A single ticket sold in Florida matched all six numbers drawn (10-13-14-22-52 PB 11) in the May 18, 2013 Powerball drawing to win the multi-state game’s record-high $590.5 million jackpot. The game’s previous record jackpot of $587 million was set in November 2012.

The winning ticket holder will have the option of receiving the $590.5 million jackpot in annual prize payments over 29 years or taking the $370,896,780 one-time lump sum cash option.

This $590.5 million jackpot had been growing since Powerball had its most recent winner on March 30, 2013. Game sales across the nation during the 13 draw series exceeded $1.237 billion.

With last night’s jackpot win, Powerball’s top prize for Wednesday, May 22 resets to $40 million.

In addition to Massachusetts, Powerball is played in 42 other states, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. in Tallahassee, Florida. Drawing videos and game results are posted on the Lottery’s website, www.masslottery.com, as well as its official Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. Click here for a breakdown of top-tier prizes won nationwide.

Top prize in Saturday night’s drawing reaches record territory for multi-state game

–The Powerball jackpot for the May 18, 2013 drawing has been increased to an estimated $600 million, a new record for the multi-state game. The cash option on the prize is an estimated $376.9 million.

Powerball's previous highest jackpot was $587 million won on November 28, 2012.

This jackpot has been growing for 13 consecutive drawings without a top prize winner and has been increased twice since Wednesday night’s drawing following a nationwide ticket buying frenzy.

As of 12:30 p.m., Powerball tickets in Massachusetts were selling at a rate of approximately $6,000 per minute and today have already exceeded $1.2 million in sales statewide. It is expected that Massachusetts Lottery retailers will be selling as much as $24,000 in Powerball tickets a minute during peak hours leading up to Saturday night’s drawing.

Powerball tickets are $2.00 each and can be played in 43 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets for Saturday’s drawing can be purchased until 9:45 p.m. that evening at any Massachusetts Lottery retailer in the state. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EST in Tallahassee, Florida.

Powerball drawings are broadcast locally via the Lottery’s website – masslottery.com, and can also be viewed on the Lottery’s official Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.

Massachusetts Lottery players have two chances this week at becoming multi-millionaires as current top prizes in Mega Millions, Powerball games combine for $520M

– Massachusetts Lottery players have two chances this week at becoming multi-millionaires as the current jackpots in the multi-state Mega Millions and Powerball games combine for a whopping $520 million in top prize offerings.

No tickets matched all six numbers in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing (1-19-20-39-49, Mega Ball 28), so the jackpot for the Tuesday, March 14 drawing climbs to an estimated $170 million.

Similarly, no tickets matched all six numbers (6-13-19-23-43, PowerBall 16) in Saturday night’s Powerball drawing, which sent the jackpot for Wednesday, March 14 soaring to an estimated $350 million.

Mega Millions tickets are $1.00 each and can be played in 42 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. EST in Georgia. The game’s jackpot starts at $12 million and climbs every time there is no winner. In March 2012, the jackpot reached a record-high $656 million.

Powerball tickets are $2.00 each and can be played in 43 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EST in Florida. Powerball’s jackpot starts at $40 million. The game reached its $588 million record jackpot in November 2012.

Mega Millions and Powerball drawings are broadcast locally via the Lottery’s website – masslottery.com, and can also be viewed on the Lottery’s official Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. Tickets for both games can be purchased at any of the Massachusetts Lottery’s 7,400 licensed retailers across the state.

The new $5 Cadillac® Riches game features over $87 million in instant cash prizes and second chance opportunities to win a Cadillac vehicle; on sale now at Lottery retailers statewide

The Massachusetts State Lottery hopes to drive players wild with excitement over the release of its newest instant “scratch” ticket – Cadillac® Riches. The $5 ticket goes on sale today at the Lottery’s 7,400 retailers statewide.

Cadillac® Riches is the first car-themed game released by the Lottery in almost a decade and is the first Massachusetts ticket to feature Scratch FX®- a patented product that visually enhances the ticket by adding sparkle and dimension. Each ticket prominently showcases an image of a Cadillac® vehicle with four different art scenes alternating throughout each book of tickets.

Cadillac® Riches features more than $87 million in instant “scratch and win” cash prizes, including five $1 million grand prizes, and over 290,600 prizes ranging from $50 to $10,000. In addition to its robust cash prizes, the game also offers players opportunities to enter their non-winning tickets into Second Chance Drawings for chances to win Cadillac® vehicles and premium Cadillac® merchandise.

In each of the five Cadillac® Riches Second Chance Drawings, the Lottery will select one (1) Cadillac® vehicle winner and 3,000 Cadillac® merchandise prize winners. Vehicles winners will have their choice of Cadillac® models, including the Cadillac® CTS™, Cadillac® Escalade™ or Cadillac® SRX™; while, merchandise prize winners will select either a men’s or women’s prize package which includes a Cadillac® fleece jacket, a Cadillac® soft shell jacket, a pair of Cadillac® sunglasses, and a Cadillac® messenger bag.

To support the new game’s launch, the Lottery will be offering players who enter the Cadillac® Riches Second Chance Drawings via the Internet with an opportunity to earn entries into a Bonus Drawing for a 2013 Cadillac® CTS™ Premium Coupe and $500 in cash. From April 9 to May 7, players entering non-winning Cadillac® Riches tickets via the Second Chance Drawing portal on the Lottery’s website can play an interactive game to earn entries into the Bonus Drawing. In the Bonus Drawing, 10 entries will be randomly selected. All 10 entrants will be invited to a Cadillac® event on June 1 where one of them will win the vehicle and $500 cash prize.

To learn more about the Cadillac® Riches instant ticket and its associated Second Chance Drawings, pick up a game brochure at any of the Lottery’s 7,400 retailer locations across the state or visit: www.masslottery.com.

Eugene Condon, Jr. of E. Falmouth claims $10 million Grand Prize and Tournament Championship bracelet; Dennis Foster of Everett, John Hall of Worcester and Dana Weiker of Worcester each win $1 million

The Massachusetts State Lottery awarded over $14 million in prizes tonight, including a $10 million Grand Prize, to participants in its long-awaited $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® Tournament. The Tournament, which took place at the TD Garden in Boston, officially concluded the Lottery’s “$10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER®” instant ticket – a $10 scratch game that debuted in 2005.

Over 1,200 people, including 560 Lottery players who each won a chance to participate in the Tournament via bonus drawings offered in conjunction with the scratch game, along with their guests, attended the two and a half hour long event that simulated an actual poker tournament; but, unlike an actual tournament, no poker skill was necessary to take part or win a prize in this evening’s event.

Two player cards were randomly assigned to each participant in a round. A set of five community cards was then selected using the Lottery’s drawing machine. Participants with the best five-card poker hand within their grouping for each round won a cash prize and advanced to the Tournament’s next round. All 560 Tournament participants received a guaranteed $2,000 for Round One; the 64 participants who advanced to Round Two each won $10,000; and the 12 participants who made it to Round Three each won $50,000. Drawings for consolation prizes, including TVs, GPS units and a $500 gift card, were also held throughout the evening for participants that did not advance to later Rounds.

At the end of the three elimination rounds, just four participants remained in the game – Eugene Condon, Jr. of East Falmouth; Dennis Foster of Everett, who was unable to attend the event and was assigned a Boston Bruins Ice Girl as a stand-in; John Hall of Worcester; and, Dana Weiker of Worcester - each winning $1 million and one chance at claiming the Tournament’s coveted $10 million Grand Prize.

Anticipation built around the table for the Tournament’s final round as Daytime Emmy Award-winning game show host Todd Newton and former Lottery on-air hostess Dawn Hayes, who served as emcee and drawing hostess for the event, announced the winning poker hand which had been revealed seconds earlier at the dealer’s table.

“If you have the Two of Diamonds and the Seven of Diamonds as your player cards, congratulations,” said Newton, “your poker hand of – the Two of Diamonds, Seven of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds, Ten of Spades, Nine of Hearts, Ace of Diamonds, and the Three of Diamonds – is the winning hand and you have just won $10 million dollars.”

Confetti cannons fired as Eugene Condon, Jr. of East Falmouth was revealed as the Lottery’s “$10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER®” Grand Prize Winner. Foster, Hall and Weiker each won $1 million.

Upon hearing his name announced as the $10 million winner, Condon was stunned.

Massachusetts State Lottery Executive Director Paul Sternburg closed the event by presenting Condon with a ceremonial $10 million check and a diamond and sapphire-encrusted Tournament Championship bracelet reminiscent of the style awarded in professional poker main events. Condon can elect to receive the $10 million prize in annual payments of $500,000, less taxes, over 20 years or in a one-time, lump sum payment of $6.5 million, less taxes. The $1 million prizes are paid $50,000 annually for 20 years, or, if elected, as a one-time cash option payment of $650,000, less taxes.

To see photos taken at the $10,000,000 HOLDEM'EM POKER Tournament, visit: the Lottey's Flickr page at: www.masslottery.com

The Massachusetts State Lottery today announced that it is bringing its SUPER 50/50 Raffle game back this spring. Ticket sales for the limited-time $10 game begin on Sunday, March 31 at all 7,400 Lottery retailers statewide.

The SUPER 50/50 Raffle operates just like traditional 50/50 raffles that are often sold at sporting events – the prize grows with every ticket sold and one lucky winner will receive exactly half of the game’s total sales.

SUPER 50/50 Raffle tickets cost $10 each with $5, or 50 percent, directly funding the game’s top prize. Players will be able to get daily updates on the prize amount as it grows by logging onto the Lottery’s website – masslottery.com.

Players will not select their own SUPER 50/50 Raffle number. Each ticket bears a unique seven-digit number that is assigned as the ticket is sold beginning with number 0000001 and increasing in sequential order until game sales end on July 1 at 11:59 p.m.

On July 2, 2013, a drawing will be conducted to randomly select one winning number in the SUPER 50/50 Raffle. The owner of the raffle ticket bearing the winning seven-digit number will win a super lump sum cash prize that will be determined by the number of tickets that are purchased before the game’s drawing.

This will be the Lottery’s second SUPER 50/50 Raffle offering. The first, which went on sale in October 2012 with a New Year’s Day 2013 drawing, generated a cash prize of over $1.15 million. The winning ticket, which was sold at Smok’in Deals located at 1285 Boston Road in Springfield, has not yet been claimed. The winner has one year from the drawing date to claim the prize.

In addition to awarding the SUPER 50/50 Raffle’s growing cash prize, the Lottery will also hold weekly “Wild Wednesday” bonus drawings to reward players who pick up a raffle ticket early in the game’s sales period. Every Wednesday starting May 8 through June 26, 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 40 $1,000 “Wild Wednesday” bonus prizes will be awarded leading up to the official SUPER 50/50 Raffle and all of these tickets will remain eligible for the July 2 drawing.

Players can learn more about the SUPER 50/50 Raffle by visiting www.masslottery.com or inquiring at their local Lottery retailer.

More than $14 million in prizes to be awarded, including a $10 million grand prize, in April 6 event at the TD Garden

The Massachusetts State Lottery today announced the date for the long-awaited tournament that officially concludes its “$10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER®” instant game – a $10 ticket launched in 2005.

On the evening of April 6, 2013, 560 Lottery players will convene at the TD Garden in Boston to participate in the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® Tournament, which will simulate an actual poker tournament with four rounds of Hold’Em poker dealt; however, unlike an actual tournament, there is no poker skill required in the Lottery’s event because all cards will be randomly assigned to the participants with the outcome of every hand determined through a secure drawing process.

Participants with the best five-card poker hand within their group for each round will advance to the next round of the tournament. There will be three elimination rounds to determine the four participants who will advance to the Championship Round.

Each of the 560 Tournament participants is guaranteed a $2,000 Round One prize; 64 participants will each win $10,000 in Round Two; 12 will receive $50,000 prizes in Round Three; and in the final Championship Round, three participants will win $1 million and one will emerge as the Tournament Champion, collecting the $10 million Grand Prize.

Drawings for consolation prizes will take place throughout the evening for participants that do not advance to later Rounds. The event is expected to last a total of three hours and draw over 1,100 attendees. Players who were selected as participants, but are unable to attend the Tournament will be able to send representatives in their place; however, those who do not attend and do not send a representative to participate on their behalf will be assigned a stand-in representative. Participants, or their representatives, must be present to win any consolation prizes awarded during the event, but participants that do not attend and are assigned a stand-in will still receive any cash that is due to them as a result of the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® Tournament.

At the time of the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® instant ticket’s launch in March 2005, the $10 game boasted a record-breaking prize structure with over $645 million in prizes, including a grand prize of $10 million – which then was the largest single instant ticket prize in U.S. lottery history. Massachusetts has since launched instant tickets with $20 million prize offerings and more robust prize structures.

While nearly seven and a half years elapsed before the 80.6 million tickets printed were sold, the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® instant ticket established a loyal player base in the market. Sales for the niche “extended play” game, which capitalized on the Hold’Em Poker play style that gained worldwide appeal due largely to televised tournaments like the World Poker Tour™, exceeded $800 million and generated over $97.8 million in net return to the Commonwealth for cities and towns.

In addition to winning cash prizes in the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® instant ticket, players also had the chance to win World Poker Tour™ merchandise prize packs. Those who won and claimed these merchandise prize packs were automatically entered into drawings to select the Tournament participants. For every 123 prize pack claims received, the Lottery randomly selected one player participate in the Tournament. A total of 560 players were selected to participate.

For a complete list of Tournament Participants and additional information on the $10,000,000 HOLD’EM POKER® Tournament, visit: http://tinyurl.com/MALotteryHoldEmTournament

The Massachusetts State Lottery and the Boston Celtics are teaming up on a contest that will provide six lucky fans with the once-in-a-lifetime experience of playing Celtics Captain Paul Pierce in a game of “H-O-R-S-E”. The contest is offered in conjunction with the Boston Celtics Instant Ticket, a $2.00 scratch ticket that debuted earlier this season at Lottery retailers statewide.

Fans can enter online for a chance to participate in the on-court challenge, which will take place at the team’s Boston Celtics Training Center at Healthpoint in Waltham on March 15, by visiting: www.Celtics.com/masslottery. There is no purchase necessary to enter. Registration opened on January 31 and will close on March 7. A total of six winners will be randomly selected in a drawing on March 14 to suit up against Pierce.

“Through our partnership on lottery games with the Celtics, our players have not only won significant cash prizes, but they have been provided opportunities and experiences that you just cannot put a price tag on,” Lottery Executive Director Paul Sternburg said. “By offering this game of H-O-R-S-E with Celtics Captain Paul Pierce, we are furthering our goal to create one-of-a-kind experiences for Lottery players while serving our mission of generating local aid to the state’s municipalities.”

The $2.00 Boston Celtics Instant Ticket, which launched in October 2012, features over $19 million in immediate “scratch and win” cash prizes, including 15 top prizes of $50,000, and also offers second chance opportunities through which players can enter their non-winning tickets to win unique game-night experiences, team-branded gear, authentic commemorative “banner year” collectables and more money – up to $50,000 cash - in a contest held on the famed parquet floor court during a Celtics home game.

“The Lottery is a great partner that shares the Celtics goal of providing unique and memorable experiences for consumers while giving back to the communities that support us,” Boston Celtics President Rich Gotham said.

The Boston Celtics Instant Ticket is the Lottery’s fourth Celtics-branded ticket released since 2006. To date, the Lottery’s co-branded tickets with the team have generated sales of over $154 million and returned over $26.2 million in net profit to the Commonwealth. With a print run of 15.1 million tickets, sales from the latest Boston Celtics Instant Ticket are expected to reach $30.2 million and generate more than $5.8 million in local aid revenues which will be available for Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns.

To learn more about the Boston Celtics Instant Ticket and its associated Second Chance Drawings, pick up a game brochure at any of the Lottery’s 7,400 retailer locations across the state or visit: www.masslottery.com.

One lucky person is starting the New Year with 1,155,915 reasons to celebrate after winning the jackpot in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s SUPER 50/50 Raffle which was drawn earlier this morning.

The winning ticket, bearing the numbers 0013821, was sold at Smok’in Deals located at 1285 Boston Road in Springfield. The $1,155,915 jackpot will be paid to the winner in a single lump sum payment, less taxes. The store owner, Hamid Bijari, will receive a $50,000 commission for selling the jackpot-winning raffle ticket.

The Lottery will not know the identity of the winning ticket holder until he or she comes forward to claim the prize. The earliest the winner could do so is 8:45 am on Wednesday, January 2 when the Lottery’s Braintree headquarters re-opens for business; however, the winner has one year from the drawing date to claim the prize.

The SUPER 50/50 Raffle operated just like traditional 50/50 raffle games that are often offered at sporting events – the jackpot grew with every ticket sold and one lucky ticket holder won exactly half of the game’s total sales. For every $10 SUPER 50/50 Raffle ticket sold, $5, or 50 percent, directly funded the game’s jackpot. Game sales began on October 1 and concluded on the evening of December 31. The Lottery sold a total of 231,183 tickets which resulted in the $1,155,915 jackpot prize.

In addition to awarding the SUPER 50/50 Raffle’s jackpot prize, the Lottery also held weekly “Wild Wednesday” bonus drawings to reward players who picked up a raffle ticket early in the game’s sales period. Every Wednesday from November 7 through December 26, five (5) lucky ticket numbers were randomly drawn from the pool of tickets sold and won a $1,000 bonus prize. A total of 40 $1,000 “Wild Wednesday” bonus prizes were awarded leading up to the SUPER 50/50 Raffle’s New Year’s Day drawing.

For more information on the SUPER 50/50 Raffle and to view the 40 winning Wild Wednesday bonus drawing numbers, visit www.masslottery.com.

Rosa DeLeon of Arlington and Reginald LeBlanc of Lexington select $33 million cash option on prize, after taxes will each receive an $11.5 million payday

Yesterday’s historic 12/12/12 date proved to be very lucky for two coworkers in Massachusetts after the quick pick ticket they purchased together matched all five numbers plus the Power Ball selected in the Wednesday, December 12, 2012 drawing to win the multi-state game’s $50 million jackpot.

Rosa DeLeon of Arlington and Reginald LeBlanc of Lexington, who are coworkers at Costco in nearby Waltham, Massachusetts, have been jointly purchasing two tickets for the twice-weekly drawn game over the past 10 months. Of the two Powerball tickets the duo buys, one is always a quick pick ticket and the other is comprised of numbers that DeLeon’s father used to play before his passing. DeLeon purchases the tickets, writes “Reggie’s” name on the back, along with her own, and always makes a photocopy for him.

It was LeBlanc who first realized that the quick pick, bearing the numbers 08-10-25-36-44, Power Ball 28, was about to provide them with the biggest payday of their lives after seeing the numbers flash across the television screen in the break room. He quickly informed DeLeon, who was in absolute disbelief. They both left their workplace for the afternoon to verify the win with the Lottery.

The coworkers elected to receive the $33,003,300 lump sum cash option on the prize and after taxes will receive a one-time check for $23,102,310. They plan to split the winnings evenly.

DeLeon, a 52 year old married mother of five, plans to buy a house and to take care of her family with the winnings. LeBlanc, who is 54 and single, also plans to buy a home and will be investing in dental work which he has been unable to afford until now.

DeLeon and LeBlanc purchased their winning ticket at Lexington Shell located at 915 Waltham Street in Lexington. The store owner will also benefit from this jackpot win by receiving a $50,000 commission for selling the lucky ticket.

Last night’s win was the second jackpot-winning ticket sold in Massachusetts since the game was introduced to Bay State players in January 2010. On June 8, 2011, Jimmy Freeman, a retired Navy civilian worker from Fall River, took home a $25.6 million Powerball jackpot. He came forward the following day to claim the prize, selecting the $13.4 million cash option.

With last night’s jackpot win, Powerball’s top prize for Saturday, December 15 resets to $40 million. 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. in Florida. Drawing videos and game results are posted here at www.masslottery.com.

Single ticket sold at Lexington Shell, 915 Waltham Street, Lexington, matched all six numbers drawn last night to take home multi-state game’s top prize

Yesterday’s historic 12/12/12 date proved to be very lucky for one lottery player in Massachusetts after a single ticket sold at a Lexington gas station matched all five numbers plus the Power Ball selected in the Wednesday, December 12, 2012 drawing to win the multi-state game’s $50 million jackpot.

The ticket bearing the winning numbers (08-10-25-36-44, Power Ball 28) was sold at Lexington Shell located at 915 Waltham Street.

The Lottery will not know who the lucky winner of the $50 million jackpot is until he or she comes forward to claim the prize. The winner must claim the prize at the Lottery’s Braintree headquarters and has up to one year from the drawing date to collect his or her winnings.

The winner has the option of receiving the full $50 million jackpot in annual prize payments over 29 years or taking a one-time lump sum payment of approximately $33 million before taxes.

The store owner will also benefit from this jackpot win by receiving a $50,000 commission, the top retailer commission offered in Massachusetts, for selling the lucky ticket.

Last night’s win was the second jackpot-winning ticket sold in Massachusetts since the game was introduced to Bay State players in January 2010. On June 8, 2011, Jimmy Freeman, a retired Navy civilian worker from Fall River, took home a $25.6 million Powerball jackpot. He came forward the following day to claim the prize, selecting the $13.4 million cash option.

With last night’s jackpot win, Powerball’s top prize for Saturday, December 1 resets to $40 million. 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. in Florida. Drawing videos and game results are posted here on the Lottery’s website.

The odds of matching all six numbers drawn in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s Megabucks Doubler game are approximately 1 in 14 million and the odds of matching all five numbers in its Mass Cash game are 1 in 324,362 , but what are the chances of two separate sequences of numbers each representing jersey numbers of retired Boston sports heroes would be selected in not one, but in both of those Lottery draw games within the last two months? Lottery officials calculate the odds at approximately 1 in 4.45 billion; so while the likelihood of this occurring is pretty astronomical, it is not totally impossible. In fact, it did occur last month and 13 lottery players collectively raked in $1.6 million in prizes for their loyalty to hometown sports legends.

On November 21, two lucky basketball fans split a $500,000 lottery prize after their numbers, each of which represented retired jersey numbers of Boston Celtics legends, matched all six numbers drawn in the Massachusetts Lottery’s Megabucks Doubler game.

Charles Knight of Boston and Norman Durfee of Pittsfield each regularly play their Megabucks Doubler numbers – 3, 6, 14, 17, 32, 33 – as an homage to retired C’s greats Dennis Johnson, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Kevin McHale and Larry Bird. When the lucky numbers on both Knight’s and Durfee’s tickets were randomly selected in the November 21 Megabucks Doubler drawing, each man’s ticket hit to win the game’s $500,000 jackpot. The prize was divided evenly between the two ticketholders.

Knight played his winning numbers at Sunny’s Cigar Store located at 1635 Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan, while Durfee played his winning numbers at Lipton Mart #601 located at 460 South Street in Pittsfield. Each store received a $2,500 commission on the sale.

And on October 3, 11 people each won $100,000 top prizes in the Lottery’s Mass Cash game after they all picked the same five numbers – 1, 4, 6, 8, 9 – which are retired jersey numbers of Red Sox greats that hang off the right field wall at Fenway Park. The winning numbers were the same numbers worn by Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin, Johnny Pesky, Carl Yastrzemski, and Ted Williams, respectively.

“While people typically pick numbers that have personal significance, such as birthdates, anniversaries, and jersey numbers,” said Lottery Executive Director Paul Sternburg, “this is the first time we have ever seen such a lucky streak play out for our sports fans.”

Megabucks Doubler is drawn twice weekly on Wednesday and Saturday and offers a jackpot prize that starts at $500,000 and grows with each drawing, while Mass Cash is drawn seven nights a week and offers a top prize of $100,000. Tickets for both games are $1 each and can be purchased at any of the Massachusetts Lottery 7,400 retailers statewide.

Four tickets sold in Massachusetts win $1 million each for matching 5 of 6 numbers drawn

BRAINTREE, MA (November 29, 2012) – Tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri matched all six numbers drawn (5-16-22-23-29 Power Ball 6) in last night’s Powerball drawing to split the multi-state game’s record-high $587.5 million jackpot.

Each winning ticket holder will have the option of receiving their share of the $587.5 million in annual prize payments over 29 years or taking half of the $ 384,747,857 one-time lump sum cash option.

Four tickets sold in Massachusetts came just one number shy of sharing the jackpot, which was a record-high in Powerball's 20 year history. Each still won $1 million for matching the first five numbers drawn, but missing out on the Power Ball. Those tickets were sold at: Galaxy Newsstand, 385 Southbridge Street, Auburn; City Convenience, 23 Beacon Street, Boston; 7-Eleven, 1306 Washington Street, Boston (South End); and, Tedeschi #153, 268 Union Street, Rockland. There were also 16 tickets sold in Massachusetts that matched four numbers, plus the Powerball, to win $10,000 each and over 297,000 tickets winning prizes ranging from $100 to $4 that totaled $1,772,700.

This $587.5 million jackpot had been growing for 16 consecutive drawings since Powerball had its most recent winner on October 3. Game tickets were selling at a frenzied pace across the country, causing the jackpot amount to grow by $162.5 million in the days leading to the drawing. Massachusetts Lottery retailers were ringing in approximately $23,000 in ticket sales a minute last night during peak hours.

Over the 16 draw series, more than $1.277 billion in tickets were sold nationwide, of which $38.5 million were sold by Massachusetts Lottery retailers. Sales from this jackpot run generated approximately $16.1 million in net profit for the Commonwealth, all of which is returned to the state’s General Fund in unrestricted local aid for cities and towns. The Lottery’s statewide network of retailers also benefited from the record-high jackpot, earning more than $2 million in commissions just from the sale of Powerball tickets.

Massachusetts Lottery players won big as well with Powerball's lower tier prizes ranging from $1 million to $4 totaling $8.24 million since this jackpot began growing eight weeks ago.

With last night’s jackpot win, Powerball's top prize for Saturday, December 1 resets to $40 million. 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. in Florida. Drawing videos and game results are posted on the Lottery’s website: www.masslottery.com

Tonight’s Powerball jackpot has been increased to an estimated $550 million following a national ticket sales frenzy. The one-time, lump sum cash option on the prize is now an estimated $360.2 million.

Tonight’s $550 million jackpot is the largest in the multi-state game’s 20 year history. If there is no Grand Prize winner in tonight’s drawing, the estimated jackpot for the Saturday, December 1 drawing is $900 million, which would surpass the March 30, 2012 world-record Mega Millions jackpot of $656 million by $244 million.

This Powerball jackpot has been growing for 15 straight drawings, since October 3. Powerball sales in Massachusetts over those eight weeks have totaled over $29 million. As of noon, Massachusetts Lottery retailers had sold more than $3 million in Powerball tickets today, or selling at a rate of $14,800 per minute.

Approximately 42 percent of all Powerball ticket sales in the state is net profit that is returned to the Commonwealth for cities and towns. To date, this drawing series has generated over $12 million in unrestricted local aid dollars for Massachusetts’ 351 municipalities.

Powerball tickets are $2 each and are sold at Massachusetts Lottery retailers statewide. Tickets for tonight’s drawing will be sold up until 9:45pm.

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. Drawing videos and game results are posted on the Lottery’s website: www.masslottery.com

Top prize jumps by $75 million following strong sales nationwide

The Powerball jackpot for the Wednesday, November 28 drawing has increased to $500 million as strong ticket sales in Massachusetts and across the nation pushed the jackpot up by $75 million at a quickened pace. The cash option on the prize is set at $327 million.

Wednesday night’s $500 million Powerball jackpot is the largest in the multi-state game’s 20 year history. Powerball’s previous record jackpot was $365 million, won in Nebraska in February 2006. The March 30, 2012 Mega Millions jackpot, which reached a whopping $656 million, currently holds the record for the world’s largest lottery jackpot.

This Powerball jackpot has been growing for 15 straight drawings, since October 3 when a ticket sold in Delaware won a $50 million prize. Massachusetts Lottery agents have sold over $20 million in tickets during this 15 draw series, returning approximately $9 million in net profit to the Commonwealth for cities and towns. As of 6:00p.m. today, sales in Massachusetts had already reached nearly $4 million and were selling at a rate of approximately $5,000 a minute.

Lottery players in the state are also winning big with more than 313,000 prizes won during these 15 jackpot rolls, totaling more than $2.6 million won.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are approximately one in 175 million. The odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 31.85. Since the Lottery began selling Powerball tickets in January 2010, one Massachusetts player has claimed the game’s top prize, three have won $1 million prizes, and 16 have won $200,000 prizes. On June 8, 2011, James “Jimmy” Freeman, a retired U.S. Navy civilian worker from Fall River, won a $25.6 million jackpot. He selected the lump sum cash option on the prize and walked away with a $13.4 million before taxes.

Powerball tickets are $2 each and are sold at Massachusetts Lottery retailers statewide.

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. Drawing videos and game results are posted here on the Lottery’s website.

Ticket sold at AM/PM Convenience in Hyannis matched all six numbers in last night's drawing to win $30.5 million

A ticket sold in Massachusetts was one of two tickets sold nationwide that matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball selected in last night’s Mega Millions drawing to split the multi-state game’s $61 million jackpot.

The ticket bearing the winning numbers (13-37-40-46-52 Mega Ball 29) was sold at AM/PM Convenience located at 489 Bearses Way in Hyannis. The other jackpot winning ticket was sold in Fresno, California.

The Lottery will not know the identity of the lucky winner until he or she comes forward to claim their $30.5 million prize. The winner must come to the Lottery’s Braintree headquarters to claim the prize and has up to one year from the drawing date to do so.

The winner will have the option of receiving the full $30.5 million jackpot in annual prize payments over 26 years or taking a one-time, lump sum payment of $23 million.

The owner of AM/PM Convenience, Paresh Patel, will also benefit from this jackpot win by receiving a $50,000 commission -- the highest retailer commission paid by the Massachusetts Lottery -- for selling the winning ticket.

The last time a Massachusetts player won a Mega Million jackpot was on August 19, 2011, when Dorchester resident Candido Oliveira won a $32 million jackpot in the multi-state game. Oliveira selected the cash option on the jackpot prize and received a one-time, lump sum payment of approximately $22.2 million, or $15.5 million after taxes.

Mega Millions tickets are $1.00 and can be played at any of the Massachusetts Lottery’s 7,400 licensed retailers across the state. In addition to Massachusetts, Mega Millions is played in 41 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held Tuesday and Friday in Atlanta and broadcast locally via the Lottery’s website – masslottery.com. Drawing videos and game results can also be viewed on the Lottery’s official Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.

For more information on Mega Millions or of the Massachusetts Lottery's games, visit: www.masslottery.com