…
[Now before some bright spark says "but as more members join the chances of one of them winning the lottery increases…" - maybe so, BUT the chances of you actually getting a 5% share get worse at the same time as there are more members it could go to! So overall it doesn't improve.]
Is Floating 5 the genius it claims to be? Does it revolutionise Xzotto and make it a superb lottery pool?
Answers on a postcard to:- Why Does Xzotto Still Suck, Xzotto, Cloud Cuckoo Land, USA.
Your analysis of Xzotto is extremely over simplified.
RE: Suck Reason 1
$25 a month is a lot for software. Yet $25 a month is not a lot to invest in a business opportunity, especially when you can recover that expense easily by promoting your business. Many on-line business opportunities require an auto ship of product that you must sell to recover your expenses. None that I have found for as little as $25, most are in the hundreds.
RE: Suck Reason 2
As a member of Xzotto I have personally had team members placed on my team that I did not ask to join. Here is the important part, if I work at an office and decide to start an office lottery pool, what do I do? I ASK people if they want to join. A lottery pool with one person is not a lottery pool, you have to get other people involved. The more people you ASK to join the better your chances to win.
My father once flew from Tulsa OK to Pittsburg PA to purchase $500 worth of tickets for an office pool. Xzotto lets people purchase tickets for Mega Millions even if it is not offered in their state. Just an added benefit.
Hi Steve
Over simplified… but what’s not simple about Xzotto?
RE: 1
So you’re agreeing with me?! There is no real value in the $25 a month, it’s just acceptable losses till you find enough other people to cover your $25, and then they have to do the same, etc. So nobody would actually be happy just paying the $25, as you don’t really get anything for it? (At least I could give the Zac Efron posters to my niece 🙂 )
RE: 2
Er, exactly. If you want to run your own lottery pool, you have to find the members – so why bother paying $25 a month to Xzotto for that? If you don’t want to run a pool, but actually want a better chance of winning, you join an existing pool. Without being charged $25 a month. So again, why do you need Xzotto?
RE: Mega Millions Tickets
Any real Mega Millions lottery pool would offer that benefit cheaper, if you desperately wanted to play that game (see Chances of Winning Mega Millions? on that point though!). But there are also plenty of websites that will sell anyone Mega Millions tickets at inflated prices that are still way cheaper than using Xzotto. I know Xzotto say face value – but it’s either a) face value plus half your winnings, or b) face value plus $25 per month.
Hello again,
Re: 1
There is value in the software. It will collect money from all members, purchase tickets for all members, scan and distribute all tickets for members, track all winnings for members, distribute all winnings for members into an IPS account. If I was to do all of the above myself, lets say it would take me 1 hour per drawing. That’s eight hours per month. Lets say my time is worth $25 an hour, running my own pool now costs me $200 per month.
Re: 2
If I purchase a lottery ticket through the Xzotto alliance without signing up for the software, and you purchase a ticket without signing up for the software and your ticket wins $1o,000,000. You get 5,000,000 dollars, the seven people above you get $1,000,000 dollars, and I as well as two other people in the entire alliance get $1,000,000 dollars just for having a ticket in the pool.
RE: 1
Cool. So maybe there is some good software there. And if you want to run a decent size pool it could be worth your money. So you want to check it out and compare with the other (cheaper) software available…
So why is there nowhere on the Xzotto site I can see the software and what it can do (even after the site has just been totally redesigned again)?
Why is nobody promoting the actual software? And where can I go to join one of the pools that these thousands of eager lottery pool managers have set up themselves..?
RE: 2
You’re really missing the critical point here. If I buy a ticket in a store and I win $10,000 – I get to keep $10,000. If I buy a ticket as a ‘free’ member with Xzotto, I only get to keep $5,000..!
Why on earth would I care about the seven people etc, I want to keep MY winnings! If it’s a pool you share, that’s cool. But it’s not a pool when I buy the tickets and somebody else keeps half my winnings!? That’s just dumb.
Hello again,
Re: 1
You can see some general information about the software and its applications in the videos provided on the website. For more information you are encouraged to contact the representative whose site you have landed on or the company main site.
There are over 3000 people currently promoting Xzotto and its software sales. Many companies, Mary Kay, Avon, Sprint, to name a few started as direct sales companies. Xzotto is taking that same approach.
Re: 2
I do understand your point about keeping the winnings. Anyone would rather have $10,000 than $5,000 given the option.
RE 1:
Well I already watched the video that claimed to be about the software (before I made that point). It tells you nothing.
There may be 3000 people promoting Xzotto but none of them are actually promoting the software. They are all promoting ‘make money selling this software’ – it’s like a chain letter!
You say the software is good but nobody is promoting the software, nobody is buying the software, and nobody is using the software. It’s a house of cards. Mary Kay, Avon and Sprint have products of value people actually buy because they want the products. Massive, massive difference.
If people instantly want 25 times the chance of winning the lottery, they can spend their $25 on lottery tickets instead. Infinitely better value. Or join a real lottery pool.
Xzotto sucks.
Hello Again,
Re: 1
If there are 3000 members of Xzotto then 3000 “nobody’s” must see the value.
When I was approached about Xzotto it wasn’t “make money selling this software”, it was “Do you want to join a lottery pool?” If I purchase 8 tickets a month and that gives me a chance at sharing in 30,000 tickets that increases my chances to win something.
But Steve, it isn’t a lottery pool. You can’t just call it something it fundamentally isn’t because it sells better.
Xzotto – you join, you pay $25 per month – you get NOTHING.
Lottery pool – you join, you pay $25, you instantly get 50 times the chance of winning the lottery. That’s what a lottery pool is!
I agree with your analysis on several levels. If you have no intention of creating your own pool then joining Xzotto isn’t a smart choice. If you're merely looking to run a basic lottery pool then the software is overkill – use an excel spreadsheet.
There is one aspect of the Xzotto system that you are overlooking. The floating 5 feature gives you a chance at a 5% share of each and every prize that the entire Xzotto Lottery Pool generates.
From the first day you join Xzotto you have the chance to win on your own ticket (at 175,000,000 to 1) AND you have the chance to win a 5% share of prizes won by the other 3,000+ players.
Hi Robert
I wouldn’t say ‘overlooking’ Floating 5, as they just added this new feature… here’s my review of Xzotto Floating 5
Xzotto has announced that on Sept 1, 2010 will stop paying monthly commissions. Take your teams to Florida Lotto Magic. It has been around since 1996. It also does not rely on members to “remember” to purchase lottery tickets, it is automatically included in your monthly membership fees.
Xzotto has now closed…
Am I surprised? No. But am I disappointed, actually yes, slightly! Xzotto could have been good – if they had just sat down and thought about the product for 5 minutes.
There are rumours of a ‘3rd party’ relaunching the idea under a new name. Hopefully they have removed the blinkers and learned where Xzotto got it horribly wrong.