The Lotto Matrix: Mega Hits In Georgia And A Bluegrass Goodbye

First Things First

How much is Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth? We were so close to our first “Grown-Ass Man” for Mega Millions. Alas, the $980 million jackpot was won in Georgia last Friday. Tuesday’s ensuing reset to $50 million did not produce back-to-back winners, so the grand prize is $60 million with a $27.7 million cash option.

It was also a good week for second-tier prize payouts. For the first time since the changeover to the $5 price point in April, there have been three consecutive drawings with at least one ticket matching all five non-Mega Ball numbers. There was a $3 million winner in Michigan last Friday and another peach of a payout Tuesday in Georgia with the 4x Megaplier on the ticket that matched 5-10-23-27-30.

The near-billion dollar jackpot had the expected butterfly effect of a larger volume of second-level winners. Forty-eight tickets contained four numbers and the Mega Ball last Friday, paying out a total of $1.43 million. That was both the highest volume of winning tickets in this category and total payout amount for this win category since the changeover. That drawing had more tickets with four numbers and the Mega Ball than the entire months of August (46), July (42), and May (41).

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? As one Grown Man’s quest to become a Grown-Ass Man has ended, another continues in earnest as the Powerball jackpot has reached $629 million. The cash option is a robust $294.5 million.

Like its counterpart, Powerball also has an active multi-drawing streak of top second prize payouts. The run hit four after someone in New Jersey matched all five numbers without the Powerball on Wednesday night for a $1 million payday. Eleven tickets had four numbers and the Powerball, leading to $650,000 in winnings.

Through the first nine drawings of November, there has been a 50-50 split of the $20 million prize money paid out between the nine tickets that matched five numbers and the 138 containing four numbers and the Powerball.

Harville announces retirement

Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Mary Harville announced her retirement effective next February to conclude a 22-year run with the state agency.

Harville, who made the announcement Thursday, has served as president and CEO since being appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear in September 2020. Her tenure has been marked by expanded sales and lower operating expenses. The Kentucky Lottery made transfers to the state totaling $1.9 billion over the last five years, which is nearly 25% of total transfers since the lottery’s inception. Additionally, operating expenses as a percentage of sales are at a record-low 1.9%.

“I want to thank Gov. Beshear for the opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in this role,” Harville said. “As a native Kentuckian, it has been my honor and privilege to serve as the face of the Kentucky Lottery and connect with fellow Kentuckians throughout the Commonwealth, including our multi-faceted stakeholder groups: players and supporters, retailers, Kentucky colleges and universities, legislators and other government officials, communities, and our ultimate beneficiaries who are counting on us – Kentucky college students and their families.”

The first woman and second Kentucky native to serve in the role, Harville joined the Lottery in 2004 as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. She was integral in bringing digital sales to the lottery, with the compounded annual growth rate over her five-year tenure reaching 79%. There have also been consistent technological advances for lottery sales for the state’s 3,500 retailers.

Beshear is staying in-house for Harville’s successor, appointing Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Maggie Garrison as incoming president and CEO.

When quiet is a good thing

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation finally has an eight-figure check to write after someone won the $78 million Texas Lottery last Saturday. The winner, who has yet to come forward, purchased the ticket at Gordon’s Bait & Tackle in Brownsville and selected the cash option worth $43.6 million.

“We are thrilled that a lucky player purchased the jackpot-winning ticket for this long-awaited Lotto Texas jackpot win, which is one of the largest in the game’s history,” said Courtney Arbour, executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) in a statement. “We look forward to meeting and congratulating the winner when they come forward to claim the prize. Texans can feel confident that wins like this are supported by secure, well-managed games under TDLR.

“If you believe you are the lucky ticket holder, please sign your ticket, keep it in a safe place, seek financial and legal advice, and call the Texas Lottery to schedule an appointment to claim your prize.”

It is the first time the Texas Lotto jackpot hit since the Feb. 17 drawing for an $83.5 million payout that made national news for all the wrong reasons when it comes to the lottery and state agencies. The TDLR took over administration of the state lottery Sept. 1 after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law abolishing the much-maligned Texas Lottery Commission.

One win good, two wins better

A New Jersey couple won their second grand prize from a scratch-off in a six-month span, claiming $4 million in total winnings. The couple, who have two children and a third on the way, purchased both tickets in Ocean County.

The first came on April 1, when they discovered it was no joke they won the top prize on the $30 Ultimate Spectacular scratcher, bucking odds of greater than 1,000,000-to-1. Sticking to that $30 price point, the pair recently hit it big for $3 million playing Jackpot Millions and overcoming roughly 2,000,000-to-1 odds.

“With our kids, we can’t really get out of the house,” the husband told New Jersey Lottery officials. “So at the beginning of the month, we get some (scratch-off) tickets. When the kids go to bed, we scratch a few off. We like to make it a bit of a competition — who can win the most. It seems we at least always break even.”

He scratched off the Jackpot Winnings ticket before handing it to his wife to confirm they indeed were big winners once more.

“I looked at it, held it to my chest and screamed,” she said of the $3 million prize.

“Ten seconds later, she’s laughing. This is perfect,” the husband added before telling his wife, “Babe, we got luck on our side.”

The odds of winning the two top prizes were an incomprehensible 1 in 2 trillion (twelve zeroes). As the New Jersey Lottery noted, a person is 1.2 million times more likely to be hit by a meteorite.

Newsworthy nuggets

Magnolia State goes mobile: The Mississippi Lottery Corporation launched its official app Wednesday on the Apple App Store and Google Play, giving Magnolia State players quick access to scan potentially winning tickets and participate in second-change drawing promotions.

“The launch of our first official app represents an exciting step forward for the Mississippi Lottery,” said MLC President Jeff Hewitt. “Our players have asked for a simple, secure way to check tickets, view jackpots, and find information on the go, and this app delivers exactly that.”

The app will also allow users to view current jackpots and winning numbers, locate nearby retail locations, and access detailed information and odds for all draw games and scratchers.

A reminder to feed your cravings: A late-night snack run for a Michigan woman turned into a feast of winnings when her decision to purchase a Lady Luck 777 scratch-off resulted in her claiming the second of three $1 million top prizes.

The woman from Wyoming, Mich., who wished to remain anonymous, told Michigan Lottery officials she woke up hungry one night and decided to go food shopping, which included purchasing some lottery tickets at the D 28 Inc store in her town. The woman played the $10 scratcher at her house and discovered she was a winner.

“I had a hard time going back to sleep that night,” she told lottery officials. Our winner opted for the lump sum cash payment of $693,000 versus annuities for the full $1 million.

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot? With Texas finally ceding the top spot, Michigan steps into the spotlight with the largest state-run lottery jackpot in all the land at $21.65 million for Saturday night. That currently ranks fourth all-time in the Wolverine State and is the largest jackpot since a record $32.2 million prize was claimed Nov. 7, 2020.

The Pick in Arizona is now riding shotgun in the No. 2 position with $12.7 million up for grabs Saturday night. There have been 66 drawings since the last jackpot was won back in June, and it is the second-largest jackpot in state history. A winning ticket for the $14.6 million drawing on June 5, 2019, somehow went unclaimed.

We unfortunately did not speak the combination of winning a bottle of Pappy Von Winkle and the Ohio Classic Lotto into existence last week, but the good news is the Buckeye State lottery has a $10.8 million jackpot. New York ($10.6 million) and California ($10 million) round out the top five.

The multi-state Lotto America has a $7.51 million jackpot Saturday night with a cash option of $3.51 million available.

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