The Lotto Matrix: Farthing Opts For The Slammer, And More Texas

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Million jackpot drawing worth? Subjectively, we have arrived at “Big Boy” territory with a $302 million jackpot up for grabs. There is also a cash option of $136 million available for the immediate gratification crowd.

There have been 17 rollovers since a winning ticket was sold in Ohio for the $112 million drawing held April 18. There was a total of $2.5 million worth of second-tier payouts for the last two drawings, highlighted by a winning ticket in Colorado on Tuesday that matched all five non-Mega Ball numbers and had a 2x Megaplier.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? Saturday night’s drawing will be the second consecutive one with a potential nine-figure payout at $118 million. Saturday will mark three weeks since a winning ticket for the $204.5 million jackpot drawing May 31 was sold in California.

Second-tier payouts totaled just over $3 million for the previous three drawings, with one $1 million ticket sold in Indiana last Saturday for matching all five non-Power Ball numbers. There were two $250,000 payouts Monday after two tickets matched four numbers and the Power Ball with a 5x multiplier.

Well, that’s one way to cut back on spending

It takes a lot to bump “As The Texas Lottery Turns” from the top spots of the Lotto Matrix.

James Farthing, take a bow.

Farthing, who first became famous for winning a Powerball jackpot worth $167.3 million in April while in Kentucky and then gained notoriety for getting arrested in Florida days later for battery charges against a police officer, has opted to serve his sentence, which runs through Nov. 4.

KFVS12 is reporting Farthing — who initially pleaded not guilty to the battery charges and demanded a jury trial — waived his right to hearings and requested to serve out his sentence according to the Kentucky Parole Board. The arrest in Florida violated his parole, as Farthing had been serving time through August for multiple Kentucky-related convictions.

As the Texas Lottery turns

This week’s dispatch from the Lone Star State has a “Where’s Waldo?” theme with state and national media again drawing attention to the $95 million jackpot won by a consortium in 2023 currently under investigation by the Texas Rangers.

The burning question: Where is former Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) Executive Director Gary Grief?

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has never missed a chance to take dramatic license in this lottery saga, noted on a Houston Chronicle webcast earlier this month that Grief’s whereabouts are unknown. Patrick threw some spice onto that status by adding, “Hopefully, he’s alive. I say I hope he wasn’t taken out by someone. The Rangers will finally track him down.”

The attention given to Grief draws attention from the other pressing lottery matter in Texas: The lawsuit filed against the TLC by Kristen Moriarty seeking her $83.5 million jackpot payout from February. The ticket — purchased via lotto courier Jackpocket with the physical ticket purchased at a retail location owned by the courier — has yet to be validated according to testimony from interim TLC Executive Director Sergio Rey.

IGT Gaming gets a rebrand

International Game and Technology announced Tuesday its global lottery organization will go by Brightstar Lottery effective immediately.

The rebrand comes with the impending completion of the sale of IGT’s Gaming and Digital business to Voyager Parent, LLC, which could occur as early as July 1. Voyager is a holding company owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management.

In a press release, the company landed on Brightstar as the new brand “invokes the Company’s forward-thinking global leadership in the lottery industry, acting as a guiding light and source of inspiration and innovation for lottery customers and players.”

“We have a nearly 50-year history of reliability, innovation, and leadership in lottery, a bedrock from which we are launching Brightstar with a future-forward mindset of helping lottery customers around the world succeed in an environment of digital adoption, shifting player expectations, and an increasing variety of gaming choices,” said Vince Sadusky, CEO of Brightstar.

Brightstar is the primary technology provider in 26 of the 46 lottery jurisdictions in the U.S. and seven of the world’s ten largest lotteries.

That’s amazing! I’ve got the same combination on my luggage!

The Rhode Island Lottery found itself paying out 489% more in prize money than normal after The Numbers evening drawing Tuesday came up 1-2-3-4. Lottery USA reported the payouts totaled $187,737.

According to a post on X from the Rhode Island Lottery’s account, the top prize awarded was $26,040 to a Cranston-based player who purchased his tickets at Snacks Plus in town. Additionally, a woman who played the combination twice in Wyoming, Rhode Island made out with $20,832 in winnings.

For the record: The Lotto Matrix knows King Roland’s passcode ends with a “5.”

Newsworthy Nuggets

EuroMillions max jackpot winner hails from Ireland: The Irish National Lottery announced Wednesday that the winner of Tuesday night’s €250 million ($288.2 million) EuroMillions jackpot is based in County Cork.

The jackpot, which was capped at €250 million prior to the June 6 drawing, is the largest EuroMillions jackpot won in Ireland. The previous high was €175 million ($198.5 million) to a winner in Dublin in February 2019.

“We are absolutely thrilled to see this incredible and record win for an Irish EuroMillions player,” said National Lottery CEO Cian Murphy. “We are advising our players to check their tickets and if they are the winner, sign the back of the ticket, keep it safe, and contact National Lottery HQ and we will guide you through the claims process.”

Why would you (allegedly) do that, Pennsylvania edition: KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh is reporting a woman who worked at the BP gas station in Hempfield was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police and accused of stealing what could be worth as much as $82,000 in lottery tickets dating back to last December.

The woman was not identified by state police, and the investigation is ongoing according to the public information officer representing the Greensburg Barracks.

And still MORE from Texas: Finally, a payout with no controversy. The Texas Lottery reported Tuesday a person in Spring claimed the $3 million top prize in the 500X Loteria Spectacular. It was the third of four top prizes on the $50 scratch-off to be claimed, with the winning ticket sold at the B&B News and More located on 5808 Westheimer Road in Houston.

The winner opted to remain anonymous.

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? 

Lotto drama isn’t the only big thing in Texas, where Saturday night’s drawing for a $29.5 million jackpot with a $16.2 million cash option is the largest prize available for a state-run U.S. lotto.

California’s Lotto Plus holds steady in the shotgun position at $18 million, while the New York Lottery again keeps the No. 3 spot with a $13.9 million jackpot available Saturday night. Illinois and Florida complete the top five once more, entering eight-figure territory with top prizes of $10.5 million and $10 million, respectively.

The multi-state Lotto America has a $2.25 million jackpot with a cash option of $1.01 million available Saturday night.

Until next week, dream big, check your numbers, and play responsibly!