The Lotto Matrix: Jackpot Winners, Life Winners, And More

Welcome to this week’s “Lotto Matrix,” a weekly Friday compilation of the lottery industry’s most significant, interesting, or absurd happenings.

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Million jackpot drawing worth? Friday’s drawing has an estimated jackpot of $28 million with a $12.5 million cash option. The first winning Mega Million jackpot numbers of 2025 — worth $113 million or a $50.4 million lump-sum option — were picked last Friday in Arizona via Jackpocket.

It was the first time the mobile lottery app had a nine-figure winner, which came less than two weeks after Jackpocket launched in Arizona. There was no winner for Tuesday’s drawing with the base value jackpot of $20 million with a $9 million cash option.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? The Saturday night drawing has an available estimated jackpot of $46 million with a cash option of $20.5 million. There was a winning ticket sold in Oregon — also the first Powerball jackpot awarded in 2025 — last Saturday for a hefty $329 million/$146.4 million cash payout. Powerball had rollovers both Monday and Wednesday.

Speaking of Powerball …

A few more details have emerged regarding the big win in Oregon last weekend. The Oregon Lottery reported the winning ticket was sold at a Fred Meyer store in Beaverton, and the store will be donating half of the $100,000 it received for selling the lottery ticket to the Oregon Food Bank.

It is the second time Oregon can boast of a Powerball jackpot winner after cancer patient Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, his wife, and their friend claimed a massive $1.326 billion prize last April.

Big bucks in the Bluegrass State

A man hailing from eastern Kentucky won $859,001.91 playing the Mega Money Jackpot, the largest online instant play lottery in the history of the Bluegrass State.

The Mega Money Jackpot is a linked progressive jackpot poll funded by multiple states. The Kentucky Lottery offers two games as part of the jackpot: Jackpot Spectacular and Outlaw’s Loot. The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Kentucky Lottery he placed a $5 wager on Jackpot Spectacular through the state’s lottery app before heading out to a doctor’s appointment.

“Something was telling me to jump on and play,” he said, hitting the jackpot with a chance to spare. “The Mega kept coming up and I was like, ‘No way, no way, no way, and BAM! I just kept looking at it, I couldn’t believe it. There’s no way I won that!”

He took home a check for $618,481.37 after taxes and plans to spend some of the money paying off the mortgage on his son and daughter-in-law’s house.

Two $1 million winners in Ohio

Two $50 VIP Millions scratch-off tickets that had the $1 million top prize were claimed less than 50 miles apart in Ohio this week, according to the Ohio Lottery.

One winning seven-figure ticket was purchased at the Fast Trac located in Boardman. The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, opted for the $500,000 cash prize, resulting in net winnings of approximately $360,000.

Solomon and Nicole (identified only by first names) purchased their winning ticket at the R & J Marathon in Canton, also opting for the cash payout. There are 47 such prizes still available for VIP Millions, which gives winners the option of receiving 25 annual payments of $40,000 or the $500,000 cash option that both winners this week took.

The waiting was not the hardest part

A couple in Charles County, Maryland, opted not to make their $10 Mega Bucks ticket an “instant” scratch-off, but it still resulted in them claiming the second of the nine $100,000 top prizes available.

The couple, which plays the lottery regularly in the Old Line State, told the Maryland Lottery they bought the ticket at Korner Liquors in Waldorf. The husband kept the ticket in his pocket — where it remained for three days — because “life just got busy,” according to them.

They did the scratch-off together, then struggled to believe they had claimed the top prize even after scanning the winning ticket with the state’s lottery app repeatedly.

“When we saw the $100,000, we just looked at each other, didn’t say a word,” they said. After realizing they indeed were holding a winning ticket, they spent several minutes celebrating in their living room.

Better than any jackpot prize out there

Couple Sarah and Kevin King came up with an all-time way to announce a pregnancy reveal to Kevin’s grandmother, who had long been wishing for a great-grandchild to be added to the family.

According to People, the couple designed their pregnancy announcement to be in the form of a scratch-off lottery ticket they presented to 76-year-old “Granny” Rose Bell. The reveal, which took off virally on TikTok, shows Bell scratching off the ticket and realizing what she had “won,” leading to tears of joy.

Newsworthy nuggets

Mega Millions clearing the decks: In a housekeeping move ahead of its instituting its new $5 price point April 8, Mega Millions will stop selling 20-draw advance tickets beyond next Tuesday. There are cutoff dates for smaller-draw advance tickets further out on the calendar that align with the changeover.

Alabama legislators unlikely to pursue lottery legalization in 2025: After coming agonizingly close to legalizing lottery sales last year, it appears the Cotton State will not be making similar efforts this time. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, who led the 2024 effort, said he is deferring to the Senate on the initiative. New Senate leader Garlen Gudget, meanwhile, said a lottery or comprehensive gaming bill is not a top priority for the state.

South Carolina, however, may allow debit cards for lottery ticket purchases: The Palmetto State is among the few that are cash-only when it comes to lottery ticket sales. This has left both lottery officials and state legislators lamenting potential lost revenue for education. SB 169, introduced by Greg Hembree, is looking to annul the cash-only rule and allow debit card transactions.

According to a survey by the Lottery Commission, 430,000 South Carolina residents who did not play the lottery would consider doing so if there was a debit card option. The survey estimates those people would generate $186 million in annual revenue, with $52 million going to the state.

Two down, two more to find: The Texas Lottery reported the second of four $1 million winning Jackpot Millions scratch-off tickets was claimed this week. The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, purchased the $10 ticket at the Stripes Store in Lubbock.

According to the Beaumont Enterprise, there have already been seven winning scratch-off tickets of $1 million or more redeemed in the Lone Star State this year.

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