GREAT FALLS — Several people are going to kick off the new year with a much bigger bank account, thanks to the Montana Lottery.
There are four grand prizes worth $1 million each as part of this year's Montana Millionaire.
Montana Millionaire sold 500,000 tickets on November 1; each ticket cost $20 and they sold out within three hours.
The four grand prize winning tickets are scheduled to be drawn on Thursday, December 26, 2024.
The Montana Lottery usually announces the winning ticket numbers shortly after 10 a.m., but there is no word yet on the exact time they will be announced this year.
The Montana Lottery also featured a “Quarter Million Monday” drawing for $250,000 on Monday, December 2, 2024; the winning ticket for that prize was sold at the Office Bar & Motel in Vaughn, a few miles northwest of Great Falls.
The $250,000 prize has not been claimed yet; the winner has six months from the drawing date to claim it. If the prize is not claimed, the money will be transferred to the state's general fund.
Montana Millionaire FAQ
The Montana Lottery has provided responses to several frequently-asked questions:
- Why don’t you limit Montana Millionaire to Montana residents only? The Montana Lottery is available to everyone of legal age, whether resident or visitor. Limiting the sale of a product to some people while excluding others is discrimination. It would also be contrary to our mission and place an undue burden on our retailers.
- Why don’t you limit the number of Montana Millionaire tickets someone can buy? The mission of the Montana Lottery is to maximize revenue for the State of Montana. Our proceeds fund Montana’s STEM/Healthcare Scholarship Program and contribute to the General Fund. To limit sales of our products would be contrary to our mission and result in less positive impact for the residents of Montana.
- Why don’t you offer Montana Millionaire or another raffle game more than once per year? The Montana Lottery has a large selection of games available every day of the year. We believe Montana Millionaire is special and successful because it’s exclusive. While it is not impossible that we may introduce other raffle games in the future, currently we have made this strategic business decision based on detailed market research and analysis.
Previous Winners
Last year there were three winning $1M tickets; they were sold at:
- 299951 - Town Pump of Kalispell (2910 US 93 South)
- 315800 - Town & Country Supply (Hilltop Road in Billings)
- 346589 - Heidelberg Lounge (Division Road in Great Falls)
Previous million-dollar winners over the years include three from Butte, two from Great Falls, four from Billings, two from Columbia Falls, and one each from Winnett, East Helena, and Laurel. In 2022, no one claimed one of the two Montana Millionaire prizes, so the money went into the State General Fund.
Where Does The Money Go?
Money generated from the lottery is used in several ways.
“The lottery exists to generate revenue for the State of Montana. Most sales go towards paying prizes, operations, and essentially whatever is left at the end of that is what goes back to the state. That’s determined by state legislative action and the beneficiary, as we call it, has changed a number of times,” Montana Lottery content manager Dan Iverson told MTN News several months ago.
Currently, the first $2.25 million goes to the Montana Stem/Healthcare Scholarship Program, operated by the Office Of The Commissioner Of Higher Education and the Montana University System. Whatever is left goes to the state's general fund, which is dictated by the legislature.
