The Lotto Matrix: Hall Of Famers And, Yeah, Still More Texas

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Million jackpot drawing worth? We continue to breathe the semi-rarified “Big Boy” air with a $348 million jackpot at stake. There is also a $155.5 million cash option available for someone itching to make an impulse purchase.

There have now been 19 rollovers since a winning ticket was sold in Ohio for the $112 million drawing held April 18. That remains the only jackpot in 23 drawings since the Mega Millions switched to its new $5 price point.

It was feast or famine for second-tier prizes the last two drawings. The June 20 drawing provided the feast as tickets sold in Georgia, New Jersey, and Washington matched all five non-Mega Ball numbers. The random 2x, 3x, and 4x Megapliers applied created $9 million in payouts.

Tuesday night’s numbers left players hungry, or perhaps even hangry, as the seven tickets that had four numbers and the Mega Ball paid out a combined $190,000.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? Powerball is getting interesting with a $155 million jackpot available that carries a $69.8 million cash option. It is now four weeks since someone in California matched all five numbers and the Powerball for the May 31 drawing to claim the $204.5 million payday.

The only two tickets that matched all five non-Powerball numbers spanning the last three drawings were from the June 21 drawing. A ticket sold in Minnesota had the Power Play option ticked to double the payout to $2 million, while the purchaser of the other ticket in Tennessee won $1 million.

The 20 tickets that contained four numbers and the Powerball paid out a combined $1.5 million. Five tickets had the 3x multiplier, which came up in all three drawings.

Welcome the 2025 HOF class

The Public Gaming Research Institute on Wednesday announced a six-person class to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame. Nominations come from current Hall of Fame members, while nominees must be currently active in the industry and “must have been in the lottery industry for at least 10 continuous years and have had noteworthy achievements in the industry.”

The inductee with arguably the biggest impact on lotteries in the United States is Michelle Carney, who currently serves as vice president of lottery marketing for Brightstar. She was a key contributor to the lottery industry’s first Vision Jackpot Plan, a collaborative effort to promote multi-state lotteries in the U.S., in 2009.

Carney was part of the group that developed a plan to help cross-promote Mega Millions and Powerball, setting a foundation for the national platform both lotteries enjoy in the present day. She also served as project leader for the implementation of the initial Cash 4 Life draw games that launched in New York and New Jersey in 2014 and are now available in 10 states.

Other inductees who will be formally enshrined at the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries Conference (NASPL) in Niagara Falls, New York on Sept. 10 and the European Lotteries Congress (EL) in Bern, Switzerland, six days later, are:

• Piet Van Baeveghem, head of legal and regulatory affairs at the Nationale Loterij in Belgium, who will also become secretary general, EL, effective July 1
• Richard Bateson, CEO of Intralot
• Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery
• Elisabeth Romer-Russwrum, managing director of Austrian Lotteries
• Charles Scannella, VP of commercial sales and client relations, Scientific Games

As the Texas Lottery turns

In a very technical sense, the Texas Lottery stopped turning last Friday after Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB3070 into law and abolished the Texas Lottery Commission.

But as Game of Thrones taught us, what is dead may never die. There will still be lotteries in Texas, at least through 2029, but they will be under the auspices of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation effective Sept. 1.

There will be some changes, including a ban on online lottery ticket sales and a maximum of five lottery machines per retail location. Players are also limited to purchasing a maximum of 100 tickets at retail locations during a store’s operating hours.

Arizona ain’t playing

The multi-year headaches endured by the Texas Lottery Commission and all who have come in the path of the two controversial lottery jackpots have not gone unnoticed. The Arizona Lottery, one of three states that has regulations in place for lotto couriers, recently approved rules that would ban “bulk ticket transactions.”

The threshold for bulk ticket sales “occurs when any individual, group, or entity purchases, in aggregate, Fast Play tickets exceeding $50,000 within a twenty-four (24) hour period.” The rules also give the Arizona Lottery the right to deny any award if such an instance is discovered and gives it investigative rights that include utilizing video surveillance, purchase records, and witness statements to make determinations.

So nice he did it twice

A Delaware man claimed a combined $320,000 in a four-day span matching all five numbers in Delaware’s PLAY 5 game. The winner, who opted to remain anonymous, had two $50,000 tickets and two $10,000 ones after playing the numbers 1,0,0,0,0 for the June 9 drawing.

Friday the 13th then became a good omen for the man, who took numbers from his own phone number that matched the 5,0,1,5,9 numbers drawn. All four tickets played that day were worth $50,000 apiece.

“This is the kind of incredible story we love to share,” said Helene Keeley, director of the Delaware Lottery. “Winning twice in just four days is an unbelievable streak, and we’re thrilled for him. It’s also a great reminder that every number has a story — and sometimes, those stories turn into life-changing moments.”

The man purchased all his tickets at the New Castle Shell at 3001 New Castle Ave. in New Castle. He told lottery officials he spends $50 per session and always picks his own numbers.

Newsworthy Nuggets

Michigan Lottery brings back Super Raffle: The Michigan Lottery launched Sunday with its largest grand prizes in state history at $6 million. The $50 ticket also affords a chance to win two $1 million prizes and 12 worth $100,000. Only 35,000 tickets will be made available for the Super Raffle, and the drawing is scheduled to take place Sept. 8 or later.

The first gift she gives may be headphones: Staying in the Wolverine State, the Michigan Lottery is reporting a Montcalm woman won the first of three $1 million top prizes available from the Electric 100s $10 scratch-off.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was on the phone with her daughter playing the scratcher when the “$1MIL” appeared. She repeatedly screamed “No way!” into the phone.

“My daughter thought something bad had happened because I kept yelling,” the woman told lottery officials. “When I told her I won $1 million, she didn’t believe it, and honestly, I didn’t believe it either.

“I scanned it on the Lottery app and when $1 million came up, I think I screamed for 30 minutes straight! I’m still in awe and I can’t believe I’m actually here claiming $1 million.”

All he does is win … literally. Go Erie is reporting that arguably the most appropriately named person to win a lottery claimed a $1.1 million payday playing the Pennsylvania Lottery’s Cash 5 with Quick Cash Jackpot: Gary Winner.

Winner lived up to his name by playing $20 worth of tickets at the Giant Eagle at 2501 W. 12th Street in Millcreek. The 64-year-old normally plays Cash 5 when the jackpot rolls over significantly, and he took a flyer seeing a grand prize of more than $2 million.

“I walked by the machine and realized someone hit the jackpot,” Winner told lottery officials. “Why don’t I just scan my ticket here? I looked and saw winner and I was like ‘oh my gosh.’ I had to take a deep breath.”

Winner plans on helping his wife retire with his, um, winnings, and remodel the couple’s house.

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? Big states with big prizes continue to lead the parade as the Texas Lotto has a top prize of $31.5 million that carries a $17.2 million cash option. The California Lotto plus climbed to $20 million, and its cash option is worth $9 million.

New York again maintains the final podium spot at $11.6 million, while Florida and Illinois have flipped the fourth and fifth sports. The Sunshine State now offers the fourth-largest jackpot at $11.5 million, and Illinois is close behind at $10.85 million.

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.

The multi-state Lotto America has a $2.4 million jackpot with a cash option of $1.08 million available Saturday night.

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