Lottery Drawings Produce $7.3 Million in Winnings in March While Scratch-Off Winners Claim $15.4 Million
March’s draw-style game winnings included two Powerball match-4 + PB prizes of $50,000, 55 match-4 prizes totaling $5,500 and one match-4 + PB + Power Play prize of $100,000. There was also one Mega Millions match-4 + MB prize of $5,000 and 31 match-4 prizes totaling $15,500. One-hundred-forty-eight players won Lotto match-5 prizes totaling $261,889, helping to bring Lotto’s monthly total winnings to $769,390. Pick 3 winning tickets totaled $3,205,990 and Pick 4 winning tickets totaled $1,527,700.
One player won a $166,996 Easy 5 jackpot prize and 267 players won Easy 5 match-4 prizes totaling $26,700, which brought the game’s monthly total winnings to $329,703 with an additional $138,530 won on ezmatch, an instant-win option available for an additional $1.
“More than 26,000 Power Play purchasers won a bonus total of $333,837 in addition to their regular Powerball prizes, including the match-4 + PB + Power Play winner,” Lottery President Rose Hudson said. “Over 35,000 Megaplier purchasers won a bonus total of $174,183 in addition to their regular Mega Millions prizes.” The Power Play option offers Powerball players the chance to increase any nonjackpot winnings. The $1 Megaplier add-on multiplies nonjackpot Mega Millions prizes by a multiplier number selected during the drawing.
In total, draw-style game winnings from drawings held in March were $7,348,572. Lottery draw-style game players have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim the winnings from those tickets.
“We encourage players to sign the back of their tickets immediately after purchasing and to check them promptly after the drawing. Even if a ticket does not win the jackpot, it could have won another prize,” Hudson added.
In addition to $15,430,569 in scratch-off cash prizes paid during March, players also claimed $2,264,021 worth of free-ticket prizes. According to Lottery policy, scratch-off games are closed when all top prizes are claimed, and scratch-off players have 90 days from the official game closure date to redeem a winning ticket. A list of current scratch-off games, prizes remaining and claim deadlines can be found on its website, www.louisianalottery.com/scratch-offs.
While actual game performance and the amount of prizes claimed will vary from month to month, the Lottery allocates nearly 53 percent of sales to fund prizes. At least 35 percent of sales is transferred to the state treasury for the Minimum Foundation Program that funds K-12 public education in Louisiana. Retailers are paid at least 5 percent compensation, and the Lottery retains approximately 6 percent of sales to operate.
Hudson reminded ticket purchasers to play responsibly, encouraging anyone who has a gambling problem, or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem, to call toll-free 1-877-770-7867 for help. Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age.