NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Lottery today announced it will begin Cash 3, its first computerized game, on March 1 — 19 days earlier than anticipated.

The Lottery also opted to join the multi-state game POWERBALL by early summer.

Also, retailers across the state will begin receiving two new instant games today, “Money Bags,” and “Shamrock Green.”

“The momentum gained from our early successful launch continues to move us forward rapidly,” said Rebecca Paul, CEO and president of the Tennessee Lottery. “I’m very pleased with our ability to begin computerized games ahead of schedule.”

Cash 3 is the Lottery’s first computerized game, in which players choose three numbers to match the three numbers drawn daily by the Lottery. Times for the drawing have not yet been announced.

In addition to Cash 3, she said players "will be excited to learn about the upcoming multi-state game I’m confident about our decision to join POWERBALL and the positive impact it will have on the education programs of Tennessee."

POWERBALL is a large jackpot game also known as a “lotto” game. The average advertised jackpots for 2003 (calendar year) was $60 million, while the POWERBALL jackpot exceeded $100 million five times during the same time period. Two of Tennessee’s border states with lotteries, Kentucky and Missouri, participate in POWERBALL, while Georgia and Virginia are part of Mega Millions.

“While both multi-state games draw a huge player base, at the end of the day we selected POWERBALL because of its highly visible name recognition,” said Paul.

Televised drawings for POWERBALL are held every Wednesday and Saturday night at 10 p.m. CST, at which time five balls are drawn out of a drum of 53 balls and one red ball out of a drum of 42 red balls. Players win by matching one of nine ways. For more details, visit www.powerball.com.

The Lottery also announced the launch of two new games:

- Shamrock Green: Match any of your numbers to either of the lucky numbers and win prize shown. Top prize: $25,000. Ticket price: $2. Overall odds of winning: 1 in 3.89.

- Money Bags: Win up to six times on one ticket. Find a “cash” symbol and win prize shown for that symbol. Top prize: $3,500. Ticket price: $1. Overall odds of winning: 1 in 4.14

All Tennessee Lottery profits will go to education programs. Most immediately, the Lottery is charged with raising at least $88 million by July 1 in order to fund scholarships for an estimated 65,000 students expected to attend Tennessee colleges and universities next fall.