The Lotto Matrix: Week 1 Of The New Mega Era And More

First things first

How much is Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth? A solid $72 million with a cash option of $34.3 million in the second drawing of the $5 ticket era. Tuesday’s much-anticipated debut of the new price point came and went without a grand prize winner.

There is plenty to talk about when it comes to Mega Millions for the second consecutive Lotto Matrix, and we’ll get there shortly.

How much is Saturday’s Powerball jackpot drawing worth? The jackpot is $82 million, or $39.6 million if choosing the cash option. The grand prize has swelled nearly 75% from the $47 million payout from last Saturday, as drawings on Monday and Wednesday also failed to produce a big winner.

It’s been a barren run for Powerball players: No one has even matched all five white balls at any point in the last five drawings to claim a $1 million payday.

And that dry spell is not restricted to Powerball, as none of the last five combined Mega Millions and Powerball drawings, starting with the April 4 Mega Millions, has produced a single million-dollar ticket.

What did we learn about the new Mega Millions?

If Tuesday’s drawing was any indication, the biggest takeaway may have been the lack of surprise regarding the numbers when it came to ticket sales.

In terms of dollar amount, sales were up 18.6% from the previous drawing to $25.06 million according to some strong napkin math from colleague Eric Raskin. He also estimated that roughly 5.01 million tickets were sold at the new $5 price, which meant the volume of tickets declined 45%. This development was expected, but how long this dynamic lasts may depend on how quickly the first large-scale jackpot builds.

One interesting wrinkle is the Megaplier, which is now randomly determined at 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 10x. The majority of winning tickets — 77.8% of the 217,904 total winners — had either a 2x or 3x Megaplier applied. The 10x Megaplier appeared on 3.2% of overall winning tickets, with the outlier coming on those who matched three numbers with the Mega Ball at 5.4%. That resulted in a $200 ticket becoming worth $2,000.

While it has been a mostly positive start, the other fact remains that raising ticket prices 150% is not an easy sell. There has been some pushback from players. That also figures to be something that may continue until that first large-scale jackpot arrives as promised.

As the Texas Lotto Turns

This week’s installment of As the Texas Lotto Turns requires some “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” machinations. Remember the $95 million jackpot won in April 2023 when a consortium purchased every possible combination of numbers and is now the subject of an investigation by the Texas Rangers?

That controversial victory is now the centerpiece of a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Travis County by a winner of a Texas Lotto drawing held shortly after the $95 million jackpot win. Jerry Reed filed a lawsuit in Austin this week claiming he would have had a far bigger payout — $102.5 million — than the $7.5 million he did win in May 2023 because of violations that took place with the April 2023 win.

Reed’s lawsuit names Rook TX; Lottery.com and its founders Lawrence Anthony DiMatteo III, Ryan Dickinson, and Matthew Clemson; Lottery.now; Colossus Bets Limited; and Auto Lotto Inc. among the defendants.

Tennessee closer to ending online sales

Tennessee online lottery ticket sales, limited as they currently are, may be closer to an end after HB 1330 passed in the House on Thursday with a key amendment that would remove language that arguably gave the Tennessee Education and Lottery Corporation the ability to offer such sales.

The back and forth between Rep. William Lamberth and TELC Executive Officer Rebecca Paul dates back to February when Lamberth questioned the legality of such sales. Paul authorized online lottery ticket sales of only Powerball tickets through ACH as the only acceptable form of payment in January.

Lamberth’s amendment proposes to remove the clause found in Tennessee Code Statute 4-51-108 that both he and Paul have cited in debating the legality of online sales: “Nothing in this part shall be construed as prohibiting or restricting the direct sale of lottery tickets or shares by the corporation through any form of payment and in any amount.”

The bill passed by a 73-21 vote Thursday and heads back to the Senate via companion bill SB 1316.

A courier ban with a caveat

Indiana became the second state, along with Texas, to pass legislation that would ban lotto couriers. Hoosier State lawmakers, though, undertook this task with a different overall goal: to create a blank slate of sorts should they decide to expand into iLottery.

Rep. Ethan Manning, who is the point person for gaming in the lower chamber of Indiana government, said the bill designed to prevent the Indiana State Lottery Commission from operating or authorizing the operation of lotto couriers was to vet those processes simultaneously when there is legislation for potential legalization. Manning filed such legislation this year as part of a bill to bring internet casino gaming to Indiana, but it failed to make it out of committee.

Newsworthy Nuggets

A Good “Florida Man” story: Larry Pincince of The Villages in Wildwood, Florida, claimed the eighth and final $2 million top prize in the $10 100X CASHWORD scratch-off. The 65-year-old Pincince opted for the $1.28 million lump-sum payout according to the Florida Lottery. The Publix supermarket where the winning ticket was sold received a $4,000 bonus.

Pincince’s win means the top prize available for the $10 scratch-off, which debuted in December 2023, is now $100,000, and only one such ticket remains out of the 20 originally printed with that prize value.

The path less traveled: Robert Havelka Jr. opted for the “for life” portion of the North Carolina Education Lottery’s payout system. The Charlotte man won a second-tier prize in the Lucky for Life drawing April 2, which gave him two options: a one-time, lump-sum payment of $390,000, or annual pre-tax payments of $25,000.

Havelka chose an annual check when he visited the lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Wednesday, with the first one coming out to $17,938 after taking out state and federal taxes according to lottery officials. Havelka bucked 1 in 1.8 million odds in claiming the prize.

He’s gonna get that bigger boat: John DeChellis of Plymouth, Massachusetts, claimed the fourth of the five $1 million top prizes available in the Massachusetts Lottery’s $1,000,000 Ultimate 7. DeChellis, who opted for a $650,000 lump sum, pre-tax payout from his winnings on the $5 scratch-off, told lottery officials he plans to buy a new boat and make some home improvements.

Who has the biggest active individual state lotto jackpot in the land? The California Lottery makes it four weeks running atop the list, as Saturday’s Super Lotto Plus has a $17 million jackpot or $7.6 million cash option. The Texas Lotto remains No. 2 at $12 million, while the Colorado Lotto+ has moved to eight figures with a grand prize of $10.3 million.

Rounding out the top five are Wisconsin‘s Megabucks drawing for Saturday ($9.5 million) and the New York Lotto ($6.9 million), also to be held Saturday. Additionally, the jackpot for the multi-state Lotto America drawing Saturday is $28.87 million.

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