No one hit Powerball on Wednesday night so the jackpot climbed to $94 million. At one time that would cause a stir, but today people aren't getting excited until the jackpot breaks the $150 million barrier. The 7/28/07 estimated jackpot of $94 million breaks down to $3.1 million a year for 30 years, before taxes. Think you could squeak by on that? Even the starting jackpot of $15 million will net you about $500,000 a year paid as an annuity. The odds are the same every drawing, so while $250 million sounds awfully nice, wouldn't you still feel lucky for a tenth of that?
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July 2007
Mail Etiquette
While the majority of people now enter promotions on-line through My Lottery, there is still occasion to mail tickets into Lottery headquarters, whether it's to enter a promotion or to claim a prize. Entering the codes on the Internet will save you postage initially, but remember, you will have to produce those tickets should your entry be selected.
Just affixing postage and sticking a letter in the mail is no guarantee that your package will arrive where it's intended. While the U.S. Postal Service is fairly dependable, they do occasionally misplace items. It's important that you keep a record of everything you send in the mail, especially if it involves collecting a prize.
You can redeem any winner up to $600 at any Missouri Lottery retailer, but if you do send winning tickets in the mail, we suggest that you use certified mail with a return receipt. This extra level of security and tracking means that your package can at least be traced, should something happen. Always make a copy of any tickets you send. Because Lottery tickets are a bearer instrument, like dollars or bonds, having a record of your possession will make the difference when in doubt.
And finally, double check the address you are mailing to. All promotions have their own mailing address, while winning tickets can only be sent to our main post office box. The wrong address can mean your promotional entry is rejected as a non-winning ticket, or a winning ticket rejected as an invalid entry. We want to see all players collect what they are due, and following these simple rules will help protect your claim from "being lost in the mail."
Ambassador Update
The Ambassadors continue their travels across the state, and are sending back footage of their experiences. Click on your preferred format below to see video from the Warren County Fair and the O'Fallon Heritage and Freedom Festival. (Is it just me, or is that dog wearing my costume?) We had the pleasure of a visit from Danielle Buxton, Miss Warren County 2007, and some other fair queen contestants. They took a turn spinning the wheel and sharing some fun at the Lottery booth.
The Ambassadors have a few events left including the Boone and Gasconade County Fairs, and of course, the biggest of them all, the State Fair from August 9 - 19 in 
Sedalia. Hope to see you there!
MLB® Promotion
Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals™ and the Kansas City Royals™ have been enjoying the scratchers tickets and the second chance promotion. The second of three drawings was recently completed and the unofficial winners added to our Web site (Cardinals Royals). We've already pointed out that the "Run with the Royals™" promotion is offering much better odds than the "Catch the Cardinals™" promotion, but of course you're only interested in throwing out the first pitch at your favorite stadium.
In the drawing that took place on July 12, odds of winning a Cardinals™ package was 1 in 283, while the Royals™ fans had a 1 in 153 shot. The number of entries was down for both drawings, which could mean even better odds for the final drawing, date yet undetermined. Good luck.
Lucky 13?
All this talk about Pick 3 numbers has me thinking about the daily games. Last night we saw some interesting combinations. Pick3 came up 7-5-6 and Pick 4 was 9-6-8-7. No big deal, until you put them in numerical order! Players selecting box had a big night.
Today is Friday the 13th. What's your opinion - lucky or unlucky?
Reel Lottery Episode 3
In this episode of Reel Lottery, J.W. interviews Travis Ford from the Missouri Attorney General's office. Travis is the Consumer Education Coordinator in Attorney General Jay Nixon's Consumer Protection division and recently spoke to a group of Lottery millionaires about scams and fraud. He maintains the Consumer Blog which addresses similar topics, and for future reference I've added it to the blog roll. Since there are always questions about Lottery scams, we thought we'd ask Travis what to look for. Click on your preferred format below to watch the 6 minute video, and feel free to leave your scam story in the comment section.
Trips are hot!
Coming up on what we anticipate will be a big day for triple combinations, 07/07/07, we had triples resurface today in the Midday Pick 3 drawing, making it our 6th time to draw triple numbers in the last 6 months. Today's Midday Pick 3 numbers were 4-4-4. Triples to be drawn so far this year include...
2/15/07 7-7-7
3/21/07 4-4-4
3/22/07 6-6-6
5/18/07 1-1-1
5/22/07 6-6-6
7/02/07 4-4-4
Of course, there's no way to predict when numbers will come up, but the triple combination has been showing up more frequently than expected. When will they strike again? Good luck.
