BOSTON — The Massachusetts State Lottery next month will launch a $30 instant ticket — the highest priced ticket in the agency's history — with a top prize of $15 million.
Known as "World Class Millions," the game's top prize will be the highest scratch-and-win payout ever offered by the agency, officials said at a meeting Tuesday.
Overall, the game will pay out more than $600 million in cash prizes. Ticket sales will begin at the end of April. Massachusetts will become the 14th state to offer a $30 instant ticket.
State lotteries looking for growth in instant ticket sales are putting major efforts behind higher priced games, according to Lottery Executive Director Beth Bresnahan.
New Hampshire earlier this month launched a $25 ticket, and Florida introduced two $25 games over the last two years that have been their best-selling games.
The Connecticut Lottery in 2002 launched the industry's first $30 ticket. The Texas Lottery offered a $50 game in May 2007.
Bresnahan said many lottery players who currently buy $5 tickets are jumping to higher priced games because the payout is so high. The prize payout for the new game is 80.7 percent, making it the highest payout percentage in the state lottery's instant ticket portfolio.
State Lottery officials estimate the $30 ticket will generate $125 million to $150 million in sales.
Lottery profits are returned to cities and towns in the form of local aid.
So far this year, lottery net profits are $46 million higher than last year. Sales in February were up $8 million compared to February 2013. Ticket sales last month were up for several games, including the multi-state game Powerball. A large jackpot drove up Powerball sales by $6 million last month, according to Lottery officials.
$15m top prize is cool, so far as they don't pay it in annuities.
Wow a 30 dollar ticket in Mass. I'm kind of torn with my feelings about that. I rarely play the 20 dollar tickets because it would be too easy for me to lose money quickly when I lose. If I did buy a 30 dollar ticket would buy just one and leave the store. Having a grand prize of 15 million is great (though at 30 dollars a ticket they should be offering a great prize). I probably will play a few but will stick to the lower price scratch tickets. I'm sure they will sell like hotcakes because so many people play the lottery. I'd like the mass lottery to offer more million dollar prizes on all of their scratch offs. It stinks that on many 5 dollar tickets they only have 6 winners that can win a million (and if you take the lump sum and pay taxes on it it's much less), not to mention the printout run of over 25 million tickets for a 5 dollar game.
Texas has two different $50 tickets, but the payout is only $7,500,000.
Well, being from massachusetts I usually play the 20 dollar scratch tickets, I won't be touching this. Budget constraints.
$30 for a scratch off is just insane to me, but some people have the money to buy a $30 dollar scratch off and not even blink.
Hello all...good a.m.! I can only buy 1MM and/or 1PB ticket.
Maybe some day I'll buy a $30.00 ticket, good luck to those who do.
Thirty $'s or $25. every play? I don't think I'm that addict...
15 million dollar top prize is insane.
...on the other hand, why not? Fifteen Mil. is not bad...jejejeje
I've never played the $20 scratch ticket so I wouldn't ever consider playing a $30 kind.That's a lot of money.
Hello, Marilyn222, I think that is what most of we members do, too, each drawing; adding the multiplier option, too, for the extra $1, of course. Cheers!
Congratulations Massachusetts Lottery hope there will be many Winners
Interesting, fwlawrence, but that is merely the "annuity amount," right? Curiously, do you know over how many annual payments this is stretched out?
Forget this scratch ticket im more concerned about my powerball win tonight.
I would bet that's the cash value being a $50 ticket. In California, we have an advertised $5 million top prize for our $20 ticket. The $5 million is the cash value, no annuity value. For us, the only annuity value on Scratcher tickets are our Lucky for Life series where the prize is a weekly payment though winners may elect to receive a cash option.
That's why all advertised Scratcher jackpot values are not the same and confuses people when comparing tickets from other states. The $15 million prize here on a $30 ticket is probably a $7-$8 million cash prize which is consistent when compared to our $5 million cash prize on our $20.
With the exception of "Lucky for Life" type Scratcher tickets, states should really use cash values to market their Scratcher tickets.
You can buy a $30 lottery ticket once a year.
is that what you do save .10 a day for the year and buy your $30.00 Scratch-off ticket
I do not spend $25,000 per year on the lottery like you.LOL