Lotto South was a lottery game in Georgia, Kentucky, and Virginia. It resulted from the September 2001 merger of three smaller jackpot games, one from each of the three lotteries. This was done in an attempt to create larger jackpots.
Drawings took place at the WTVR-TV studios in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11:00 p.m. ET. Jackpots began at $2 million (annuitized); top-prize winners could choose to be paid either in 30 annual payments, or the cash option. The game was jointly administered by the Georgia Lottery, Kentucky Lottery, and Virginia Lottery.
Sales of the game began on September 9, 2001.
Its record jackpot was $27 million, won on December 31, 2005.
The game had four prize levels; players needed to match at least three numbers to win. All prizes were paid on a parimutuel basis. The jackpot was paid either in cash or 30 annual payments, according to the winners' wishes.
In January 2006, it was announced that the game would be retired; its final drawing took place on February 25, 2006. That jackpot was not won; the lower-tier prizes doubled (instead of rolling down the entire prize pool, which lotteries often do when a jackpot game is retired.) The three lotteries kept the rest of the money. Lotto South′s replacement was Win for Life, which ended in 2011 in Kentucky and winter 2014 in Georgia; Win for Life was retired on September 13, 2014, after which Virginia replaced it with $1,000,000 Moneyball.
Georgia, Kentucky, and Virginia began sales of Decades of Dollars on January 30, 2011. (Arkansas joined on May 3, 2011.) Decades of Dollars became a Virginia-only game in October 2014, as the other three lotteries were part of the launch of Monopoly Millionaires' Club.
Mega Millions is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery game; as of January 30, 2020, it is offered in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first (The Big Game) Mega Millions drawing was in 2002; see below. What is now Mega Millions initially was offered in six states; the logo for all versions of the game following the retirement of The Big Game name featured a gold-colored ball with six stars to represent the game's initial membership, although some lotteries insert their respective logo in the ball.
This is a collection of notable lottery jackpot records in the United States, Europe and the Philippines, listing the largest prizes/jackpots awarded in various drawings.
Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a nonprofit organization formed by an agreement with lobbyists and US corporations. Drawings for Powerball are held every Wednesday and Saturday evening at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, at Universal Studios in Orlando, with Sam Arlen and Laura Johnson as hosts.
The Georgia Lottery Corporation, known as the Georgia Lottery, is overseen by the government of Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the lottery takes in over US$1 billion yearly. By law, half of the money goes to prizes, one-third to education, and the remainder to operating and marketing the lottery. The education money funds the HOPE Scholarship, and has become a successful model for other lotteries, including the South Carolina Education Lottery.
The Florida Lottery is a government-run organization in the state of Florida, United States. With numerous on-line and scratch-off games available, players have a wide variety of prize levels to choose from. Since it began, the Florida Lottery has continued to add variety to its portfolio of games. The Lottery has experimented with higher price points, enhanced traditional games, and introduced seasonal promotional games. In 2012, Florida was the third-ranked state in yearly lottery revenue with $4.45 billion; revenue passed $5 billion in fiscal year 2013. Florida passed the legislation to enact the lottery in 1986 by a two to one ratio. The new lottery was spearheaded by Governor Bob Martinez and the Florida legislature with the mission of maximizing revenues for the enhancement of public education in Florida. The lottery was founded on the basis that it would provide the people of Florida the opportunity to benefit from additional revenues while providing the highest quality games available. The lottery's first game, MILLIONAIRE was a $1 scratch-off that was immensely popular. Within 17 days, the scratch-off game had paid back the entire $15.5 million to the state's general fund. Florida currently offers 10 terminal-generated games: Cash4Life, Mega Millions, Powerball, Florida Lotto, Pick 2, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Fantasy 5, and Jackpot Triple Play.
The Pennsylvania Lottery is operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Lottery was created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on August 26, 1971; two months later, Henry Kaplan was appointed as its first executive director. The Pennsylvania Lottery sold its first tickets on March 7, 1972 and drew its first numbers on March 15, 1972.
The California State Lottery is the state lottery of the U.S. state of California. It began on November 6, 1984, after California voters passed Proposition 37, the California State Lottery Act of 1984, to authorize the creation of a lottery. The first tickets were sold on October 3, 1985.
Hot Lotto was a multi-state lottery game administered by the United States, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which is best known for operating the Mega Millions and Powerball games.
Lottery games with "lifetime" prizes, known by names such as Cash4Life, Lucky for Life, and Win for Life, comprise two types of United States lottery games in which the top prize is advertised as a lifetime annuity; unlike annuities with a fixed period, lifetime annuities often pay until the winner's death.
The New York Lottery is the state-operated lottery in the US state of New York that began in 1967. As part of the New York State Gaming Commission, it provides revenue for public education and is based in Schenectady.
The Iowa Lottery Authority is run by the state of Iowa. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which administers games on behalf of the member lotteries. The Iowa Lottery portfolio includes Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, Lucky for Life, Pick 3, Pick 4, plus numerous instant scratch ticket, InstaPlay and pull-tab games.
The New Mexico Lottery is run by the government of New Mexico. It was established in 1996. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). It offer draw games and scratch off games. As of December 2014, draw games are Powerball, Mega Millions, Monopoly Millionaires' Club, Hot Lotto, Roadrunner Cash, Pick 3, Quicksters, and Lucky Numbers Bingo.
The Idaho Lottery began play on July 19, 1989, and is run by the government of the state of Idaho. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). Fifty percent of all net funds is given to public schools, while the remainder is pledged to the Permanent Building Fund, which is used as a financial resource for the state's colleges and universities.
The Connecticut Lottery Corporation, also called the CT Lottery, is the official lottery in Connecticut. It was created in 1971 by then-Gov. Thomas Meskill, who signed Public Act No. 865. The first tickets were sold on February 15, 1972. The Connecticut Lottery offers several in-house drawing games; Connecticut also participates in Mega Millions and Powerball; each are played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Texas Lottery is the government-operated lottery available throughout Texas. It is operated by the Texas Lottery Commission, headquartered in downtown Austin, Texas.
The Louisiana Lottery Corporation (LLC) is a government-run lottery that is used to generate revenue without increasing taxes. The proceeds of the Lottery go to the Minimum Foundation Program that funds public education in Louisiana. The daily activities involved with running the cooperation are handled by the president of the Louisiana Lottery Cooperation. The president is under the supervision of the Lottery's nine-member governing board of directors.
The Illinois State Lottery is an American lottery for the U.S. state of Illinois, operated by Camelot Illinois.
The Kentucky Lottery, consisting of various games of chance, is a government-regulated form of gambling. The Lottery began in April 1989 after a November 1988 vote in which over 60% of voters cast ballots in favor of it. On April 4, 1989, ticket sales began with first day sales of over $5 million for the two available instant games. The first two games were scratch-off tickets, Beginner's Luck ($1) and Kentucky Derby Dreamstakes ($2). Like all state lotteries in the US, the minimum age to play is 18.
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is run by the government of Arkansas.
Decades of Dollars (DoD) was the name of a Virginia-only lottery game; it began as a multi-state game in January 2011. Georgia and Kentucky joined Virginia in launching DoD; Arkansas joined in May 2011.
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