MO Lottery Blog

We're trying to make you a winner!

From Sept. 30 through Oct. 27, you could win twice every time you play the Midday Pick 3.  The Orange Bonus Ball is back, and every time it is selected during the promotion, an additional set of winning numbers will be drawn.  Players can match either combination to win. 

Who couldn't use an extra chance?  Good luck.   

Good deeds

Say you owned a deli that sold lottery tickets, and one day a customer left a winning ticket behind.  What would you do? 

It was a no-brainer for George Rusin, owner of Your Store deli in Newington, Mass.Conn.  He knew the ticket belonged to a regular customer and that he would feel guilty if he kept it for himself.  So he did the right thing and tracked down the real winner at his place of business, handing over the $50,000 prize.  Good things happen to good people.  Something tells me Mr. Rusin is rich with integrity, and that pays out every day. 

Hat tip to Lottery Post. 

Lotto split

Two winners hit the jackpot on Sept. 19 and they will each get half of the advertised $1.4 million jackpot.  It's pretty rare that two winners split a Lotto prize.  It happens in Powerball more frequently based on a larger pool of players buying tickets.  At any rate, we expect the winners from Nevada and Kansas City to come forward next week.  Congratulations if you're a winner! 

Hit it big!

You may have noticed that a lucky Pick 4 player hit it big on Aug. 27.  Rasiklal Patel of St. Charles played 5-6-6-7 multiple times and got a big payout for his inspired bet.  He was playing the numbers on a check written by a relative and, I guess, felt strongly enough to drop $60 on the same combination.  The top prize in Pick 4 is $6,000, but because he held so many tickets, the payout ended up being $360,000. 

This strategy certainly paid off for Mr. Patel this time, but we don't recommend that you follow suit (and I'm not just saying that because I'm signing the check). 

Playing the Lottery should be a form of entertainment and you should always play within your means.  The mantra "go big or go home" has two outcomes; a big win or going home broke.  We suggest going home with a little change in your pocket. 

And the winners are...

The first drawing for the "Deal or No Deal" second-chance promotion has been conducted and the winners selected.  About 85 percent of players now submit entries through the Web, so we have to wait to collect the actual tickets before we can validate the winners.  Reminder for MyLottery members: keep those tickets in case you are selected! 

Happy Days

As the "Happy Days of Summer" transition into fall, players continue to collect and claim game pieces from the summer promotion.  Two first prizes remain for anyone spelling "ride" - a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette® or a 2007 Forest River 31-foot Sunseeker® RV.  Spell the word "happy" and you could win a trip for four to Walt Disney World Resort® in Orlando or a trip to Hawaii.  Collect the letters S-P-A-C-E and you will be rewarded with $2,000 for electronics or furniture.  It's possible to spell other words, like Amanda from southeast Mo. recently showed.  Unfortunately, we can't help you with that one, but we're sending it back so you can show your boss.  Good luck. 

Have you heard?

Something big is coming to the Missouri Lottery!  Watch for an exciting announcment in November. 

Treasure hunt

Remember the first Mega Scratcher "$100 Million Cash Spectacular?"  Word on the street is the game is almost sold out.  Three top prizes of $1 million still remain, so it might be a good time to try a little "older" ticket, if you can find them. 

Happy hunting and good luck! 

Team of the Month

Congratulations to "Zolderbek LLC" of St. Louis!  These three friends individually buy Powerball tickets with the intent of splitting all prizes three ways. 

"We have given our word to each other that it's 'one win, all win' and we will equally divide the winnings into thirds," says Team Captain Bret De Rousse. 

Now you might be thinking that millions of dollars can be hard on friendships, but comments from these three compadres show why they were selected as the September 2007 Lottery Team of the Month. 

"We still believe a handshake is a law abiding agreement, and a man is only as good as his word."

"We don't need mega millions to live a great life." 

Integrity.  That's what makes Bret, Robert and Vincent winners, and the Lottery Team of the Month. 

Thanks for the memories

You frequently hear about large Powerball jackpots and the lucky people who win them on the nightly news, but we don't often think of the thousands of people who win smaller prizes everyday.  Most probably don't consider a win of $5 on a Scratchers ticket or a free play on Lotto a big deal.  But what about $1,000 or one of the many promotional items we give away? 

Ask Stacy McClain or Michael Benson if they enjoyed the prize each of them won during the radio promotion of our MLB® games.  Each had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game this summer. 

And here are some comments from another recent promotion winner, Betty Rayfield. 

THANK YOU, that was the most awesome thing that has happened to us in a LONG time. 

Her note was forwarded by the good folks at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis.  The Missouri Lottery sponsors a promotion at select shows during their concert season that involves moving a group of music lovers from the lawn to V.I.P.  At the recent Rush concert, Betty and husband Mike, their daughter Tiffany and family friend Byron were planning on standing in the rain all night, until invited to play the Lottery promotion on the big screen.  Their prize was third row seats, and their concert experience vastly improved.  Listen to Mike talk about the evening.

Maybe it's not $300 million dollars, but for a couple of Rush fans, it's a pretty good night. 

It was exciting for my daughter to see Rush up close and personal.  We were truly LUCKY to be chosen for your promotion.  Thank you again.  Betty, Mike, Byron and Tiffany. 

No problem guys.  We like making people happy.  Thank you for playing.