Millionaire for Life to replace both games starting Sunday

By Kate Northrop

Players who want one last shot at playing Cash4Life or Lucky for Life should get their tickets now before the games' final drawings take place Saturday night.

Once Saturday's Cash4Life and Lucky for Life drawings take place, that's it — Millionaire for Life will be coming in as their replacement.

Feb. 21 is the final day to play either of the multi-state games in your jurisdiction. On Feb. 22, tickets go on sale for Millionaire for Life, the "for life" draw game that is confirmed for 31 states and jurisdictions.

Cash4Life players should purchase their tickets before 8:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 21 to have one last shot at winning $1,000 a day for life or $1,000 a week for life. Meanwhile, Lucky for Life players have until 9:30 p.m. to purchase their tickets for the last chance to win $1,000 a day for life or $25,000 a year for life.

The final Cash4Life drawing takes place at 9:00 p.m. EST, and the final Lucky for Life drawing takes place at 10:38 p.m. EST. Lottery results for both games are available on Lottery Post's Multi-State Lottery Results page.

Lottery officials from several jurisdictions recognized that these two games appealed to a core group of players, but sales "gradually declined over time as players showed through their purchase habits that they preferred other games," the Iowa Lottery said in a press release.

Winners with existing annuity payouts will continue to receive their payments beyond the games' retirements, the Lottery advised.

Sales for Millionaire for Life begin Sunday, Feb. 22, with the first drawing occurring that night at 11:15 p.m. EST. Drawings will be conducted every night via automated drawing machine in Des Moines, Iowa, Colorado Lottery Senior Director Tom Seaver told Lottery Post.

Players will be able to purchase advance multi-draw tickets for Millionaire for Life in blocks of 28, 21, 14, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1.

The new "for life" game will offer a grand prize of $1 million a year for life or $18 million all at once, as well as a second-tier prize of $100,000 a year for life or $2.2 million all at once. The remaining prize tiers are paid out in cash, ranging from $8 to $7,500.

In comparison, the cash values for the top and second-tier prizes in Cash4Life were $7 million and $1 million, while the cash values for the top and second-tier prizes in Lucky for Life were $5.75 million and $390,000.

At $5 per play, players pick 5 out of 58 regular balls and 1 out of 5 Millionaire Balls for overall odds of 1 in 8.46 to win any prize. The odds of winning the grand prize of $1 million a year for life are 1 in 22.9 million.

States that are confirmed to offer Millionaire for Life are Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.