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 multijurisdictional lottery game. The first drawing took place on September 6, 1996, with six participating states, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Virginia. After growth of the game in 1997, a Tuesday Drawing was added in February 1998. As of June 30, 2023, it is offered in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first Mega Millions drawing was in 2002. 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 logos in the ball.
Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which also manages other large jackpot games such as the Mega Millions. Drawings are held three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, at the Florida Lottery's headquarters in Tallahassee.
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 the government-operated lottery of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2022, the lottery offers eleven terminal-generated games: Cash4Life, Mega Millions, Powerball, Florida Lotto, Pick 2, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Fantasy 5, Cash Pop, and Jackpot Triple Play. participants must be 18 or older to play.
The Pennsylvania Lottery is a lottery operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It 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 began in October 1985 after voters authorized it in Proposition 37, the California State Lottery Act of 1984. It offers a range of games including number draws, scratchcards and a mock horse race. The earnings provide supplementary funding for public education.
Hot Lotto was a multi-state lottery game administered by the Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which is best known for operating the Powerball game.
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 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 offers 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 Hoosier Lottery is the official state lottery of Indiana, and is the only US lottery that uses the state's nickname as its official name. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The Hoosier Lottery sells scratch-off tickets; its draw games include Mega Millions, Hoosier Lotto, Powerball, Cash 5, and Poker Lotto.
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 Michigan Lottery was initiated under the authority of Public Act 239 in 1972, and collects funds to support Michigan’s public school system.
The Ohio Lottery is a state lottery run by the Ohio Lottery Commission. Its games consist of scratch tickets; Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 ; Rolling Cash 5, Classic Lotto, Keno, Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball.
The Illinois State Lottery is an American lottery for the U.S. state of Illinois, operated by Allwyn Illinois.
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is run by the government of Arkansas.
Decades of Dollars (DoD) was an American lottery game that began as a multi-state game in January 2011, though by its end, only the Virginia Lottery offered it. Georgia and Kentucky joined Virginia in launching DoD; Arkansas joined in May 2011. (DoD replaced Win for Life in Kentucky; WFL ended in 2014 as a Virginia-only game.)
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