All across Texas, the holiday countdown is on. Shoppers are scurrying about in Amarillo and Abilene. They are creating Christmas Magic in Paris and Palestine. In Tyler, Lufkin, Midland Odessa and the rest of the I-10 and I-20 corridors, they are stuck in traffic and standing in line to buy Powerball tickets.
But still in all the chaos and confusion Texas Lottery players are finding a way to complete their Christmas lists and try their luck at games such as Powerball, and Lotto Texas with Extra! For some of us, it might be the only holiday bonus we see this year.
Saturday night is the domain of Powerball in Texas. It's the multi-state lottery game that features bigger prizes and more of them. So it's a popular game in Lone Star State. The state has had only 2 Powerball jackpot winners since it became a part of the Powerball network back in 2010. Just for reference the other multi-state lottery game Mega Millions has only been available to Texas players since 2005.
With the crunch of Christmas shopping upon us many folks, myself included, turn to lottery tickets as gifts. I find the scratch-offs make great stocking stuffers. But I do know people who will purchase Powerball and Mega Millions tickets for their families.
Still, some folks are just looking for a way to pay for Christmas, so let's see how we did with Saturday's Powerball. Here is how the drawing played out.
Saturday's top prize in Powerball was an estimated $92.1 million. There was no ticket sold across the Powerball footprint that matched the numbers needed to claim the big money. The jackpot will climb to an estimated $103 million for Monday's game.
While there was no jackpot winner across the nation, there were some big winners. There were three Match 5 Million tickets sold. Two of the tickets, one sold in Idaho and the other in New Jersey, earned the Match 5 Million prize with the Power Play so their winners are $2 million. The third ticket sold in Indiana did not use Power Play so their win is locked in at one million dollars.
Our sources at the Texas Lottery in Austin say a ticket sold in Texas did match four of the five white balls and the Powerball in Saturday's drawing. By rule that ticket is worth $50,000. The ticket's purchaser did not opt for the Power Play option. Incidentally, the winning numbers from Saturday's Powerball were:
01 12 17 21 58 Powerball 01 Power Play x3
If it looks like you have a match you'll need to verify your ticket at the Official Powerball website or the Official Texas Lottery website. Those sites are the "sites of record" when it comes to numbers. They can also point you in the proper direction to claim your winnings.
There was no jackpot win in Texas' other big game on Saturday night, Lotto Texas with Extra! The Lotto Texas top prize was estimated to be $54.7 million at draw time on Saturday night. There were several big-money winners in that game. The Texas Lottery is reporting that 10 tickets sold for last night's drawing earned a prize of $11,352.
Your next chance at instant millions will come Monday night when Powerball draws for an estimated $103 million annuitized jackpot. Tuesday night's Mega Millions would be the real Christmas miracle. That jackpot is nearing $1 billion for Christmas Eve. It currently is estimated to be $944 million.
Yes, Mega Millions has awarded a jackpot on Christmas Eve before. It happened in the game's first year back in 2002. Should it happen on Tuesday night the prize would be the largest single prize ever given away by the game in December.
Please remember that all lottery games come with a risk of losing money. If you have a gambling problem please call 1-877-770-STOP (7867). The call and the referrals to counselling are free for you and your family. Good Luck. Merry Christmas.