The Lotto Matrix: Bigger Mega And Another Unclaimed Million

How much is Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth? Our “Grown Man” put some work in last week and is now a swole $575 million. The cash option for you Scrooge McDuck types has crossed the one-quarter billion dollar threshold at $264.6 million.

Tuesday marked the first time since June 20 that three tickets matched all five non-Mega Ball numbers in a single drawing, with two tickets sold in California and the other in New Jersey. Additionally, the Megapliers on those tickets ranged from 3x to 5x, resulting in $12 million in payouts. That is the highest combined second-prize payout for one drawing since the changeover to the $5 ticket in mid-April.

The last two drawings had 21 tickets that contained four numbers and the Mega Ball, leading to $570,000 in winnings. There have been 29 drawings since a player in Virginia matched all numbers for the $348 million jackpot June 27.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? Powerball is on the cusp of “Big Boy” territory at $244 million and offers a cash option of $114.2 million.

It was a quiet week for top second-tier prizes. No one matched the five non-Powerball numbers in any of the last three drawings, and the 33 tickets that had four numbers and the Powerball paid out a combined $1.95 million. Six tickets were worth $100,000 for those who checked the Power Play option, which was 2x for all three drawings.

There have been 14 rollovers since the Sept. 6 drawing worth $1.787 billion — the second-largest in U.S. jackpot lottery history — was split by winners in Missouri and Texas.

Why would you (allegedly) do that, Florida Man?

The New York Post is reporting Justin Farley faces federal charges of commercial burglary and grand theft from a May 5 incident in which he is accused of stealing $7,000 worth of scratch-off tickets and then returning to the store in a bid to redeem the winning tickets among them.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed, Farley, 43, allegedly opened multiple cabinets housing scratchers at a Circle K in St. Petersburg, taking the tickets and then took off in his car. Farley first tried to redeem the winning tickets at a nearby 7-Eleven but, after being unsuccessful, he returned to the Circle K and tried to cash in the tickets.

Perhaps more amazingly, he made a second unsuccessful attempt before leaving and came back a third time — wearing a ski mask and carrying a replica Glock — and made out with $120 and a pack of Newport cigarettes. Farley was arrested nearly three weeks later thanks to the overwhelming amount of surveillance video available and admitted to the robberies to local police.

The federal charges came Tuesday after he was indicted by a Tampa grand jury for state charges.

The end of an era in Missouri

The Missouri Lottery has announced the final drawing of its in-state lottery game will be held Oct. 18. The contest offers two plays for $1 for twice-weekly drawings held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Saturday night’s jackpot is worth $3.1 million. The Lotto was first introduced in the Show Me State in 1997 with a base prize of $1 million as players tried to match six numbers among the 44 drawn. In November 2012, a Doubler feature was added in which random tickets would offer double the payouts on non-jackpot prizes.

Tough lessons learned

Adam Lopez of Norwich, England, is fortunate enough to be able to take stock of his life after a hard-partying lifestyle for months landed him in the hospital following a £1 million ($1.3 million) payout from a scratcher this summer.

Lopez, who told the BBC he had less than £13 in his bank account when he won, quit his job as a forklift operator. The 39-year-old said in hindsight that “I lost the structure to my life and day-to-day living. … It was a complete disconnect from the life I was living.”

While Lopez did make some expected purchases that included Range Rovers for his mother and himself as well as a trip to Barbados, he admitted the non-stop partying throughout the summer was “an absolute rollercoaster” in which he was “burning the candle at both ends.”

It all came to a head last month when he needed to call an ambulance to take him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism after a blood clot in his leg had spread to his lungs.

“I knew what I was doing was going to come to an end eventually, and it nearly came to an end in the worst possible way. It was a massive, massive wake-up call,” he said.

Lopez said he is being diligent and patient in his recovery, which he expects to take at least six months. His hope is to be “back to the full version of me” when it is complete.

Put your tickets where you can find them!

The New Jersey Lottery is putting out the word that a $1.3 million Cash 5 Lotto ticket purchased Nov. 25, 2024, remains unclaimed. The prize must be claimed within 365 days of purchase, so there is still seven-plus weeks for our mystery winner to find this ticket and contact state lottery officials for validation and payout.

“Players really should check their tickets,” New Jersey Lottery Executive Director James Carey said. “We have several ways our players can verify if they are winners. More than once, I’ve seen players come to us after a period of time saying they won a prize after finding a misplaced ticket.”

The Wawa on Route 9 in Freehold in central New Jersey where the Cash 5 ticket was purchased — from a self-serve kiosk — is also where the “Lotto Matrix” author buys his lottery tickets when in the mood to play.

Newsworthy nuggets

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? For the third consecutive week, the top five remain the same as jackpots in each state have swelled thanks to rollovers.

Texas continues to wait on its first winner since the administration regime change to the Department of Licensing and Regulation, with Saturday’s jackpot at $65 million with a cash option of $36.3 million. California lags in a distant second, but Saturday’s drawing has a nice round figure of $50 million — or a $23.3 million cash option.

New Jersey is still on the podium in third, reaching $19.5 million after no one won Thursday night’s drawing. Michigan and Ohio again hold steady to complete the quintet, offering $14.3 million and $9 million for their jackpots, respectively.

The multi-state Lotto America, meanwhile, has a $4.52 million jackpot with a cash option of $2.11 million available Saturday night.

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