A Kicker number printed on a Connecticut Cash5 ticket does not, by itself, prove that you paid for Kicker. The operator explains that an inactive number can still appear, accompanied by an N and the message KICKER NOT ACTIVE. The purchased option is marked Y and KICKER ACTIVE.
That is the first thing to settle before counting an exciting-looking match. The second is how the feature works: you compare your selected Kicker with the five winning numbers, rather than waiting for a separately drawn Kicker result. Here is how to read the entry without giving an inactive number a prize it cannot earn.
Choose five main numbers and an optional different number
The basic $1 play contains five different numbers from 1 through 35. Quick Pick is available if you want the system to select them. Order does not matter.
Adding Kicker costs another 50 cents per play. Select an additional number from the same range that is different from all five main selections, or have it randomly assigned. One basic play with the option costs $1.50.
For example, main selections 5, 13, 22, 29 and 35 with Kicker 17 form a valid arrangement. Kicker 22 would not: the Kicker must differ from the five main selections. This is a different rule from games where a separately selected bonus ball may repeat a main number.
If you use a generator for the basic five-number set, remember that it has only prepared the main selection. Do not assume it has completed the optional Kicker purchase or checked that a chosen Kicker differs from the set.
Check active status before doing Kicker arithmetic
On a retail ticket, look for Y beside the Kicker and the KICKER ACTIVE message. An N and KICKER NOT ACTIVE mean the option was not purchased. For an online entry, check the recorded option and associated number in the purchase details.
Suppose 17 is printed as the Kicker on a ticket with N. If 17 appears in the winning result, that does not activate the option afterward. You still check the five main selections for their ordinary match category, but the inactive field creates no Kicker award.
Verify the purchase when it is issued. Cash5 tickets cannot be cancelled after printing at retail or purchase online, according to the official instructions. Checking the option before putting the ticket away is much more useful than discovering the mismatch after a drawing.
A worked result keeps the fields separate
Use the example main selections 5, 13, 22, 29 and 35, with active Kicker 17. Imagine the five winning numbers are 5, 13, 17, 24 and 32.
The main selection has two matches, 5 and 13. Kicker 17 also appears among the five winning numbers. The result is therefore two main matches plus Kicker, which corresponds to a standard $5 category on the published chart.
It is not three main matches. The 17 remains the optional selection rather than becoming a sixth main number. If the Kicker were inactive, those same two main matches would not reach the ordinary Cash5 prize chart, which starts at three main matches.
Now imagine the winning set is 5, 13, 22, 29 and 17. You have four main matches plus Kicker, corresponding to the published $4,650 category. It is not the five-main-number top category: the selected main number 35 missed.
Use the highest applicable category, then verify the payout
Without Kicker, the standard chart lists $10 for three main matches, $300 for four and $100,000 for five. The Kicker categories list $2 for one main match plus Kicker, $5 for two, $75 for three and $4,650 for four.
The current rules limit a play to its highest matching prize category. A four-plus-Kicker result is not $4,650 with another $300 stacked on top. Nor can matches on another purchased line be borrowed to improve this line.
Connecticut also warns that actual payments can be lower than the published levels because of sales and the number of winning entries. The stated chart establishes the expected category; official validation and the payout provisions establish the actual award. Do not treat the $100,000 headline as an unconditional payment to every complete match in every circumstance.
Keep the drawing date attached to the entry
Cash5 is scheduled nightly at 10:29 p.m. Eastern, with the official page listing a 10:20 p.m. Eastern sales cutoff. An entry purchased for a later drawing cannot win from tonight’s result simply because the selected numbers match it.
Advance Action offers consecutive future drawings. Review the covered dates, number of plays and Kicker status together, because the extra 50 cents applies per purchased play rather than being a universal upgrade to every ticket you hold.
Keep the issued ticket or recorded online entry available for checking. A playslip, screenshot of favorite numbers or an uncompleted purchase screen does not establish an accepted entry. Use the operator’s official checker and validation process for an actual prize.
Similar names can conceal different games
Five numbers chosen from 35 produce 324,632 possible sets, giving a particular main selection five-match odds of 1 in 324,632 in a drawing. Adding Kicker does not reduce that main-selection combination count.
The published overall odds differ with and without the option because the qualifying prize outcomes differ. They should not be read as a personal timetable for wins or a guarantee of recovering the whole purchase cost.
For another local format, see Connecticut Lotto! or the Connecticut directory. For this ticket, the essential routine is active status, main matches, Kicker match and the applicable category. A printed extra number needs the right purchase status before it can do anything for the result.
Official sources
Rules checked 2026-10-19. Use the operator for current prizes, deadlines and ticket validation.