LotterySaturday, November 7
Montana Millionaire ticket sales will resume Nov. 12 after the launch glitch
The Good Day Great Falls team
If you were planning to play Montana Millionaire, mark Thu., Nov. 12. Ticket sales will resume at 6:30 a.m., the Montana Lottery says, after a glitch put the game on hold when it launched Nov. 1. It's the same game with the same odds. Tickets printed on Nov. 1, and their instant wins, are valid for all the drawings.
- Where to buy: gas stations, bars/taverns, grocery stores and casinos
- Instant wins: $100 or $500 prizes with your ticket
- Quarter Million Monday: $250,000 drawing on Nov. 30
- Dec. 28: six $1 million grand prizes and $20,000 Player's Club drawing
Montana Millionaire went from glitch to a Nov. 12 restart
- Nov. 1Technical issues hit the game's launch and sales stop.
- Nov. 2The Montana Lottery officially postpones the game.
- Nov. 5The lottery announces the sales restart date.
- Nov. 12Ticket sales will resume at 6:30 a.m.
- Nov. 30The $250,000 Quarter Million Monday drawing will be held.
- Dec. 28Six $1 million grand prizes and the $20,000 Player's Club prize will be drawn.
Sources: KSEN AM 1150, NonStop Local Billings, KECI, NonStop Local Montana
So what went wrong? The lottery pointed to the central gaming system it moved to in September, which struggled with how many transactions were happening statewide. Instant-win prizes also went out more often than intended, so more instant wins are going into the pool. NonStop Local Montana reports the vendor will pay over $600,000 to cover some costs.
Instant wins ran hot before sales paused
- $608,600
- in instant-win prizes won on Sunday
- 991
- tickets that won $100
- 1,019
- tickets that won $500
- $500,000
- in estimated instant wins put back in the pool
Sources: NonStop Local Billings, NonStop Local Montana
Sources: KSEN AM 1150, NonStop Local Billings, KECI, NonStop Local Montana