Editor's note: The previous version of this article had the wrong location for where ticket 346589 was sold based on information sent to MTN by the Montana Lottery. Statement from the Montana Lottery: "Our apologies; as a result of human error, we initially misidentified the location where one of the winning tickets was sold."
Check those tickets! The Montana Lottery has drawn the winning numbers for the 2023 Montana Millionaire.
The winning grand prize winning numbers, each worth $1 million, are:
- 315800 - Town and Country Supply, Billings (523 Hilltop Road)
- 299951 - Town Pump, Kalispell (2910 U.S. 93 S.)
- 346589 - Heidelberg Lounge and Casino, 27 Division Road, Great Falls
This year the Montana Lottery increased the number of tickets by 100,000 to a total of 380,000, also adding a third million-dollar grand prize. Tickets went on sale Nov. 1 at 5:30 a.m. and were sold out by 10:30 a.m. that same day.
Two early bird drawings were held on Nov. 24 for $25,000 and Dec. 15 for $100,000. The Nov. 24 winning ticket is 172886 and was sold at an Albertsons in Billings. The Dec. 15 winning ticket is 274028 and was sold at an Albertsons in Great Falls.
The odds of winning one of the grand prizes in Montana Millionaire are 1 in 126,666.7.
This was the 17th year that Montana Lottery has put on its Montana millionaire raffle, and it has taken on a life of its own.
“A lot of states struggle to sell out their raffle game, even in immediately neighboring states,” said Montana Lottery Content Manager Dan Iverson. “Montana is kind of an anomaly on a national scale, because our raffle game is so popular. Out of the 17 we have done, I don't think two have been exactly the same. We’ve always switched up the number of tickets or the number of prizes.”
Along with the three million dollar winning tickets, over 4,000 tickets had instant wins of $100 or $500, and two early bird tickets were drawn for $25,000 and $100,000.
Money generated from the lottery is used in a few different 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,” said Iverson
Currently, the first $2.25 million goes to the Montana Stem/Healthcare Scholarship Program which runs out of 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.
Those who purchased tickets did not have to be a Montana resident but they did have to be within the boundaries of Big Sky Country.
Last year, no one claimed one of the Montana Millionaire prizes, so the money went into the State General Fund.
“We don’t know who bought them and we just know that the transaction occurred,” Iverson explained. “Where it occurred, when it occurred, what the numbers were printed on the ticket. that kind of thing so we can verify it on the back end.”
Last year’s grand prize tickets were sold in Butte and Great Falls.
Winners have six months to claim their prize either in person or via mail.
