Nothing but zeros adds up to big lottery wins in two states

Who knew a bunch of zeros could be worth so much money? Lottery players in two states are celebrating this week after the number combination of 0-0-0 appeared in separate drawings. The triple-digit combination produced thousands of winning tickets and almost $1.9 million in combined prizes.

The winning combination first came up in North Carolina on Monday, October 12. Then on Wednesday, October 14, it showed up again in California. While both drawings gave players something to celebrate, the overall payouts were anything but identical.

North Carolina players win over $1.7 million

The biggest payday came in North Carolina. During Monday night’s Pick 3 drawing, the winning combination was 0-0-0. According to lottery officials, 4,917 tickets matched all three of the winning numbers. This resulted in over $1.7 million in prizes.

For Pick 3, players can wager $1 or 50 cents on a straight ticket. For the $1 bets, they won $500. For the 50-cent bets, they won $250.

The lottery explained that combinations featuring three identical numbers, commonly called “trips,” are among some of the most popular choices for Pick 3 players.

For those holding onto a winning ticket, you have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim your prize.

California gets its own triple-zero surprise

Now, just two days later, the same three numbers delivered another round of winners on the other side of the country. The Daily 3 Midday drawing in California came up 0-0-0.

Unlike in North Carolina, where they had almost 5,000 winning tickets, the drawing in California produced only 347 winning tickets. Each winning straight ticket was worth $320, which brought the total payout to $111,040.

Although that was considerably less than North Carolina’s payout, hundreds of California Lottery players still have a reason to celebrate.

So, in just three days, the same combination appeared in two different state lottery games and gave us over 5,200 winning tickets.

Why such different payouts?

The winning tickets in North Carolina collected more than 15 times the total prize money awarded in California. However, that doesn’t mean North Carolina players had better odds. The big difference here is the number of winning tickets. North Carolina had 4,917, compared with California’s 347.

The two lotteries do have different prize structures, too. North Carolina paid out $250 or $500, based on your wager. Meanwhile, California paid out one flat prize of $320.

When you have over 4,600 more winning tickets to pay out, your numbers are going to go above and beyond those of the other state.

This has nothing to do with odds either. Matching all three numbers in exact order carries odds of 1 in 1,000. And despite the attention being on the triple zeros, 0-0-0 isn’t any more likely to appear than 1-2-3 or 7-8-9.

Every exact three-digit combination has the same chance of being drawn.

Washington, D.C., joins the triple-number fun

It’s not all about the zeros, though. The D.C. Lottery got into the fun this week with its DC-3 Mid-day drawing on Friday, October 9.

During that drawing, the winning combination was 4-4-4. Lottery officials highlighted the results in a social media post, but never shared details of how many winners there were or how much was paid out to the lucky winners.

Whether it's three zeros or three fours, sometimes the simplest-looking numbers can bring players a reason to celebrate.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.