Lucky for Life, to be played in all six New England states, will offer players an opportunity to win $1,000 a day for life.

The Massachusetts State Lottery’s Cash WinFall game has provided millions of winning experiences and much excitement since it was introduced in September 2004. However, after an extended presence in the marketplace, the Lottery will soon be ending Cash WinFall and launching a regional draw game this Spring that will be offered in all six New England states. Cash WinFall will officially end following the game’s next jackpot roll down, which occurs when the jackpot level reaches its maximum $2 million.

Monday, January 23, 2012’s Cash WinFall jackpot is estimated at $2 million. If the $2 million projection is met, Monday’s drawing will be the game’s final and Cash WinFall ticket sales will immediately cease following the draw. Season ticket holders will be reimbursed for the remaining value of their tickets after the game ends.

Any players who are still holding on to unclaimed free bets for Cash WinFall after the game has ended may use them to make wagers in the Lottery’s Megabucks Doubler game. Players possessing these $2 free bet tickets can choose to make two $1 wagers in a single Megabucks Doubler drawing or one $1 wager in two consecutive drawings. As is the case with any unclaimed prizes in the game, all unclaimed Cash WinFall free bets are valid for up to one year from the drawing date printed on the ticket.

The Lottery will be replacing Cash WinFall’s twice weekly drawings with a new multi-state game that will be played throughout New England. The new game, Lucky for Life, will offer players the opportunity to win a prize of a lifetime – $1,000 a day for life.

Lucky for Life will be played in all six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. There will be 10 total ways to win a prize. In addition to its extraordinary $1,000 a day for life top prize, Lucky for Life will also feature a $25,000 second prize and other exciting cash prizes ranging from $2,000 to $2. The overall odds of winning a prize will be 1 in 6.6. All winning tickets will need to be redeemed in the state in which they were purchased.

Lucky for Life tickets will be $2 each. Game sales begin on Sunday, March 11th with the first drawing taking place on Thursday, March 15th. Drawings will be held every Monday and Thursday at 10:38pm in Connecticut. Drawing videos and game results will be posted on masslottery.com.

Visit us here in the coming weeks for more information on Lucky for Life - New England’s first multi-state lottery game.

$2 Game Also Benefits Players With Faster-Growing Jackpots; Change Begins Jan. 15, 2012

As Powerball® kicks off 2012, the game is being redesigned to bring more value to its players. Jackpots will start at $40 million and grow faster overall. There will be more chances to win a prize of at least $1 million cash and the overall odds of winning any prize in the game also will be better.

The enriched Powerball game will debut Jan. 15. Tickets in the game will cost $2 and the Power Play® feature will still be available for an extra $1 per play. For that extra $1, players have the chance to win $2 million cash for the match 5 prize; that is improved from $1 million.

While the Power Play now has set prizes, players will still at least double their non-jackpot prizes when they purchase this option.

Players in the newly designed game will still choose their first five numbers from a pool of 59. But the group of numbers in the Powerball® pool will shrink from 39 to 35, producing better overall odds of winning a prize in the game. Players today have a 1 in 35 overall chance of winning, which will improve to 1 in 31.8 in the revamped game. That means tens of thousands more winners each drawing. The Powerball® jackpots will start at $40 million, double the current starting jackpot of $20 million.

The Mega Millions® jackpot game and other in-state lotto, numbers and scratch games will still be available for those players who prefer the $1 price level of play.

The new Powerball® game will still offer players nine ways to win prizes, with its second prize moving up to $1 million in cash from the current $200,000, and the lowest prize level (for those who match just the Powerball®) being elevated to $4 from $3.

In addition to Massachusetts, Powerball is played in 41 other states, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. at Universal Studios in Orlando and are posted here.

As you may be aware, the Lottery’s Cash WinFall game will soon be coming to an end.

Cash WinFall’s unique jackpot roll down has provided millions of winning experiences and much excitement since it was first introduced in 2004. However, after an extended presence in the marketplace, the Lottery has decided to replace Cash WinFall in mid-March with a regional draw game that will be offered in all six New England states.

The sale of Cash WinFall tickets will stop following the game’s next jackpot roll down; however, if the top prize is won during a non roll down starting with the January 16, 2012 drawing, sales will immediately cease. Season ticket holders will be reimbursed for the remaining value of their tickets after the games ends.

Also in preparation for the game’s end, the Lottery is no longer offering advanced sales for Cash WinFall drawings. Players may only purchase tickets for the game’s next drawing to ensure that there are no wagers made for a drawing that may not take place.

After the game has officially ended, any players who are still holding on to unclaimed free bets for Cash WinFall may use them to make wagers in the Lottery’s Megabucks Doubler game. Players possessing these $2 free bet tickets can choose to make two $1 wagers in a single Megabucks Doubler drawing or one $1 wager in two consecutive drawings. All unclaimed Cash WinFall free bets are valid for up to one year from the drawing date printed on the ticket.

The Lottery thanks you for playing Cash WinFall and we hope you enjoy the New England regional game when it is launched this March.

Kathleen Crewe of Millbury wins $7 million top prize, Ronald Tiemann of Plymouth takes home $1 million second prize

The top two winners in the Massachusetts Lottery’s $10 Million Raffle today stepped forward to claim the millions in prizes that they won in the New Year’s Day drawing.

Kathleen Crewe, 57, of Millbury kicked off 2012 with a whopping $7 million pay day. Crewe arrived at the Lottery’s Braintree Headquarters with her son and daughter to claim the raffle’s top prize. She purchased the winning ticket - number 0409690 - at Goretti Supermarket in Millbury where she is employed as the store’s Controller.

Crewe was “absolutely stunned” to learn her ticket was the raffle’s top prize winner. To keep her winning ticket safe over the long holiday weekend, Crewe tucked it inside a thermos which she then placed into a fire-resistant bag. She didn’t inform her children about the win until this early morning and told Lottery officials, “It has been the longest two days of my life.” She plans to spend the winnings wisely, first by helping her mother undertake some necessary home repairs.

The winner of the raffle’s sole $1 million prize also lost some sleep as he waited for the Lottery to reopen after the long weekend. Ronald Tiemann, 47, of Plymouth, arrived at the Braintree Headquarters shortly after 10:00am with the winning ticket - number 0393563 – he purchased at Brennan’s Smoke Shop in Plymouth.

Tiemann, a married father of two, is a self-employed IT Specialist. He, his wife, and his mother-in-law each purchased a ticket for the $10 Million Raffle and checked the winning numbers together soon after they were posted on New Year’s Day. The family was thrilled to learn that one of the three tickets was a big winner. Tiemann described it as an “incredible family experience.” He plans to use some of the winnings toward his daughters’ college funds and also to send his mother-in-law on a vacation to Italy.

All prizes won in the $10 Million Raffle are paid in one-time lump sum checks (minus applicable state and federal taxes). A total of 1,022 players won cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $7 million in the Lottery’s first traditional raffle-style offering. Lines began forming as soon as the Lottery’s Headquarters opened this morning. Nine (9) of the 20 winners of $50,000 prizes claimed their winnings today, and hundreds of the 1,000 winners of $1,000 prizes flocked to the Lottery’s Regional Offices to collect their windfall.

For more information on the $10 Million Raffle and a listing of all 1,022 winning ticket numbers : Click here.

Ticket 0409690 sold at Goretti Supermarket in Millbury wins Raffle’s $7 million top prize

Two lucky people are starting the New Year as millionaires, and over one thousand more are celebrating big wins after the Massachusetts Lottery announced the winners of its $10 Million Raffle which was drawn earlier today.

One thousand people won cash prizes of $1,000, while 20 people walked away with $50,000 payoffs, and one person with a $1 million payday. The luckiest ticket-holder received a whopping $7 million top prize.

The ticket that took home the raffle’s $7 million top prize is ticket number 0409690. It was sold to a lucky customer at Goretti Supermarket on Providence Street in Millbury. Ticket number 0393563, sold at Brennan’s Smoke Shop on Court Street in Plymouth, won the game’s second-tier prize of $1 million.

All prizes in the $10 Million Raffle will be paid in one-time lump sum checks. A listing of all 1,022 winning raffle ticket numbers is posted on the Lottery’s website.

The Lottery will not know who the owners of the winning tickets are until they come forward to claim their prizes. The earliest they could do so is 8:45 am on Tuesday, January 3rd when the Lottery’s Headquarters and Regional Offices re-open for business; however, players have until December 31, 2012 - one year from the drawing date - to claim their winnings.

The Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle was the Lottery’s first traditional raffle-style offering. Sales for the $20 game began on October 30th and concluded on the evening of December 31st. The Lottery committed to selling no more than one million tickets before the New Year’s Day drawing, and sold a total of 514,760 tickets which helped to increase players’ odds of winning a prize to 1 in 504.

While the million ticket mark was not reached, Lottery officials are pleased with the response to the raffle’s inaugural launch. The buzz generated around this new game category is helping to build a foundation in the marketplace for future raffles. The Lottery plans to conduct similar style offerings up to twice a year.

The increased traffic from customers buying the Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle also positively impacted the sale of other Lottery games. Instant ticket sales for the past week soared to $73 million – the highest grossing week in sales since December 2007.

The Massachusetts Lottery’s Headquarters in Braintree and its Regional Offices in New Bedford, Springfield, Woburn, and Worcester will be closed on Monday, January 2, 2012. All Lottery offices will reopen for business on Tuesday, January 3 at 8:45 am.

All Lottery drawings will occur as scheduled. The website and automated phone system will be updated with drawing results.

Winning tickets for prizes up to $599 can be validated and cashed at any Lottery retailer that is open that day.

We wish you a prosperous New Year!

With so many charitable organizations falling short in collecting donations this holiday season, the staff at the Massachusetts State Lottery made sure that 11 families and two community centers on the South Shore received a bounty of gifts through the Toys for Tots program. In addition to the toys shown here, Lottery staff donated an additional $860.00 in cash. This is the 27th year that the staff at the Lottery has participated in the Toys for Tots program.

Pictured from left to right: Chris Silcox, Donna Foley, Joe Giordano, Jeanne Barghout and retired U.S. Marine Master Sergeant Jack.

New limited-time offering will award one $7 million grand prize and millions of dollars more in New Year’s Day drawing

The Massachusetts Lottery today announced a new raffle game that will award a total of $10 million cash in a New Year’s Day drawing and give one lucky player the chance to start 2012 with a $7 million payday.

Sales for the Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle begin on Sunday, October 30th and will continue until Saturday, December 31st at 11:59 pm, unless the game’s limited-run of one million tickets sell out before the scheduled end date. The raffle drawing will take place on Sunday, January 1, 2012.

Each Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle ticket will cost $20 and will be sold at all 7,400 Lottery’s retailers statewide.

The Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle will operate like a traditional raffle. Players will not select their own raffle numbers. Each Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle ticket will contain a unique seven-digit number and will be sold in sequential order beginning with ticket number 0000001 and ending with ticket number 1000000. A player’s ticket number must exactly match one of the winning number sequences drawn to win one of the raffle’s 1,022 cash prizes.

In addition to its $7 million grand prize, the Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle will award one $1 million prize, twenty (20) $50,000 prizes and one-thousand (1,000) $1,000 prizes. All raffle prizes will be paid in one-time lump sum payments.

The Lottery will also hold weekly “Wild Raffle Wednesday” bonus drawings to reward players who pick up a raffle ticket early in the game’s sales period. Every Wednesday starting November 2nd through December 28th, five (5) lucky ticket numbers will be randomly drawn from the pool of tickets sold to-date for a $1,000 bonus prize. A total of 45 $1,000 bonus prizes will be awarded leading up to the official Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle and all of these tickets will remain eligible for the New Year’s Day drawing.

All winning numbers in the Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle, including “Wild Raffle Wednesday” bonus numbers, will be posted on the Lottery’s website, masslottery.com and made available at the Lottery’s regional offices. Players can also visit their local Lottery retailers to check if their ticket is a winner.

Players can learn more about theMassachusetts $10 Million Raffle by inquiring at their local Lottery retailer.

ABOUT THE MASSACHUSETTS LOTTERY'S $10 MILLION RAFFLE

• When will the drawing take place and how will I know the winning numbers?
Complete results of the 1,022 winning raffle numbers will be posted on www.masslottery.com at 6:00pm on January 1st, 2012. You can also visit your local Lottery retailer to check if your ticket is a winner.


• How do I play Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle?
Visit any one of the Massachusetts Lottery’s 7,400 retailers. The Raffle’s 1,000,000 tickets will be sold in sequential order (from 0000001 to 1000000) until sold out. One set of seven-digit raffle numbers will appear on each ticket you buy. There are no playslips for the Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle. You do not choose your raffle numbers. There will be only one raffle drawing. Keep your ticket until after the drawing – you’ll need a ticket with a winning number to claim a prize. Each Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle ticket costs $20.


• How many winners will there be?
A total of 1,022 winners will be randomly selected, including:
• One $7 million prize
• One $1 million prize
• Twenty (20) $50,000 prizes
• One-Thousand (1,000) $1,000 prizes
  
  
• What are the odds of winning?
The odds of winning $7 million are 1:1 million; the odds of winning $1 million are 1:1 million; the odds of winning $50,000 are 1:50,000 and the odds of winning $1,000 are 1:1000. The overall odds of winning a cash prize in the Massachusetts $10 Million Raffle are 1:978.47.


• How will the winning numbers be selected?
Winning raffle numbers will be selected by a computerized random number generator. The random number generator software has been certified using widely accepted statistical analysis formulas by an outside gaming device and systems testing laboratory.


• How long do I have to claim my prize?
All cash prizes won in the January 1, 2012 drawing must be claimed within one (1) year following the draw date. Wild Raffle Wednesday prizes must be claimed within 30 days following the draw date.


• If I win a Wild Raffle Wednesday prize, can I still win a prize in the New Year’s Day drawing?
Yes. All of bonus prize winners will remain eligible for the New Year’s Day drawing.