Unraveling the Thrills of the Louisiana Lottery

Overview

The Louisiana Lottery, run by the state government, sold its first ticket in 1991. The first Louisiana Lotto was drawn in January 1992 and has since been the state's flagship game of chance. 

Lotto is drawn every Wednesday and Saturday except for Christmas Day and offers a cash jackpot of at least $250,000 that will continue to roll over until it has been won. Until December 1996 when the rules were changed, the starting jackpot used to be $500,000. 

To win the jackpot you need to select all six of the numbers drawn from a pool of numbers 1 through 40. In addition to the jackpot, however, there are another three possible ways to win a prize.  Each Lotto game costs $1 to play. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 3,838,380 while the overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 30.

Lottery Schedule

Drawings for this lotto are held on Wednesday, Saturday.

How to Play

To play Louisiana Lotto simply mark six numbers from 1 through 40 on a playslip. There are five boards on a playslip and each board costs $1 to play. Alternatively you can ask for a Quick Pick on each board you wish to play and the computer will randomly select your numbers for you. You can also choose play the same sets of numbers for 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 or 20 consecutive draws by marking the appropriate 'multi draw' box on the playslip. 

Participating Countries

The following countries participate in Louisiana Lottery: USA.

Prize Structure

There is a total of four prize divisions:

1. Match all 6 numbers to win the jackpot
2. Match 5 of 6 numbers to win a pari-mutuel prize (average prize is $2,000)
3. Match 4 of 6 numbers to win a pari-mutuel prize (average prize is $50)
4. Match 3 of 6 numbers to win $3.

Grand Prize

$250,000 US Dollar.

Jackpots

If there is no jackpot winner, the prize pool is carried over and added to the match 6 of 6 prize pool of the next drawing.

Notable Wins

The Robert H. LeBas Family Partnership of Church Point won $21.2 million, which was the largest jackpot won on a single Lotto ticket. The largest multi-winner Lotto jackpot was $31 million and was split between Kimberly D. Hall of Bon Wier, Texas, and Roland and Marion LeBeouf Family Partnership of Houma, with each receiving $15.5 million.

Distribution of Revenue

The mission of the Louisiana Lottery is to generate maximum revenues for the state.  Half of the Lottery's revenue is reserved for prizes while 35% is directed to the state and to date, it has transferred over $1.8 billion to the state treasury. The money is dedicated to the Minimum Foundation Program, which funds public education in Louisiana. The final 10% of revenue is used to operate the Lottery, 5% is paid as commission to Louisiana businesses who sell Lottery games.