The Lotto Matrix: A Hefty Powerball Pot And Pennsylvania Unleashed

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth? Mega Millions is a “Player” for the second straight week with a $120 million prize that can become a $52.8 million cash payout for those lacking patience.

There have now been seven rollovers since a winning ticket for the $348 million drawing June 27 was sold in Virginia. Each rollover has resulted in a $10 million bump to the jackpot.

There now have been five drawings since anyone matched the five non-Mega Balls for a seven-figure payday. A total of $300,000 was paid out across 11 tickets for players who matched four numbers and the Mega Ball in the last two drawings. One winner last Friday had the 5x Megaplier randomly selected for a $50,000 prize.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? We are still in “Big Boy” territory with Saturday’s clean total of $350 million. The cash option for the impulse-purchase crowd lands at $156.5 million, as it has been eight weeks and 24 drawings since someone in California played a winning ticket for the May 31 drawing to claim the $204.5 million payday.

Another three millionaires were minted over the last two drawings after no one matched all five non-Powerball numbers in last Saturday’s drawing. Two of the three tickets that had all five numbers were sold in Georgia, including one player who checked the Power Play option to double the payout to $2 million.

A total of 43 tickets that contained four numbers and the Powerball were sold spanning the last three drawings. That resulted in $3.2 million worth of payouts ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. Twelve people were in line for $150,000 payouts for matching the 3x Power Play option last Friday and Wednesday.

No more profit margin for PA Lottery

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shaprio signed HB 1058 into law Monday, repealing the Pennsylvania Lottery’s requirement for 20% of lottery sales revenue to be dedicated to property tax relief and free or reduced transit service for the elderly.

Per a fiscal note from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the move will provide increased lottery sales that project to an additional $35.8 million in revenue for Fiscal Year 2025-26; $4.4 million in 2026-27; and $62 million in 2027-28. The fiscal note from the Senate extended projections for another two years, expecting $240.6 million in additional money for FY 2028-29 and 2029-30 combined.

In March, the Pennsylvania Lottery advocated for the removal of the requirement, saying it would be able to sell more scratch-off tickets with a higher price point, something that has grown in popularity with players. The Pennsylvania Lottery has eight scratchers with a $30-or-higher price point, including two $50 offerings.

Jersey strong for local sales amid decline

The New Jersey Lottery reported $3.3 billion in ticket sales for Fiscal Year 2025, a 7.9% decline from the previous year. But as Lottery Geeks’ Eric Raskin noted, much of that downturn can be attributed to Powerball and Mega Millions having few large-scale payouts to draw high-volume traffic.

And there were nuggets of improving business beyond that top line. Jersey Cash 5 sales increased 26.4% to $176.1 million. Cash Pop also had a double-digit percentage increase with sales up 10.1% to $67.5 million. Though scratch-off sales were flat, they still hold plenty of sway after $1.8 billion worth of ticket sales was reported.

Not ready for primetime … yet

The Massachusetts Lottery’s plan to expand Mass Cash to a twice-daily drawing starting last Sunday hit a snag as system issues prompted a scrubbing of the launch. The silver lining is that the regularly scheduled evening drawing is going on as scheduled.

The state agency announced starting Wednesday that players will be able to advance wager up to seven evening draws on a single ticket. The Massachusetts Lottery did not offer a timeline on when the new afternoon drawing would be available as it continues to deal with those system issues.

The ‘Cuse is loose with a NY Lotto winner

The New York Lottery reported the winning ticket from Wednesday night’s $17 million drawing was sold at the Polge Wine and Liquors, 434 West Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse. Store owner Tim Polge told Syracuse.com he doesn’t know who the winner is, but did disclose the winning ticket was bought at approximately 3:32 p.m. Wednesday.

The winner can opt for a lump-sum payment of close to $8.9 million, or 26 annual payments over 25 years that will total $17 million. The jackpot for Saturday’s drawing resets to a $2 million base.

Newsworthy nuggets

But did you really have to “calm down”? The South Carolina Education Lottery reported a North Carolina man claimed the fourth of the five $2 million top prizes available playing the $20 scratch-off $2,000,000 Millionaire. The man, who did not wish to be identified, bought a $20 scratch-off at the Raceway in Greenville, won $20 back, and used that to play the second ticket that provided the seven-figure payout.

“I had to calm down,” said the winner, who told South Carolina lottery officials he has plans to buy a new house with his new-found windfall. “I still had to go back to work.”

Definitely not a “you snooze, you lose” scenario: An Ohio man had one of those mornings when he slept through his alarm and missed work. He opted to head to the Classic 2 Drive Thru in Minerva for an energy drink and a $30 scratch-off, which paid out $500.

He bought a few more scratchers, including one of the Monopoly 200X. Upon playing that $30 scratcher, he realized he had a $50,000 ticket in his hands.

“I reversed my truck in the drive thru and asked the clerk to check my ticket. I told him, ‘I think you just changed my life,’” the winner shared with lottery officials.

Millions of peaches, peaches for thee: It was a double-dip of seven-figure payouts in Georgia this week. In addition to the aforementioned Powerball winners, the state lottery reported a $20 Xtreme Money scratcher paid off its top prize of $2 million to someone who purchased the ticket at a Publix on Highway 5 in Douglasville.

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? The Texas Lottery continues to build ahead of the Sept. 1 changeover in agency administration to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, with its $39.75 million jackpot for Saturday tops among all state-run lotteries. It has a cash option of $21.6 million.

California continues to hold down the No. 2 spot as another two rollovers added another $2 million to the now $28 million overall top prize. Florida completes the podium spots with $18.75 million up for grabs Saturday night.

There are changes to fourth and fifth as both New York and Illinois had winners for their respective in-state drawings. Indiana slides into fourth place as the Hoosier Lottery is offering an $8.3 million jackpot Saturday night, and Oregon‘s Megabucks has a $7.2 million pot in play.

The multi-state Lotto America has a $3.31 million jackpot with a cash option of $1.48 million available Saturday night.

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