Tickets for this week's 12th Holiday Millionaire Raffle sold out 10 days faster than ever before
A Kansas Lottery official expressed surprise Monday at how fast the public bought all the tickets in its 12th annual Holiday Millionaire Raffle, for which winning numbers will be drawn Wednesday.
The last remaining ticket was sold Dec. 8 in that raffle, for which ticket sales had been set to end at 6:59 p.m. Jan. 4 if any remained available, said Cory Thone, the lottery's social media manager and public information officer.
"This was the fastest the Holiday Millionaire Raffle has sold out by 10 days," Thone said. "It’s always been one of our most popular games, but the speed at which it sold came as a surprise to all of us for sure."
Factors that helped bring about the quick sellout included the Lottery's increased social media engagement, particularly on Facebook, as well as the job its marketing and sales team did getting the word out, including through ads and through retailers, Thone said.
"Overall, it just seems that Kansans are super excited about playing the game that offers them their best odds at winning $1 million," Thone said. "And we’re incredibly excited to find out who the first millionaire of 2022 will be later this week."
Holiday raffle drawing will be at 11:59 a.m. Wednesday
One participant will win $1 million at 11:59 a.m. Wednesday, when the number of the winning ticket will be announced on NBC-TV affiliates across the state, Thone said.
In addition to the $1 million, the raffle offers one prize each in the amounts of $100,000 and $25,000, two prizes of $10,000, 10 prizes of $5,000, 30 prizes of $1,000, 800 prizes of $100 and $4,800 prizes of $50.
Immediately after Wednesday's announcement, all winning numbers will be available to view on the Lottery's website, which includes a search feature so players can easily find their numbers, Thone said.
"And then at 1 p.m., we will go live on Facebook, where we will show a recap of what the big winning numbers are and what regions they were sold in," he said.
Both of the past two $1 million winning tickets were purchased in Shawnee County by Osage County residents who chose to remain anonymous, Thone said.
The ticket that won last January was bought at Bryan's Liquor at 840 N. Washington in Auburn while the ticket that won the previous January was purchased at HyVee Gas, 6011 S.W. 29th in Topeka.
Numbers vary from 000001 to 150000
Ticket sales began Sept. 1 for this year's raffle. Early Bird drawings in which one winner won $30,000 each were held Oct. 3, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5.
A unique six-digit raffle number was printed on each ticket in numerical order as they were sold, with those numbers ranging from 000001 to 150000.
Nearly 75% of the tickets were sold prior to the Nov. 7 drawing and nearly 98% prior by the time of the Dec. 5 drawing, the Lottery reported on its Facebook site.
Starting Wednesday, players have 365 days to claim their winnings.
Prizes in the amounts of $1,000 or more must be claimed at the Kansas Lottery headquarters at 128 N. Kansas Ave. in Topeka, while $50 and $100 prizes can be claimed at most retailer locations, according to the Kansas Lottery website.
"The most important thing to remember with the Holiday Millionaire Raffle is that you must have your original ticket to claim a prize, so make sure to hold onto those until the end," Thone said.
He asked that players sign the backs of their winning tickets and keep them in a safe place until they can be checked or claimed.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Lottery's Millionaire Raffle sells out faster than ever before
