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Once you know what winning numbers were drawn or have finished scratching your scratch-off, there are several different ways to find out whether your ticket is a winner and if so, how much you have won. The Lottery recommends that players familiarize themselves with all of the winning combinations of the particular game that they are playing. These can be found on all the game pages of this Web site. Also, "How to Play" brochures, located in the Lottery's play centers at Lottery retailers describe how each drawing game is won. Finally, your Lottery retailer can scan your tickets to tell how much you have won and provide you with a Validation Receipt if your ticket is not a winner. Even if you are unsure if your ticket is a winner, it is a good idea to sign it.

It depends on the amount won:

Prize	How to Claim
$600 or less	Lottery retailer, any Lottery office, Lottery headquarters or by mail.
More than $600	Any Lottery office, headquarters or by mail. (Social Security # and copy of photo ID required.)
Lotto Jackpots & Powerball prizes >$510,000	Lottery headquarters in Baton Rouge. Call 1-800-735-5825 for information first. If out of state, call 225-297-2003.

For more detailed information about what is required to process your claim, click here.

Winning scratch-off tickets can be claimed up to 90 days following the closure of the game. Click here for a list of closed games and end-of-redemption dates. Winning draw-style game tickets can be claimed up to 180 days following the drawing.

Unclaimed prize money is returned to players in the form of increased payouts on scratch-off tickets or second-chance promotions.

As soon as all of the top prizes in a game have been claimed, the Lottery immediately begins the process of pulling the game from retailer shelves and closing the game. Games may also be closed when all of the tickets have been substantially sold or at the discretion of the Lottery's president.

Both the federal and state government consider winnings from all forms of gaming to be income for tax purposes. By law, the Louisiana Lottery must report winnings from each single ticket with a prize value over $600 to the Internal Revenue Service and the Louisiana Department of Revenue and Taxation.

Income tax regulations require the Louisiana Lottery to withhold 25 percent federal taxes from each prize over $5,000 and 5 percent state taxes from prizes of $5,000 or more. A gambling income statement, W2-G, is mailed to the claimant by the end of January in the calendar year following the payment of the prize. The W2-G is mailed to the address entered on the claim form unless the Lottery is notified of an address change before the W2-G is issued.

Players who believe they hold a winning jackpot ticket must bring the ticket to the Lottery's corporate headquarters in Baton Rouge for verification and any prize payment. The Lottery recommends that before coming to claim a jackpot prize, winners get financial advice so they fully understand the tax or other legal implications involved. We also recommend that jackpot winners contact the Lottery's headquarters immediately at 800-735-5825 to schedule a time to claim their prize and so that we can answer any questions they may have. This facilitates a smooth payment of a winning jackpot ticket. In the meantime, we recommend that winners secure their ticket and treat it as cash. Winners should sign the back of their ticket for security purposes.

Winners have 60 days after they claim their prize to elect either the annuity or cash payment option.

If you win more than $600 and are therefore required to claim your prize at a Lottery office, you will be required to complete a claim form for tax purposes. Under the Lottery's statue, all prize payment records are open records, meaning that the public has a right to request the information. Depending upon the amount won and public or media interest in the win, winners may NOT be able to remain anonymous. The statute also allows the Lottery to use winners' names and city of residence for publicity purposes such as news releases. The Lottery's regular practice is not to use winner information in paid advertising or product promotion without the winner's willingness to participate.

Published game odds apply to the entire game overall. They do not mean, in this case, that every fourth ticket is a winner. Lottery games are games of chance, so winning scratch-off tickets are randomly distributed throughout the game. Just imagine what would happen to the integrity of Lottery games if it was known which tickets were winners prior to their sale.

All of the Lottery's games are games of chance. Drawing games are conducted using random number generation. This means that every number combination has an EQUAL chance of being selected, REGARDLESS of whether or not it was drawn in the past. If number combinations that had been drawn in the past were removed from play, the game would be unfair.

Even assuming that number combinations could be eliminated, it would take 1,000 drawings, or 2.8 years, for every possible Pick 3 combination to be drawn. For Pick 4, it would take 10,000 drawings or 28 years.

On rare occasions, certain popular Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers may "sell out" and cannot be purchased. Unlike other draw-style Lottery games, Pick 3 and Pick 4 pay out an established prize regardless of how many tickets are winners. In order to adequately fund these fixed prizes, the Lottery establishes a prize liability limit on these games and restricts sales of tickets for such drawings if the liability limit would be exceeded by the drawing of any particular numbers. Liability limits usually take effect when a large number of people have chosen a certain number, such as 9-1-1 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack or 2-0-0-0 when the millennium ended. There is no need for sales restrictions on Easy 5, Lotto and Powerball numbers, since jackpots are pari-mutuel, meaning the jackpot is divided equally among all its winners.

Since joining the multistate game in March 1995, Louisiana has had a total of 13 winners. Here they are:

2/14/1996
$35,000,000
Mascaro, Et Al, A Louisiana Partnership
New Orleans, LA

2/28/1996
$21,000,000
JPHL, L.L.C.
Metairie, LA

7/17/1996
$24,000,000
Glawson Family Partnership
Lafayette, LA

8/30/1997
$25,000,000
Lemuel R. Boyer, Jr.
Ridgeland, MS

8/18/1999
$32,000,000
James M. Hambrick
Lufkin, TX

12/27/2000
$16,500,000
Tommy Lee Adams
Jacksonville, NC

3/27/2002
$48,100,000
Jerry Berggren and Cathy DeMuynck
Kenner, LA

2/22/2003
$21,000,000
Cello Investments, LLC
Belle Chase, LA

2/12/2005
$40,600,000
The Duchess Trust
Baton Rouge, LA

9/30/2006
$15,000,000
Jane Jabert
Cut Off, LA

9/29/2007
$15,000,000
William Heid Jr.
Chauvin, LA

1/16/2008
$97,000,000
Carl Hunter
Metairie, LA

5/31/2008
$34,100,000
Emilia M. Delgado
Kenner, LA

The largest jackpot won in Louisiana was $97 million, claimed by Carl Hunter of Metairie in January of 2008. The largest Powerball jackpot ever was won $340 million won by an Oregon couple on October 19, 2005.

The Robert H. LeBas Family Partnership of Church Point won $21.2 million, which was the largest jackpot won on a single ticket. The largest multi-winner jackpot was $31 million and was split between Kimberly D. Hall of Bon Wier, Texas, and Roland and Marion LeBeouf Family Partnership of Houma, with each receiving $15.5 million. These jackpots were paid as annuities. The largest single-payment winner was Timothy M. Smith of Marrero, who won $15.6 million.

When a prize is claimed it becomes the property of that individual, even if the prize is paid out as an annuity. Hence, all winnings become a part of the estate of the deceased.

No. Each state participating in Powerball contributes a percentage to funding the jackpot based on its sales. As in all other games, the Louisiana Lottery Corporation transfers to the state treasury 35 percent of all sales of Powerball tickets at Louisiana Lottery retailer outlets no matter where the top prize is won.

Draw-style
The Lottery's terminal system, which generates tickets for our draw-style games, shuts down at midnight and starts back up at 5 a.m. the next morning. On the night of a drawing, the system also takes a draw break for the games that will be drawn that evening. During a game draw break, tickets for that game cannot be purchased. For Powerball, the draw break lasts from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the date of the drawing. For all other draw-style games, such as Pick 3, Pick 4, Easy 5 and Lotto, the draw break starts at 9:30 and last only a few minutes. Again, draw breaks only occur on the night of the drawing. Any tickets purchased after the draw break are good for the next regularly scheduled drawing.

Scratch-offs
Scratch-off sales are not dependent upon the terminal, so purchases may be made around the clock, subject to the retailer's hours of operation. Remember that although you may purchase scratch-offs between midnight and 5 a.m. when the terminal system is down, you will not be able to claim a prize from any winning ticket until the system comes back on line.

Currently, 33 lotteries participate in Powerball, including Louisiana. The others are Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, Delaware, Vermont, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands.

Winning Pick 3 and Pick 4 tickets can be claimed following the draw break for that drawing. Winning tickets for Easy 5, Powerball and Lotto can be claimed as soon as the Lottery terminal system come on-line at 5 a.m. the morning after the drawing. Remember only winning tickets worth up to $600 can be paid at retailer locations.