The Lotto Matrix: A Silver State Showdown, A ‘Just Because’ Millionaire, And Can Someone Win A State Lotto?

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Million jackpot drawing worth? Friday’s drawing has an estimated jackpot of $59 million with a $26.5 million cash option. There were rollovers after drawings last Friday and Tuesday had no winners. A potential big payout was missed Tuesday when there were no $1 million winners to pair with the 5x multiplier.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? The Saturday night drawing has an estimated jackpot of $89 million with a cash option of $39.6 million. There have been five rollovers since the last winning ticket was sold in Oregon for the Jan. 17 drawing that awarded $329 million/$146.4 million cash payout.

One of the two $2 million Match 5 + Power Play winning tickets from Monday night’s drawing was sold in Puerto Rico, the birthplace of U.S. lotteries.

Duel in the desert: Nevada ponders lottery

Nevada has practically everything when it comes to gaming, but it is one of just five states to lack a lottery, which it has resisted for competitive reasons. While there is again a chance to legalize the this year by getting AJR5 passed a second time after lawmakers ratified it in 2023, the casino industry looks ready to rev up its deep-seated opposition to the idea once more.

There is plenty at stake for casinos, which generated more than $15 billion in revenue in 2023. The casino industry claims a state lottery would put some of its 400,000 jobs at risk as a direct competitor and undermine the billions of dollars invested in resorts.

A $4 million scratch-off winner in Michigan

An Oakland County woman ran the gamut of emotions after winning the $4 million top prize in Michigan‘s $150,000,000 Spectacular scratch-off. The 26-year-old woman, who opted to remain anonymous, told the Michigan Lottery her father gave her the $30 ticket he purchased at Light House Liquor in Oak Park as a “just because” gift.

“When I scratched the ticket off, I was stunned to see that it was a $4 million winner,” she said. “I had so many emotions going through my body. I screamed. I cried. I was and still am shocked I won $4 million.”

She opted for a one-time, lump-sum payment of approximately $2.7 million and plans to save her winnings. There are still two remaining $4 million top prizes available for the $150,000,000 Spectacular.

No damning this winning ticket

A nurse in Bedford, Virginia, was among those who played the New Year’s Millionaire Raffle, which offered five $1 million top prizes. When Jacqueline Mangus heard one of the tickets was sold where she purchased hers in Moneta, she went to her holding place for tickets: her Bible.

“I was tickled to death!” she told Virginia Lottery officials. 

Mangus, who continued about her day and punched in for work, purchased the winning ticket on Christmas Eve at Lake Mart & Deli. The Virginia Lottery announced another $1 million winner during the week as Tarikua Dagnachew purchased her lucky New Year’s Millionaire Raffle ticket at the McNair Farms Sunoco in Herndon.

The remaining three $1 million tickets were purchased in Ashburn, Fishersville, and Henrico.

Filling it up in Upstate

A gas stop in Inman, South Carolina, provided a whole lot more than that as a woman won $1 million playing the Royal Millions scratch-off game. The woman from Upstate bought a single $10 ticket at the Spinx on Miller Farm Road and did not play until she got to her driveway, leaving her in stunned disbelief.

“When you see ‘$1 MIL,’ printed on your ticket it stops you,” she told the South Carolina Education Lottery after beating the 1,560,000-to-1 odds. She purchased a new home with the winnings and added, “This has changed my life and made it better.”

The woman claimed the last of the four top prizes in the Royal Millions scratch-off, but players can enter their losing tickets in a second-chance drawing for a chance to win $1 million.

New Jersey: Hotter than Buster Poindexter

The New Jersey Lottery was feeling hot, hot, hot, hot Friday, launching a quartet of scratch-off games in the Hot 7 family with top prizes ranging from $20,000 to $1 million. The $2 Red Hot 7’s have five $20,000 top prizes available; the $5 Sizzling Hot 7’s offer four top prizes of $200,000; the $10 Super Hot 7’s check in with three $500,000 top prizes; and the $20 Mega Hot 7’s will award three $1 million top prizes.

Newsworthy Nuggets

Timing is sometimes everything: The Rhode Island Lottery took it on the chin Monday with an absurd 762% payout ($7.62 per $1 played) as the Numbers Midday drawing of 1-0-2-7 nearly matched the Jan. 27 calendar date. One winning ticket worth $26,040 was purchased at a Stop & Shop in Westerly, and seven tickets sold at Sparkle City Laundromat paid out a combined $32,500.

Big state drawing, Texas edition: Saturday’s jackpot for the Texas Lotto is $75.5 million with a cash option of $41.1 million. There have been NINETY-FOUR drawings without a jackpot winner since June 24 when a winner from Austin claimed a $29 million top prize. It is the largest state-lottery run jackpot since a gambling entrepreneur from Malta combined with a London-based company called Colossus Bets to win a $95 million drawing in April 2023.

Big State drawing, Indiana edition: Speaking of jackpot droughts at the state level, the grand prize for Saturday’s Hoosier Lotto in Indiana is $38.9 million. It has been nearly 14 months since someone purchased a winning ticket at Lucky Mart’s in Speedway and matched all the numbers drawn on Dec. 6, 2023, to claim a $44 million payday.

Why would you (allegedly) do that?: A Nebraska man was charged with theft by deception after allegedly stealing a $300,000 Diamond Dollars scratch-off ticket and claiming the prize as his own. According to KOLN-TV, the affadavit for Jeremiah Ehlers’ arrest warrant states there is security video of him playing the scratch-off ticket and attempting to validate it before purchase, which is against state law.

Ehlers collected $213,000 for the winning ticket, and authorities placed a seizure warrant on his bank account for nearly $128,800. He allegedly purchased two vehicles and contract services in addition to paying off creditors with the other $84,200.

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