Lottery Reports More than $7.6 Million in Winning Draw-Style Tickets & More Than $6.6 Million Claimed from Scratch-Off Tickets During April
April's draw-style game winnings included five "match-5" Powerball prizes of $200,000 each, seven Powerball prizes of $10,000 each and 136 "match-5" Lotto prizes totaling $253,128. Pick 3 prizes totaled $1,736,440 and Pick 4 prizes totaled $852,700.
Easy 5 prizes totaled $178,361 with an additional $219,268 won in ezmatch prizes. For an additional $1, players can add ezmatch to their Easy 5 ticket for the chance to win up to $250 instantly.
"More than 31,000 Power Play purchasers won a bonus total of $306,428 in addition to their regular Powerball prize," Lottery President Rose Hudson said. For an additional $1, the Power Play option offers Powerball ticket purchasers the chance to multiply any nonjackpot-related prize up to five times depending upon the Power Play multiplier number randomly selected during the drawing. During May, a 10 multiplier has been added to the mix as part of the Lottery's Power Play 10X promotion.
April's draw-style winnings also included 506 prizes from the Lottery's raffle game, $1,000,000 RAFFLE. On April 15, one winning raffle number worth $1 million, five winning raffle numbers worth $50,000 each and 500 winning raffle numbers worth $500 each were drawn for a total of $1.5 million in prizes.
In total, draw-style game winnings were $7,632,091 in April. Lottery draw-style game players have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim 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 $6,657,747 in scratch-off cash prizes paid during April, players also claimed $1,310,528 worth of free tickets. 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 claim a winning ticket.
While actual game performance and the amount of prizes claimed will vary from month to month, the Lottery allocates at least 50 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 public education in Louisiana. Retailers are paid at least 5 percent in commission, and the Lottery retains less than 10 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.
Editor's Note: The draw-style game winnings reported represent prizes won during April, not necessarily paid; prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing in which the prize was won. Scratch-off winnings reported are prizes actually paid to players during the month.