July 2018 marked the third month in a row the Pennsylvania Lottery has given away more than $165 million in scratch-off ticket prizes.
In fact, figures released by the Pennsylvania Lottery this week show scratch-off ticket winners claimed $172,733,641 in prizes throughout the month of July. This includes two massive $3 million prizes and three $1 million prizes.
Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off players also claimed upwards of $181 million in prizes this past May, and more than $167 million in prizes in June.
Two $3 million scratch-off winners
The Port Royal Pit Stop/Uni-Mart on Market Street in Port Royal sold July’s first $3 million winning ticket. It was a $3 Million Mega Multiplier ticket.
The Morton Street Wawa in Folsom sold the second $3 million winning ticket. It is a $3,000,000 Pennsylvania Club ticket.
The Denver Road Turkey Hill in Denver sold a $1 million winning ticket for the aptly named Million Dollar Winner game. The Convenient Food Mart on Main Street in Pittston sold a $1 million winning $1,000,000 Power Payday ticket. And finally, the Centre Avenue Turkey Hill in Leesport sold a $1 million winning My First Million ticket.
Other rather large scratch-off ticket prizes claimed across PA throughout July included:
- Five $300,000 prizes
- One $250,000 prize
- 15 $100,000 prizes
PA Lottery scratch-off prizes range from a free ticket to $3 million. It is rare to see two $3 million winners in a single month. In fact, even in May when the Pennsylvania Lottery reported more than $181 million in Scratch-Off ticket prizes won, only a single $3 million top prize was claimed.
Proceeds from all Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off games and its other lottery product sales go to programs that directly benefit older PA residents. The lottery has contributed $29 billion to such programs since ticket sales began in 1972.
Record-breaking PA lottery sales
In fact, after posting a record of more than $4.2 billion in sales throughout the 2017-18 fiscal year ending June 30, the PA Lottery added another $1 billion-plus to its contributions to programs benefiting older Pennsylvanians. It was the seventh-consecutive year it exceeded $1 billion in contributions.
Sales of scratch-off game tickets also broke records, with more than $2.8 billion recorded throughout the fiscal year. A number that was up by $97.6 million over 2016-2017, and broke the previous record of $2.79 billion set in 2015-16. Scratch-off game ticket sales actually accounted for more than 67 percent of total PA lottery sales in 2017-2018.
Even the proceeds from the Pennsylvania Lottery’s new instant win online lottery games go to benefit older people in the state. The games, which are similar to electronic versions of scratch-off games, launched at the end of May.
Online instant win lottery game recorded $20.8 million in sales from the May 22 launch through June 30.
The games are available on the PAiLottery.com website and through the PA Lottery mobile app.
Scratch-off game rules and info
PA Lottery scratch-off winners have one year following a game’s end-sale date to claim any outstanding prizes. The Pennsylvania Lottery advises players to check all tickets and claim winnings as soon as possible.
The PA Lottery employs a random distribution system through its network of more than 9,300 lottery retailers. Thereby ensuring where a winning ticket will be sold is always unknown.