Hoosier Lottery Adjusts Lotto Jackpot
Tuesday April 21st 2020The Hoosier Lottery has changed the Hoosier Lotto game's minimum jackpot rollover to $100,000. The lottery will announce each roll amount between drawings based on an assessment of ticket sales.
Previously, the the roll increase alternated between $200,000 and $300,000 for each draw. The game's starting jackpot is $1 million.
“Hoosier Lotto is Indiana’s hometown jackpot game and it is important to preserve the game for our players, retailers and beneficiaries,” said Hoosier Lottery Executive Director Sarah Taylor. “Recent decreases in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing us to reassess the amount we’re able to increase the Hoosier Lotto jackpot between drawings. We have recently experienced changes to Powerball and Mega Millions, and we made the decision to move forward with adjustments to Hoosier Lotto as well.”
Since Gov. Eric Holcomb implemented Indiana's stay-at-home order on March 25, there have been weekly falls in Hoosier Lotto sales. With some retailers closed and players remaining at home, foot traffic in stores has dropped. Lottery officials say they are “actively monitoring sales during this unprecedented time.”
Tickets are now only being sold by retailers who have been classified essential businesses, “and even among those stores, many are operating at reduced hours due to the current health crisis,” said Julie Henricks Mahurin, director of public relations for the Hoosier Lottery. “All of these factors have contributed to the decrease in draw game sales, which directly affects funding for jackpots.”
In 2019, the lottery paid a record $312 million to the state of Indiana. Current lottery financial reports will be made public at the next Lottery Commission meeting, tentatively scheduled for May 12.
The changes to Hoosier Lotto follow announcements from Mega Millions and Powerball in early April that they would eliminate guaranteed minimum jackpots and rollover increases between drawings. These adjustments were also prompted by lower ticket sales due to coronavirus.
No one has hit the Mega Millions jackpot since the changes were announced - the next chance to win the $164 million top prize is Tuesday, April 21.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on April 8 and reset to $20 million. It's now grown to $29 million for the next drawing on Wednesday, April 22.
About Hoosier Lotto
Hoosier Lotto has drawings every Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00 pm ET (ticket sales stop at 10:39 pm on the night of the draw). A play costs $2.00 and the overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 6. Win the jackpot by matching all six numbers drawn. The jackpot starts at $1 million and rolls over and increases until it's won.
The next Hoosier Lotto jackpot is an estimated $1.3 million for the Wednesday, April 22 drawing.
Recently, the game underwent a makeover, adding a built-in multiplier that can increase non-jackpot prizes up to ten times, improved odds, and the Plus option for more ways to win.
Add Plus for an extra $1.00 to take part in a second drawing held just after the main one, where your numbers have another chance to win. Take home a cash prize of up to $1 million by matching all six numbers. All non-jackpot prizes for Plus are also eligible to be increased with the multiplier.
The most recent big Hoosier Lotto win was $3.5 million on April 5 by a ticket purchased at Circle K, 9510 E. 126th Street in Fishers. The winning numbers were 13, 17, 21, 23, 34, and 35. The winner has not come forward to claim their prize yet.
Previously, $9.8 million was won on February 22 by Fort Wayne electrician Brad Miller. He's been a faithful Hoosier Lotto player for 30 years, and has only missed around five draws in that time.
After checking his numbers on his phone, Miller called his wife to come and double check. After confirming the win, the couple called their daughter, who soon arrived at her parents' home and joined the celebration. Miller, who took the cash option of $4,808,946, said he has no plans to retire right away.
What's Miller's secret? He usually plays three sets of tickets and a mix of Quick Picks and numbers he chooses. "I always play the same numbers," he revealed. "We have set numbers that we use our birthdays on, but the numbers that won for us, this time, were actually Quick Pick numbers."
More Hoosier Lottery Coronavirus Changes
The lottery offices in Indianapolis, Mishawaka and Evansville are closed to the public until further notice. The normal 180-day deadline for claiming prizes has been extended by 60 days.
Winning tickets up to $99,999 can be redeemed by mail, and prizes below $600 may be paid by retailers. Winners of $100,000 and above should call the Lottery to make an appointment to have their claim processed.
In its 30-year history, the Hoosier Lottery has raised $6 billion for good causes benefiting every county in Indiana, including yearly payments of $30 million for local police and firefighters’ retirement funds, and $30 million for teachers’ retirement funds.
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