$50 for a dream: Mass Lottery debuts its most expensive scratch ticket. Would you buy it?
They say you’ve got to spend money to make money. The Massachusetts Lottery is giving people a way to win millions — but you’ll have to put up $50 first.
The Lottery’s newest scratch ticket, the Billion Dollar Extravaganza, promises the state’s highest-ever instant payout of $25 million. That mega jackpot comes at a high price; at $50 it’s also the state’s most expensive lottery ticket ever.
Cities in the Southcoast are traditionally big spenders when it comes to the Lottery. According to a report published by WBUR, for the period from 2013 to 2017, Taunton dropped $235.8 million on Lottery tickets. Fall River was higher at $355.6 million, the 10th highest city statewide. And people in New Bedford spent $444.3 million on lottery tickets, the 6th highest community in Massachusetts.
Billion Dollar Extravaganza goes on sale Feb. 7 statewide. Here are five fast facts to know before you pick one up yourself.
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How do you play?
Billion Dollar Extravaganza is a scratchie like many others — but bigger. There’s a deck of 10 winning numbers to scratch off, and 35 numbers you'll try to match them. The ticket also includes three bonus spots, with instant chances to win $100, $500 or $1,000.
How much can you win?
Despite the ticket’s name, the top prize is not $1 billion — it refers to the total pot of prize money available. There are three $25 million prizes at stake, five $2 million payouts, and 15 people will win $1 million.
Mass Lottery says the ticket has the best odds to win $500 or $1,000 in its history. One in 4.1 tickets are winners, and the Lottery says every winning ticket is worth $100 or more.
If you do happen to luck out with a million- or multimillion-dollar prize, you can claim it as a lump sum with substantial tax withholdings, or pay it out over 20 years for some steady income.
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![Sean Finglas of Fall River is the latest grand prize winner in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s “The Fastest Road to $1 Million” instant ticket game. [Courtesy MassLottery]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/CuHtcic2wDSRdnVM_svETg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTQyMDtoPTQyMA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-herald-news/53183fe8f15ed1261860186b043f1aa1)
Is this the most expensive scratch ticket ever?
This ticket’s price beats the state’s previously most-expensive scratchies, at $30. They’re still on sale — and by the way, they still have loads of unclaimed millions out there, potentially sitting behind a counter at your local shop:
The Millions ticket still has a $15 million prize left to claim, and five $1 million prizes
The Fastest Road to $1 Million ticket has five million-dollar prizes still outstanding
The Diamond Millions ticket has five $1 million prizes still out there
$15,000,000 Money Maker has two $15 million prizes unclaimed, and four million-dollar prizes
It’s not the most expensive scratch ticket ever made, though. Everything is bigger in Texas, including the scratchies — their $20 Million Supreme ticket costs $100.
Is it true Massachusetts had the first scratch tickets?
The state Lottery turns 50 years old this year, but scratch tickets are just a little bit younger. Massachusetts created the nation’s first scratch ticket in 1974, called The Instant Game, costing $1 with a top prize of $10,000. It was a smash hit, with Lottery sales soaring 250% to 300% in the first weeks, and 21 million scratch tickets sold in just a few months, according to reports in the Providence Journal and the Patriot Ledger of Quincy. William Perrault, the Lottery’s director at the time, said, “If this game has staying power at all, we are going to be very delighted.”
Today, the state produces dozens of varieties.
How much does the Lottery give back?
The Lottery has long touted its return on investment, in the form of local aid given to all 351 cities and towns statewide. In fiscal 2022, Fall River hit the jackpot with the highest Lottery payout locally: over $26 million, the sixth-highest amount of local aid statewide.
New Bedford is just behind Fall River, with just over $25 million taken in fiscal 2022. Taunton topped $9 million in Lottery takings. Figuring in cities and towns, the entire Southcoast region took in about $80.5 million from Lottery sales.
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: A billion dollars in prizes: Mass Lottery's new $50 scratch ticket
