The Lotto Matrix: Big Powerball And A Bigger Texas Budget

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Million jackpot drawing worth? Mega Millions is worth a tidy $80 million, or $35.8 million for those who wanna get away. Last week’s two drawings had mixed results. Someone in Georgia had a 4th of July to remember, matching all five non-Mega numbers and getting a random 3x Megaplier for a $3 million payout.

Six other players had tickets with four numbers and the Mega ball, racking up $140,000 in winnings. Tuesday night’s drawing saw only one second-tier prize awarded, a $40,000 payout for four numbers and the Mega ball.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? Powerball is inching up to the subjective “Big Boy” level at $234 million with a cash option of $106.1 million. It has been six weeks and 18 drawings since someone in California matched all five numbers and the Powerball for the May 31 drawing to claim the $204.5 million payday.

The most recent rollover came after nine tickets produced seven-figure payouts for matching the five non-Powerball numbers from Wednesday night’s drawing. Of the group, only the ticket sold in Texas had the 2x Power Play multiplier checked, doubling the payout.

Overall, it was a good week for Powerball players despite not hitting the jackpot as there were nearly $19 million in payouts for the top two tiers underneath the jackpot. A total of 14 tickets matched five numbers, and another 31 had four plus the Powerball.

Perhaps a return to normalcy in Texas

The house prepping for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) began in earnest Tuesday as the agency outlined its budget and manpower needs for taking on the role of overseeing the $10 billion lottery program.

The TDLR’s budget ask was a more than a five-fold increase to $800 million for the 2026-27 biennium, and a 52.5% increase in full-time employees to 938. Also in the budget was a $45,000 raise for TLDR Executive Director Courtney Arbour to $235,000. Her new salary will kick in when the TLDR formally begins oversight of the lottery Sept. 1.

Good vibes at NCLGS

Friday morning’s lottery-focused panel at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) had the feel of a car operating smoothly on all cylinders with talks of high profit margins and the good causes that receive a notable portion of the ticket sales.

It was also notably absent of any talk about the drama in Texas.

The most eye-popping stat came from Lotto.com CEO Thomas Metzger, who noted that the average annual income of a courier user was $120,000 compared to $45,000 for retail players. Metzger remains convinced couriers and retailers can co-exist, claiming his group serves as an additive by bringing new players to the field.

Not exactly Valhalla

Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling company that oversees the lottery in Norway, had plenty of explaining to do late last month when it told players they had won millions in incorrect amounts playing the Eurojackpot.

It turned out the prize money, which is counted in Euros upon receipt from Germany was erroneously multiplied by 100 when converted to the Norwegian Kroner instead of being divided by 100.

The gaffe led to the resignation of Norsk Tipping’s CEO Tonje Sagstuen, and Norway gambling regulator Lotteritilsynet will be conducting a review of Norsk Tipping-operated games Lotto, Eurojackpot and Vikinglotto.

It is not the first time Norsk Tipping has been involved in gaming controversy. A player was mistakenly paid 25 million Norweigan Kroner ($2.46 million USD) from the casino game KongCasino, and a technical issue that did not allow iPhone and iPAD users to self-exclude was not discovered for four months.

“These cases show a fundamental problem in Norsk Tipping’s systems and controls,” Lotteritilsynet senior advisor Anya Therese Markhus said according to Focus on Gaming. “These are serious errors, and in addition there are several examples of Norsk Tipping not having discovered them before the consequences were major.”

Newsworthy Nuggets

Curiosity made this cat’s family richer: The Connecticut Lottery reported that Russell Ruff claimed a $150,000 Powerball win thanks to the family cat. Ruff told the state lottery’s official website he played the June 14 Powerball, but the ticket went out of sight and out of mind after it fell behind a headboard.

A few weeks later, the cat needed help getting out from behind the headboard, and Ruff picked up the ticket. After repeatedly scanning the ticket through the state lottery app, the ticket matched four numbers and the Powerball. A $50,000 payout became $150,000 since Ruff — who played the Powerball on June 13 as a superstitious lark — also ticked off the 3x Power Play option.

“It was a miracle,” said Russell.

Price Point Preference Provides Payout: The Michigan Lottery reported a man with a penchant for $30 scratch-offs picked up a $4 million payday by winning the first of three grand prize payouts for its “$4,000,000 Winner.”

The 50-year-old from Wayne County, who wished to remain anonymous, did some research and noted that no one had won any of the three prizes to the game. The store he visited had only three of the $30 scratchers left, and he purchased them all, scratching off only the barcode and scanning them.

“One of the tickets came back with a message to file a claim, so I knew I had to have won one of the big prizes, but I was too nervous to scratch the ticket,” he told Michigan Lottery officials. “The next day, once I calmed down a bit, I scanned the ticket on the Michigan Lottery app and started screaming when $4 million came up on the screen! It was unreal.”

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? The status quo remains in place for the top two state-lottery run jackpots. The Texas Lottery has $36 million up for grabs with a $19.3 million cash option, while the California Lotto Plus has incrementally climbed higher to $24 million. That also has a $10.7 million cash option.

New York keeps the final podium spot with a $16 million jackpot available, and Florida is right behind at $15 million. The Illinois Lotto rounds out the top five with $11.75 million for its next drawing.

The multi-state Lotto America has a $2.7 million jackpot with a cash option of $1.2 million available Saturday night.

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