The Lotto Matrix: Texas Drama, A Valentine Mystery, And More!

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth? The jackpot swelled twice after no one won last Friday and this past Tuesday, making this drawing worth $165 million with a cash option of $75.1 million available. This will be the 12th drawing since a $113 million ($50.4 million cash option) jackpot was claimed in Arizona on Jan. 17.

There was plenty of love from last Friday’s Valentine Day’s drawing as one player each from California and Pennsylvania matched all five non-Mega numbers and ticked the 3x multiplier for a $3 million payout. There were no such winners Tuesday, with only 10 people getting four numbers and the Mega Ball correct for a $20,000 payday with the 2x multiplier.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? It’s almost time to get very serious about Powerball as Saturday’s drawing has a $215 million jackpot or a $99.3 million cash option for a lucky someone or someones. There was only $1 million winner spanning the last three drawings, with a winning Match 5 ticket sold in Florida for Wednesday’s drawing.

There have been 14 rollovers entering Saturday’s drawing, though Monday marked the first time the 4x multiplier came up since Nov. 30.

Everything is bigger in Texas, even the lotto drama

It took 99 drawings and nearly eight months, but someone won matched all six numbers in the Texas Lotto on Monday for an $83.5 million jackpot. And since then, there has been nothing but controversy with a capital “C.”

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, one of the most ardent anti-gambling voices in the Lone Star State, made the connection the winning ticket sold at a retail store in Austin is owned by DraftKings-owned lotto courier Jackpocket. The state’s second-highest ranking political official — and arguably its most powerful one — then visited the Winner’s Circle location and received a lesson from a Jackpocket attorney on how the lotto courier system legally works. Still, Patrick persisted.

Patrick said he was not suggesting anything illegal took place, but he also felt it was poor optics for the store owner to be the purchaser of the winning ticket. The lieutenant governor said he also saw multiple terminals in the back room of the location, which he claimed raised questions about having confidence in the lottery.

Lotto couriers already were in the crosshairs of Texas lawmakers during the last General Assembly as the Senate — where Patrick presides — passed a bill to ban them by a 29-2 count. The lower chamber, though, declined to pick up the measure. There will be another effort to ban the couriers as Rep. Matt Shaheen and Sen. Bob Hall filed identical bills this week, but KXAN-TV reported the Texas Lottery Commission asked the Attorney General’s office if it can regulate lotto couriers in the interim.

But wait, there’s more!

Monday’s Texas Lotto victory is not the only tale involving Texas and lotto couriers. There has been much hand-wringing since April 2023, when a $95 million Texas Lotto was won by a group that reportedly used lotto couriers to purchase $25.8 million worth of tickets. The Texas Lottery Commission faced scrutiny over the method used to win the jackpot as it fulfilled last-minute requests for additional lottery terminals from retailers affiliated with the large buyer.

There may be a new chapter to the saga after the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that multiple state lawmakers have seen a video clip of workers trying to process the large order of tickets that also includes “children working at the state-authorized terminals…entering and printing out tickets.”

Hall told the Houston Chronicle he had seen the video but had not authenticated it. The state senator added “it’s beyond concerning if true.”

Wrong ticket, right prize

Kelly Lindsay inadvertently did not receive her preferred scratch-off ticket at the Race Way in Carrollton, Virginia, as the employee there accidentally gave her a $20 Money Blitz scratcher. Perceived misfortune became once-in-a-lifetime good fortune as Lindsay claimed the second of the three $2 million top prizes from the Virginia Lottery scratch-off.

“And I got over not being happy about it!” she joking told lottery officials while redeeming the ticket. Lindsay opted for the one-time cash payment of $1.25 million as she bucked odds greater than 1.1 million to one with a scratcher she never would have played otherwise.

When persistence and patience pay big

A Wayne County man in Michigan who had been playing the same six lotto numbers for “four years” can finally change things up if he likes after winning $1.3 million playing the Michigan Lottery’s Lotto 47 Jackpot.

The 54-year-old, who purchased his ticket at Mac II’s in Taylor, told state lottery officials, “I scanned my ticket on the Lottery app and saw the confetti fly and thought: ‘This is a dream come true!’ Winning is a great feeling and gives me and my family financial freedom.” The man opted for a lump sum payment of $901,000 and plans to pay bills and take his family on an extended vacation.

Maybe they’re celebrating together…

The National Lottery announced Thursday they are still searching for the last two winners among the 14 who won the EuroMillions “millionaire maker” prizes worth £1 million each drawn on Valentine’s Day.

Allwyn, which operates the National Lottery, said one winner purchased their ticket online, and the other bought theirs at a shop. If a prize of £50,000 or more is won at a retail location but not claimed within two weeks, the area where the ticket is purchased is released to the public.

“We love paying out all our National Lottery winners and it really got our pulses racing to know that we would have the opportunity to pay out 14 millionaires from the special Valentine’s Day draw,” Andy Carter, senior winners’ advisor, told The Independent.

“With 12 of these 14 prizes already having been claimed within a week of the draw, it leaves just these two would-be millionaires with the opportunity to have that incredible moment of realization that they have just become millionaires!”

Newsworthy Nuggets

Kansas launches online lottery ticket sales. The Sunflower State blossomed into the digital age for online lottery tickets Wednesday as players can purchase Powerball, Mega Millions, and eInstant games offered by the Pollard Banknote platform.

Two of the eInstant games have a local flavor in Jayhawk Riches and Wildcat Riches, highlighting the intense in-state rivalry between the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. The $5 rivalry riches games offer a top prize of $50,000.

A repeal to ban lottery games in Vermont? Three Vermont lawmakers are looking to repeal the statutes authorizing sports betting and lottery gaming. The bill, H.133, was filed by Rep. Thomas Stevens and is co-sponsored by Reps. Troy Hardwick and Michael Mrowicki. The one-page filing was referred to the state’s Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs after its first reading.

The Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery, which oversaw the launch of sports wagering in January 2024, is proposing rules that would allow for the expansion into online lottery ticket sales.

Will the Hoosier Lotto drought end this weekend? With the Texas Lotto jackpot claimed Monday, the Hoosier Lotto now gets the victory drought spotlight all to itself with Saturday’s jackpot of $41.2 million. The winless spell in Indiana trying to match six of 46 numbers stretches back to Dec. 6, 2023, when a winning ticket was purchased in Speedway for a $44 million payout.

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