The Lotto Matrix: Feeling Swell, Feeling Lucky While Mega Grows

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth? Our “Big Boy” continues to grow by leaps and bounds with a jackpot of $423 million up for grabs, extending the mark for the highest grand prize since the introduction of the $5 ticket in April. The cash option? Also solid at $196.5 million.

It was a quiet week for top second-tier prizes. No one matched all five numbers without the Mega Ball in either drawing, and only 12 people had four numbers and the Mega Ball. The combined payouts from those tickets totaled $350,000.

It has now been 23 drawings since a player in Virginia matched all the numbers for the $348 million jackpot on June 27.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? Another three drawings without a winner has swelled this weekend’s Powerball jackpot to $99 million, and a cash option of $46 million is available for those wanting instant lucrative gratification.

Even without a monstrous billion-dollar jackpot, Powerball is still getting players. The three drawings this week resulted in six tickets matching all five numbers without the Powerball. Of those tickets, only the one sold in Florida for Monday night’s drawing matched the 2x Power Play option for a $2 million payday.

A total of 29 tickets had four numbers and the Powerball, and 11 of those were worth $100,000 thanks to the 2x Power Play. A grand total of $4.95 million was paid out for those second-tier prizes.

I’m not crying, you’re crying

The Virginia Lottery provides this week’s biggest smile as Carrie Edwards made the most of her $150,000 Powerball prize won from the Sept. 8 drawing.

Edwards matched four numbers and the Powerball, which normally pays out $50,000. But playing the Powerball digitally for the first time, Edwards ticked the Power Play option for an extra $1, and it tripled her winnings with the 3x Power Play.

She opted to donate her entire winnings three ways as the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), Shalom Farms, and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society each received $50,000 gifts.

“This cause is deeply personal,” said Edwards, whose husband died from FTD. “During World FTD Awareness Month, I wanted this gift to shine a light on the families who are fighting this disease and on the researchers working toward a cure. God is blessing me, so I can bless others through him. After all, we are all just walking each other home.” 

All three groups provided the Virginia Lottery statements of gratitude for Edwards’ generosity, and Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones added, “All of us at thelLottery are delighted to see this prize being shared with worthy causes, due to the wonderful generosity of Carrie Edwards. By playing the lottery, Ms. Edwards, and all other Virginia Lottery players, support K-12 public education in the Commonwealth. That’s why the lottery exists.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish cutting some onions.

I, too, wish to feel this lucky

In North Carolina, Jeremy Wilson was feeling lucky. The kind of lucky that compelled him to play the North Carolina Lottery’s $10 Million Spectacular scratch-off Wednesday night. Wilson purchased the $50 scratcher at the North River Tobacco Barn on Caratoke Highway in Jarvisburg, and a few seconds later, the 20-year-old discovered he’d won the top prize.

“It was a crazy feeling,” Wilson told lottery officials about his winning moment, adding his mother didn’t believe him at first. “I couldn’t control myself.”

Wilson, who said he plays the high-denomination scratchers only when he’s feeling lucky, opted for the lump sum payment of $6 million, which netted him just over $4.3 million after state and federal tax withholdings.

Wilson claimed the fifth and final $10 million grand prize tied to the $10 Million Spectacular, and the state lottery will now begin the process of winding down the scratcher that made its debut in December 2023.

We have questions … many questions

First question, among others: Who steals an actual lottery ticket vending machine? That’s what California police and lottery officials are trying to find out after an unidentified person or persons made out with the machine from State Market in Delano.

Authorities found the machine, cracked open but with its full inventory of unplayed scratch-offs, approximately 60 miles north in Selma. Lottery officials explained there are contingencies in place to void tickets gained through such ill-gotten methods.

“Even if they were, the lottery has a way of deactivating them remotely,” CA State Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker told ABC30. “I’m confident the tickets that are recovered from the field there will be investigated for damage. If they have been compromised in any way, they are not playable.”

Becker added such machines — which are worth $20,000 — usually carry minimal amounts of cash.

Newsworthy nuggets

$14.6 million Illinois Lottery jackpot claimed: The person who won the Illinois Lottery’s Aug. 25 drawing has stepped forward to claim their prize. The winner, who wished to remain anonymous while using the pseudonym “East St. Louis Lotto Winner,” matched the numbers 5-9-14-18-22-23 and was the sole winner of the largest in-state lotto jackpot this year.

“I checked the Illinois Lottery’s website to see who won — and realized it was me,” they told lottery officials. “Of all of the people, it was me! I cried because I was too shocked.”

Plans to spend the winnings include a new house and a Lexus, as well as a trip to Paris. But taking care of his family will come first.

“My granddaughters’ future is my priority and I’m using this prize money to support their education and dreams.”

The Crown Mart at 306 E. Broadway in East Saint Louis will receive the customary 1% bonus from the Illinois Lottery for selling the winning ticket, which comes to $146,000.

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? Texas continues to roll along as the runaway clubhouse leader with Saturday night’s jackpot worth $56.75 million. There’s also a $32 million cash option available.

California remains No. 2, now at $44 million, and the cash option has reached $20.6 million. Just 15 more concurrent rollovers in both states, and California will overtake Texas for the largest jackpot.

Florida retained the final podium spot as Saturday night’s drawing is worth $35 million. New Jersey also maintained the status quo in fourth at $15.1 million, and Michigan makes it a clean sweep of eight-figure jackpots in the top five as Lotto47 is offering $11 million for a ticket that matches all six numbers.

The multi-state Lotto America has a $3.09 million jackpot with a cash option of $1.43 million available Saturday night.

Until next week, dream big, check your numbers, keep your tickets where you can find them, and play responsibly!