GREAT FALLS – Tickets for the annual “Montana Millionaire” have been on sale since Friday, November 1, 2024 at 5:30 a.m. – and they are selling fast.

This year there are 500,000 tickets available.

By 6 a.m., around 100,000 tickets had been sold; By 6:49 a.m. about 250,000 had been sold; As of 7:30 a.m., around 392,000 copies had been sold.

Images on social media show lines of people snaking through convenience store aisles and, in some cases, long lines stretching to store doors.

John Riley-Helena

Last year’s sale sold out all 380,000 available tickets within five hours, and this year’s event is likely to sell out even faster.

Last year there were three prizes worth $1 million each – and one of them was sold at the Heidelberg Lounge on Division Road in Great Falls.

Blair Michel of Heidelberg said Thursday: “I feel like someone winning locally, and especially here, makes things a little more exciting and makes people feel like they’re within reach.”

Excitement over the sale of Montana Millionaire tickets

On Friday, the lounge opened at 5:30 a.m. to serve coffee and donuts to people who didn’t want to miss the opportunity to buy tickets — and the parking lot was full even before then.

There are several changes for this year’s Montana Millionaire.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

• Four grand prizes worth $1 million
• 500,000 tickets available
• “Quarter Million Monday”
• More instant wins

The agency is adding another $1 million grand prize this year, bringing the total to four. This comes after last year’s increase in prizes from two to three prizes worth $1 million each.
The number of tickets sold will rise to 500,000 this year – up from 380,000 in 2023. Tickets will still cost $20. Last year all tickets were sold within five hours.

The Montana Lottery is also adding a $250,000 “Quarter Million Monday” drawing on Monday, December 2, 2024; This will replace the previous “Early Bird” drawings.

There will also be additional instant win prizes: 2,300 instant win tickets worth $500 and 4,500 instant win tickets worth $100.

Montana Millionaire tickets are sold at all Montana Lottery retailers, including most convenience stores throughout the state.

The draw for the main prizes will take place on Thursday, December 26, 2024.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

The $1 million tickets won last year and where they were sold:

• 299951 – Kalispell City Pump (2910 US 93 South)
• 315800 – Town & Country Supply (Hilltop Road in Billings)
• 346589 – Heidelberg Lounge (Division Road in Great Falls)

Past 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 either Montana Millionaire prize, so the money went to the State General Fund.

Due to a change in law, the Montana Lottery is no longer permitted to publish the names of Montana Millionaire winners without their express consent.

WHO CAN BUY TICKETS – AND HOW MANY?

The Montana Lottery has provided answers to several frequently asked questions:

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the Montana Lottery, here is the contact information:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 406-444-5825

Address: Montana Lottery, 2525 North Montana Avenue, Helena, Montana, 59601-0598

Where does the money go?

The money generated by the lottery is used in various ways.

“The purpose of the lottery is to generate revenue for the state of Montana. Most sales go toward paying out prizes and operations, and essentially whatever is left over at the end goes back to the state. That is determined by state legislative action and the beneficiary, as we call it, has changed several times,” Montana Lottery content manager Dan Iverson told MTN News a few months ago.

Currently, the first $2.25 million will go 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 determined by the legislature.