Egg-citing news: No Pick 3, Pick 4, or Pick 5 drawings on Easter Sunday in Louisiana

While there may be no Pick drawings on Easter Sunday, sales will be hoppin’ along in Louisiana.

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Published Mar 15, 2024, 17:27 EDT

Players of the Louisiana Lottery will be celebrating Easter Sunday soon, but they won’t get a chance to celebrate any big wins in the Pick 3, Pick 4, or Pick 5 drawings that day.

The Louisiana Lottery Corporation announced no drawings will take place on March 31, Easter Sunday, for the Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5 games. This, of course, is in accordance with lottery policy, but players will still be able to purchase tickets.

365 days a year, except these two days

For the Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5 drawings, they are conducted daily. The only days the Louisiana Lottery doesn’t conduct a drawing are on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.

Any tickets purchased for these games after the draw closes on Saturday, March 30, and on Sunday, March 31, will be good for the next regularly scheduled drawing on Monday, April 1.

Any advance plays on Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5 will not be available for Sunday, March 31. If you bought a multi-draw ticket for either the Pick 3, Pick 4, or Pick 5 game, the March 31 date will be skipped, and the number of draws remaining will be reflected on the ticket.

Louisiana Lottery — giving the state a chance to smile

For the Louisiana Lottery, they are giving the state a chance to smile. This includes:

Lottery players - Playing the Louisiana Lottery games is an exciting form of entertainment. Since the Lottery’s inception in 1991, players have won more than $5 billion in prizes.
K-12 public education - The constitution in Louisiana requires the Lottery proceeds to be used for the Minimum Foundation Program, which funds K-12 public education. Since its inception, it has contributed about $4.5 billion.
Louisiana businesses - There are about 2,900 businesses in Louisiana that sell lottery tickets. Since the Lottery began in 1991, these businesses have earned almost $708 million in compensation.

Where does the money go?

For FY 2023, the Louisiana Lottery had a total revenue of $653.2 million. The Louisiana Lottery Corporation shared a breakdown of how that revenue is divided:

57.1% to Prizes - Over half of all lottery sales are reserved for prize expenses. If prizes go unclaimed, that money is returned to players in the form of increased payouts on scratch-off tickets or promotions, per Louisiana law.
32.5% to State transfers - The Louisiana Lottery statute requires that at least 25% of all lottery revenue be transferred to the state treasury for K-12 public education. Of that money, the first $500,000 in annual proceeds must be used for problem gambling programs.
5.6% to Retailers - Almost 2,900 licensed retailers in Louisiana earn compensation from the Lottery. This includes incentives for cashing players’ winning tickets of up to $600 and bonuses they may earn for selling jackpot and million-dollar winning tickets.
4.8% to Operations - The Louisiana Lottery claims to be one of the most efficient in the nation. The Lottery retains less than 5% of revenue to fund its own statewide operations, which includes 120 employees, six regional offices, technology, advertising, ticket printing, and more.

Enjoy playing the Louisiana Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.