HELENA— Montana Millionaire lottery tickets sold out in record time on Friday, with all 500,000 tickets purchased in just under three hours, setting a new benchmark and shattering last year’s record.
Each November since 2007, the Montana Lottery has offered the chance for Treasure State residents 18 or older to become a millionaire. Over the years, the game has grown in popularity, consistently breaking records for ticket sales.
This year, all tickets sold out by 8:16 a.m., nearly half the time of last year’s record sellout. Last year, all 380,000 tickets were snapped up within five hours. This year, despite increasing the total to 500,000, tickets sold even faster, with all sold out in two hours and 46 minutes.
Montana Millionaire tickets went on sale statewide at 5:30 a.m. Friday, prompting early-morning rushes at lottery machines across the state.
“Wake up, have a cup of coffee and come on out and buy a few tickets,” said Jeff Hiel, one of the early buyers.
Interest in the lottery has increased dramatically over time. In earlier years, tickets took months to sell out; now, they are gone within hours. Sales by hour broke down as follows:
- 5:30 - 6 a.m. 104,987 tickets sold
- 6 - 7 a.m. 197,990 tickets sold
- 7 - 8 a.m. 162,489 tickets sold
Montana Lottery officials were surprised by the speed of this year’s turnout.
“We added 120,000 tickets this year hoping they’d last a little longer than last year’s, but clearly they didn’t,” said Celina Clift, the lottery’s content manager. “We’re still in awe and figuring out what to do next.”
Montanans are hoping the lottery will consider making tickets available longer in the future.
“It’s just fun to see it grow,” said Taryn Clevenger, another Montana Millionaire buyer. “It’d be great to win, of course, but even pulling a $500 prize is exciting. Plus, they make great Christmas gifts.”
The drawing for the grand prizes is set for Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. Montana Lottery officials plan to meet in March to discuss next year’s Montana Millionaire.
