The Lotto Matrix: Powerball Gives, Mega Millions Stingy In July

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth? Mega Millions continues to be a “Player” with a $140 million jackpot up for grabs. That can also be an instant check for $62 million to players who are anti-annuity.

There have now been nine 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, and Friday’s drawing also marks the last time a 10x multiplier for a non-jackpot prize could hit since it is only applied on drawings with $140 million or less available.

Mega players are hoping a new month means more winners. The nine drawings in July produced only $4.07 million in payouts from tickets that had either the five non-Mega numbers or four numbers and the Mega Ball. One ticket accounted for $3 million of that total on the 4th of July when a player in Georgia matched all five numbers and had a 3x Megaplier.

That was also the last time any ticket matched five numbers; it is a seven-drawing drought without a seven-figure payout and counting. Nine players had four numbers and the Mega Ball spanning the last two drawings, resulting in payouts totaling $270,000.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? We have entered the upper ranges of “Big Boy” territory with $410 million at stake. That can also be a one-time, lump sum of $184.9 million for those needing instant gratification.

Unlike Mega Millions, Powerball players continue to have close calls with the jackpot. The last three drawings produced two tickets that matched all five numbers, with a winner in Massachusetts getting $2 million for ticking the Power Play. As a second point of comparison, winning Powerball tickets for the top two non-jackpot prizes paid out $5.3 million last week.

For the 13 Powerball drawings held in July, there were 23 tickets that matched five numbers, highlighted by nine winners for the July 9 drawing. A total of $40.8 million in payouts were awarded for those tickets and ones that contained four numbers and the Powerball.

Overall, it has been nine weeks and 27 drawings since a player in California matched all numbers for the May 31 drawing to claim the $204.5 million payday.

The Lottery Corporation makes a big ‘Pickup’

The Lottery Corporation, based in Australia, announced Monday it has tabbed Wayne Pickup as its managing director and CEO. Pickup had been CEO at Allwyn North America since 2018 and has extensive Australasia experience with two stints at Lotto New Zealand totaling more than 10 years. He served as CEO at Lotto New Zealand from 2012-17 before jumping to Allwyn.

“Wayne is a proven leader with a strong track record and a deep understanding of lotteries developed over many years in the industry,” said Dr. Doug McTaggart, chair of The Lottery Corportation. “Having held senior leadership roles in technology, product management and game management, Wayne brings a diverse skill set and understanding of high-performing lotteries businesses. He is a high-caliber appointment who takes over from Sue at an exciting time for The Lottery Corporation, its shareholders and its customers.”

Pickup, who will join The Lottery Corporation in late November, is succeeding Sue van der Merwe. She announced her retirement in March after more than three decades in the industry, including the last three-plus years as CEO at The Lottery Corporation.

Brightstar Q2 earnings a mixed bag

Brightstar, neé International Game Technology (IGT), reported mixed results for its second-quarter earnings Tuesday. The good was the $631 million in revenue beating analysts’ estimates by nearly $10 million and representing a 3% year-over-year increase.

The not-so-good was an adjusted earning per share of $0.12, below analysts’ expectations of $0.15. A key contributor to the miss was a $99 million non-cash impact from foreign currency translation and $21 million restructuring charge with Brightstar’s expanded cost reduction program.

Brightstar reported a 59% increase in product sales revenue and a 2.6% bump for same-stores sales growth for instant and draw games.

“We achieved several important milestones over the last few months,” said Vince Sadusky, CEO of Brightstar. “We secured the Italy Lotto license through November 2034, closed the sale of our Gaming & Digital business for $4 billion in cash, and announced plans to return significant capital to shareholders. With a singular focus on lottery and unmatched industry expertise, we are well positioned to create value for all stakeholders with our mission to elevate lotteries and inspire players around the world.”

Brightstar did lower its full-year revenue outlook by $50 million to $2.5 billion, citing a timing shift in product sales and increased amortization related to the Italy Lotto upfront license fee.

Connecticut agency suspends lotto license

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection suspended the lottery sales license for Gulf Convenience LLC last week after a compliance investigation revealed the convenience store in Milford was selling vape and tobacco products to minors.

The city had received numerous complaints alleging sales of vape and tobacco products, prompting the investigation. A DCP agent observed a spinning wheel offering prizes “such as free chips, free fume vape (above $40 purchase), a free lighter, and a free small pipe (above $40).” Such promotional offerings could be construed as illegal gambling under state statute since “it involves, consideration, chance, and a prize.”

Additionally, the city of Milford does not allow the sale of marijuana or THC anywhere within city limits. The owner of the store was willing to voluntarily forfeit the lottery license, claiming he was looking to “focus on gas stations,” but a closer inspection of the store revealed “several pounds of suspected marijuana were found in both the front and back areas of the store and subsequently seized by Milford PD.”

“Promoting and selling illegal cannabis products, especially where people who are underage may buy them, is a gross violation of the trust we put in our license holders,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli in a statement. “Thank you to the city of Milford, as well as our sister agencies, who we will continue to work together with to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous products.”

One way to get ‘Comfortably Numb’

The Illinois Lotto reported a $1 million grand prize winner for its $10 Ultimate Bonus Payout scratch-off.

The winner, who chose to be anonymous with the nickname “Wishing Fish,” recounted to lottery officials she originally was going to pick a different scratcher, “but as I looked over the other options, this ticket stood out. It was as if my vision blocked out all the other tickets — this one was meant to be.”

“Wishing Fish” took the scratcher home and played the ticket while eating a chocolate bar with Pink Floyd’s “Money” playing in the background.

“I scratched the last symbol and immediately FaceTimed my son, repeating over and over, ‘I’m going to have a heart attack — I just won $1 million!’”

“Wishing Fish” says she will be paying it forward with most of her winnings, which includes sharing the prize with her three kids and more than 10 other family members. She said she also plans on helping a friend with four children get settled in their apartment.

Newsworthy nuggets

When you have to scratch that itch: As part of its year-long celebrations to mark its 40th anniversary, the Iowa Lottery is dreaming big. Like Guinness world record big.

After originally launching at the Iowa State Fair in 1985, the Iowa Lottery will return with an attempt to have the most players simultaneously playing a scratch-off lottery ticket. The current record is 550 set in Poland. Lottery officials will try to get participants at the Elwell Family Park to play a throwback version of Scratch, Match & Win! at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14.

“The Iowa Lottery is bringing Scratch, Match & Win! back to the Iowa State Fair. We want to give Iowans an opportunity to join us in celebrating 40 years of raising billions of dollars for good causes and attempting to set a new world record,” said Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn. “They say nothing compares to the Iowa State Fair and that will certainly be true as Iowans attempt to break a Guinness World Records title! We look forward to bringing the record title back to the U.S. and the great state of Iowa.”

Walk-up entry will begin at 4:30 p.m. and everyone will receive a free Scratch, Match & Win! ticket, which has a top prize of $50,000. Those who participate will enter a separate drawing that has a top prize of $40,000 and two $4,000 prizes.

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? There is true “Lottery Geek” excitement in rooting for chaos with the Texas Lottery continuing to rollover ahead of the Sept. 1 changeover in administration to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The Lone Star State again leads all state-run drawings for largest jackpot at $41.75 million, with a $22.6 million cash option available.

California again kept the status quo for the No. 2 spot, with two more rollovers bumping its grand prize to $30 million. Florida retained the final podium spot with two rollovers of its own as the Sunshine State jackpot is $20.5 million.

Indiana and Oregon occupy the final slots of the top five once more. The Hoosier Lottery jackpot climbed to $8.8 million, and the Megabucks in the Beaver State is offering $7.5 million to a winning ticket.

The multi-state Lotto America has a $3.74 million jackpot with a cash option of $1.68 million available Saturday night.

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