Mark Six () is a lottery game organised by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. History The first iteration of Mark Six, known as in Chinese (), was launched on 5 September 1975, in an effort to battle the then-popular tse fa () illegal lottery draws. First iteration The first iteration of Mark Six was a 6-out-of-14 drawing, with a guaranteed jackpot of HK$120,000. At the time, winning the Mark Six jackpot will allow a person to buy an apartment flat in Tsim Sha Tsui, which cost, on average, HK$80,000. To win the 1st prize, however, the player must select all the winning numbers, in the order the numbers were drawn. The 2nd prize requires the winner to select five of the six winning numbers, in the order the numbers are drawn. Those who selected all the winning numbers, but not in the order the numbers are drawn, are eligible for the 3rd prize. The first drawing was held on 5 September 1975 There were no 1st prize winners and one 2nd prize winner in this drawing. The 2nd prize winner won HK$166,729. Reform The first iteration of Mark Six was noted to have been unpopular with Hong Kong residents. On 6 July 1976, The game was revamped to a 6-out-of-36 format, and renamed to its current Chinese name, on 6 July 1976. The total amount of numbers in play increased from 36 to 40 in 1983, and saw further increases in 1987, 1990, and 1996. The current 6-out-of-49 format has been in place since 2002. The game The game is a 6-out-of-49 lottery-style game, with seven prize levels. The winning numbers are selected automatically from a lottery machine that contains balls with numbers 1 to 49. Unlike other lottery drawings that feature a separate lottery machine for the final number, such as Mega Millions, the final number for each Mark Six drawing, known as the special number in Chinese () and the extra number in English, is drawn out of the same machine as the other six numbers drawn. If nobody wins the 1st and 2nd prizes, the money that would have been paid out for the prizes will be added to a Jackpot (多寶獎) in the next draw. If there are winners of the first prize, these winners take the jackpot fund as well. If again there is no winner, the process continues until there is, and in such