Everything's bigger in Texas

By Kate Northrop

In conjunction with the celebration of its 30th Anniversary this year, the Texas Lottery recently launched the country's first $100 scratch-off ticket.

Everything's bigger in Texas — now officially including lottery ticket prices. The Texas Lottery's "$20 Million Supreme" game is now the most expensive instant game in the United States at $100 a ticket.

Following the $50 ticket trend that has been taking off in the lottery industry, sales for $50 scratch-off tickets have seen much success across multiple states. In Texas, the popularity of the higher price point tickets has resulted in the state lottery's highest percentage of sales growth in the 2021 fiscal year relative to lower price point tickets and subsequently produced record contributions to Texas education.

Texas was among the first lotteries to lead the charge in the release of the first $50 scratch-off games fifteen years ago. In response to the rising popularity the price point has seen seen in recent years, the Texas Lottery decided to take it to the next level.

As with the $50 ticket, the Lottery expects the $100 ticket to excel in financial contributions to revenue generated in fiscal year 2022.

"The Texas Lottery is excited about the monumental launch of "$20 Million Supreme," Lottery Executive Director Gary Grief said. "The introduction of the $100 game will provide Texas Lottery players added convenience when they purchase $100 or more of lottery products at a time, and will provide added efficiency for our Texas Lottery retailers, who always face the challenges of long transaction times for large purchases."

With a big price comes big prizes. In this game, Texas lottery players can win some of the largest prizes to ever come from an instant ticket in the state.

"With prizes starting at $150 and four unprecedented top cash prizes of $20 million, which are the largest top cash prizes the Texas Lottery has ever offered in a scratch ticket game, we anticipate that the game will generate significant excitement among players and retailers and will provide needed support for public education throughout the state of Texas," Grief continued.

The manufacturer of the ticket, Pollard Banknote, wanted to ensure the quality of the ticket matched the high price point. The printing company's Scratch FX and Soft Touch elements bring an "unmatched brilliance" and "distinct tactile feature to the ticket surface."

"We are thrilled to partner with the Texas Lottery to bring the first $100 scratch ticket game to the U.S. lottery market," Pollard Banknote Vice President of Sales & Marketing Brad Thompson said. "Through a diverse portfolio of offerings, many of which feature Pollard Banknote's print innovations, the Texas Lottery consistently demonstrates how well it understands its players. "$20 Million Supreme" is the most recent example of how the Texas Lottery delivers world-class products to support worthy causes throughout the state."

The "20 Million Supreme" ticket, 4" by 12" in size, launched earlier this month and features four top prizes of $20 million, 25 second-tier prizes of $100,000, and 259 third-tier prizes of $10,000. So far, all the second- and top-prizes are up for grabs — none have been claimed so far. Only four of the third-tier prizes have been scooped up.

With over $829 million in total prizes available to be won, the odds of winning any prize starting at $150 are about 1 in 3.49.

The Texas Lottery also officially celebrated its 30th Anniversary on Sunday. On May 29, 1992, then-Governor Ann Richards bought the state's first lottery ticket — a "Lone Star Millions" scratch-off ticket for $1. Originally, the purchase was supposed to take place over a month later, but the momentous launch was 47 days ahead of schedule, according to the Lottery.

Within the first 24 hours of its launch, the Lottery set a world record for first-day sales, having sold 23.2 million tickets. In just the first three hours of ticket sales alone, the Lottery earned back its startup costs.

One way the Lottery celebrated its 30th year in operation was with a new scratch-off ticket launched in April, called "30th Anniversary." The $5 game offers five top prizes of $100,000, 67 second-tier prizes of $1,000, and 2,515 third-tier prizes of $300. So far, one top prize, 29 second-tier prizes, and 1,152 third-tier prizes have been claimed.

"The Texas Lottery is thrilled to reach this special milestone, and over the last year we have eagerly celebrated the run-up to this historic moment with the Texans who have made the first 30 years of the Texas Lottery such an incredible success story," Grief said in a press release. "The Texas Lottery would not be positioned as one of the preeminent lotteries in the industry without our founders, players, retailers, vendor staff and the Texas Lottery Commission employees."

Since its inception, the Lottery has generated over $122 billion in cumulative sales, contributed more than $34.8 billion to the state, paid out over $75 billion in prizes to players, and distributed at least $6.4 billion to retailers in the form of commissions and incentives.

The Lottery has made strides in the number of games it offers at a time, expanding from its single $1 "Lone Star Millions" scratch-off to selling about 80 scratch-off games for players to pick from each year, plus eight draw games. Overall, the Lottery has sold more than 2,000 scratch-off games since the day of its startup.

The largest prize ever paid out to a Texas Lottery player is a $157.1 million Mega Millions cash prize from a $227 million jackpot drawn on Sept. 24, 2019, which was claimed by a Leander resident.

"As we look forward to the future, the Texas Lottery remains deeply committed to fulfill its mission of generating revenue for public education and veterans' services in the State of Texas," Grief concluded.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)The Texas Lottery's "$20 Million Supreme" game is now the most expensive instant game in the United States at $100 a ticket.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)The Texas Lottery was launched on May 29, 1992, when the first ticket was purchased by Gov. Ann Richards at Polk's Feed Store in Oak Hill.