News writer
On February 22, a new lottery game will hit retail shelves across the country. Millionaire for Life, a six-number draw game, is slated to replace the annuity-style prize games Cash4Life and Lucky For Life in many states.
In a realm where Powerball and Mega Millions remain king, Millionaire for Life represents a new dawn in life-changing prize potential for $5 a ticket.
Here are five things that make this game launch particularly exciting.
1. A life-changing top prize
At the heart of Millionaire for Life is, in fact, a chance to win $1 million every year for the rest of your life - or a minimum of 20 years. Even if the winner dies, the payout will still be guaranteed for 20 years, perhaps to an estate.
This is a far bigger prize than the Cash4Life or Lucky For Life prizes, which offer $1,000 every day for life as a grand prize.
A lump sum cash option is worth about $18 million in Millionaire for Life. When it comes to most big draw national lottery games, players typically opt for the lump sum rather than the annuity. It will be interesting to see what players choose in Millionaire for Life - lump sum or annuity - when the annuity sounds very attractive.
2. Multiple prizes, multiple ways to win
The grand prize isn't the only reason to play Millionaire for Life. The $1 million-for-life winner must match all five main numbers in the draw, as well as an additional Millionaire Ball. A second prize winner must match five out of five numbers, and will win $100,000 a year for life, with a lump sum payout of about $2.2 million. Not too shabby for second place.
There are nine prize tiers in total. A third-prize winner who matches four main numbers and the Millionaire Ball will win $7,500. The remaining prizes range from $8 to $500, depending on how many of the drawn numbers the ticket matched.
3. Better odds than other big games
Compared to Powerball or Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life comes with far better odds of winning…something. For starters, draws will be held every night at 10:15 central time, rather than just a couple of times per week. This automatically gives players more chances to win.
The odds are better, too. The odds of winning the grand prize are approximately 1 in 22.9 million. For the second place: 1 in 5.73 million. Finally, the overall odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 8.46.
This stacks up nicely against a game like Powerball, where odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292.2 million, second place is 1 in 11.69 million, and any prize is 1 in 24.87.
4. Available in 30 states
It's rare for a new lottery game to take the country by storm. Millionaire for Life was created by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), and will be available in the following 30 states, to start:
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
The New York Lottery is also expected to offer Millionaire for Life at launch, pending final approval.
5. Powerball and Mega Millions might finally meet their rival
With all these features and widespread availability, Millionaire for Life could truly rock the lottery world and rival Powerball and Mega Millions.
While Millionaire for Life doesn't offer billion-dollar-plus jackpots, it is the only game to come anywhere close to the juggernauts in terms of payout and odds. Many US players are ready for something new, and Millionaire for Life could deliver.
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