Largest instant prize ever awarded in Massachusetts state history
By Kate Northrop
DORCHESTER, Mass. — The largest scratch-off prize in Massachusetts state history has been claimed at a whopping $25 million.
Yesterday, the Massachusetts Lottery announced that it has officially awarded the biggest instant prize in the state's history to a trust.
State lotteries have gradually been adding scratch-off tickets with bigger and better prizes in hopes of wowing and attracting players to their lottery ticket vending machines and cabinets. The Massachusetts Lottery is no stranger to the idea, which added the $50 "Billion Dollar Extravaganza" instant game to its repertoire in February.
The high-value ticket comes with a hefty price tag, but the $50 was worth the investment for one lucky player that won the largest "scratch and win" prize in Massachusetts Lottery history.
Simmons & Schiavo Lottery Trust 2023-28 of Woburn, represented by trustee Marco Schiavo, claimed the $25 million top prize yesterday at Lottery headquarters in Dorchester. The trust opted for the cash option and received a one-time lump sum payment of $16.25 million before taxes.
With the winnings, Schiavo said his client plans on purchasing real estate and will invest.
Since "Billion Dollar Extravaganza" hit the shelves in February, over 12.6 million tickets for the game have been sold, according to the Lottery. While over 3 million winning tickets totaled over $485 million in prizes, it took one single ticket to win $25 million.
Hence the name, the game offers over $1.2 billion in total prizes and an overall prize payout of 82 percent, the Lottery said in a statement. It's the highest payout percentage of any lottery game ever offered in Massachusetts.
The historic winning ticket was sold at the Speedway convenience store on McGrath Highway in Somerville. For selling the ticket, the retailer receives a $50,000 bonus commission from the Lottery.
Those hoping to snag one of the top prizes of $25 million in "Billion Dollar Extravaganza" still have a chance, with two more top prizes remaining in the game. All five second-tier prizes of $2 million are waiting to be won, and eight out of 15 third-tier prizes of $1 million remain.
That's not all — the $50 game also features ten second chance drawings. Players can enter non-winning tickets in the promotion for a chance to win prizes ranging from $100 to $50,000. So far, four drawings have taken place.
The odds of winning any prize in "Billion Dollar Extravaganza" are 1 in 4.1.
Spending $50 on a scratch off....
$50 is nothing compared to Texas who has the $100 scratch off, that top prize is $20M. It looks like the Massachusetts $50 ticket is a better deal with a $25M top prize. I don't see myself buying either but it does give people options. My state just got the $50 scratch off a few months ago.
FINALLY won!!
Nice blind trust cashed it for the lucky individual too.
Somerville is right outside of Boston for those who'd like to know.
My state (MI) has a lousy payout of 6 million bucks for a $50 wager.
Wow, $50 for a ticket is not on my lane.
Am happy for the winner - that's a serious jackpot
The prize payout of 82 percent is nice. Expected loss on average per play of $9 is steep.
You can increase your odds significantly if you live near Wayne County.
as they say, can we keep it
, Anybody who has been playing and studying lottery games for a long time knows, that scratch-offs have some of the worst odds, the "billion-dollar extravaganza" scratch-off odds on winning the 25mil? are 1 in 10 million. But odds on winning 20k 1 in 12,923, 10k 1 in 9,509, (it gets better on the lower jackpots but you are spending 50 bucks per ticket!) hey ya never know right!?
btw a YouTuber bought the pack of 50 (thats 2,500 dollars) and had a 2 hour live watch video.
6*693542= $4,161,252 Cash Option
i agree.
I know, YouTube has many vids of folks who buy up the whole role, or a fresh pack. And do a live 2-hour scratch-off. I get the feeling most are not checking the odds on most of them. o well, "ya never know"
I bought a $50 dollar new york scratch off got my $50 dollar back how lucky to win 25 million
That's a sweet prize for a $50 scratcher. $50 over here in Arizona only gets you a top prize of 5 million. 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ Our scratchers are horrible with payouts compared to other states.
Massachusetts does have one of the nation's best lottery in terms of prize structure and number of options as well games. It has the highest percentage of winning chances of any lottery as a whole or so it claims at 85%. It also attracts a significant number of players from neighboring states for obvious reasons which creates a positive feedback loop for the lottery. More players, more prizes.