Our 2017 Year in Review
No doubt 2017 was a wild year. If you’re having a hard time looking back in retrospect with rose-colored glasses, let us help you out! Our humble home state had plenty of good news.
1. Winners
We see winners come through our doors every day. Just regular folks just like yourself, going about their lives until luck changes their story.
Some of our winners have very special stories that hold a place in our hearts. From the couple who went from living in a tent to a real home and a safer car after a Scratch win to easing the debt of a loved one in need, everyone who holds the big check has a special story of luck and gratitude.
Speaking of luck, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the woman who is being chased by the number 222 and money.
Find out how these people plan to spend their riches on our website, and see how happy they look holding the big check on Flickr.
2. New Nebraska Millionaires
Melinda Rother of Grand Island was the Nebraska Lottery’s first new millionaire of 2017. She matched all five white balls on her Powerball ticket for the Saturday, May 6, drawing. Rother and her husband planned to keep their lives the same, continuing to teach Sunday school at their church and volunteering time at the Salvation Army. Her first purchase as a millionaire: a new grill. Hopefully, she splurged on the steaks, too.
Our next new millionaire was Timothy Manion of Omaha who hit all five white ball numbers on his winning Mega Millions ticket Dec. 1. Manion and his wife planned to buy a house and a new truck with the winnings.
We hope you are next!
3. Jackpots
The largest jackpot of the year was the Wednesday, August 23, Powerball jackpot of $700 million. Lottery officials, players, and media alike speculated that the jackpot might again reach heights beyond the billion-dollar mark, but a lucky Massachusetts player hit the jackpot before another zero could be tacked on to the end of the check.
Mavis Wanczyk bought the winning ticket, worth $758.7 million after sales were tallied. She immediately quit her job and accepted the cash option of $480.5 million.
During this Powerball jackpot run, there were 20 drawings without a winner. Eleven Nebraskans won high-tier prizes during this time—including a $200,000 Powerball with Power Play ticket sold in Falls City.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot occurred Friday, August 11, when Patricia Busking of Illinois won a $393 million jackpot. The Mega Millions jackpot run lasted 30 draws without a winner, and created two high-tier Nebraska winners.
“We’re very excited to be able to donate to charities that are near and dear to our hearts,” Busking said. “A few particular organizations have touched our lives, and it will be a pleasure to be able to give back so that they continue to touch the lives of others.”
4. Truck$ & Buck$ Upgrade
For the first time in the Nebraska Lottery’s 24 years, $2 Truck$ & Buck$ launched with FIVE trucks eligible to win instantly in the game. Tickets flew off the shelves and keys of brand new trucks into the hands of lucky players. The change was so successful, the lottery added two more trucks to the game, totaling seven trucks won in 2017.
In many previous years, Truck$ & Buck$ only offered three trucks to be instantly won, and one in the second-chance giveaway. As entries in the second-chance contest steadily declined over the years, lottery officials moved to make more trucks available to win instantly.
5. Nebraska Pick 5 $10K Rolls create $1 million+ in winnings
Back by popular demand, the Nebraska Lottery brought back three months of the $10K Pick 5 Roll promotion. This year the promotion was held in March, July and November, and it generated some pretty big jackpots along with more winners.
Nebraskans won more than a million dollars in Pick 5 jackpot prizes alone during the promotion.
Pick 5 Jackpot Winners during March $10K Roll Promotion:
March 2: $92,000 won in Omaha at Anderson Food Shop (168th & Q)
March 6: $80,000 won in Grand Island at Pump & Pantry (2028 N Broadwell)
March 28: $260,000 won in Lincoln at Kwik Shop (2811 N 48th)
Pick 5 Jackpot Winners during July $10K Roll Promotion:
July 17: $278,000 won in Genoa at Pump & Pantry (609 Willard Ave)
July 29: $160,000 won in Gering at Pony Express (675 S Kimball Ave)
Pick 5 Jackpot Winners during November $10K Roll Promotion:
Nov. 6: $140,000 won in Lincoln at C-Station (1120 S Coddington)
Nov. 17: $150,000 won in Norfolk at Hy-Vee Gas (2310 Market Lane)
The jackpot didn’t get hit again in November, but did grow to $220,000 before it was won in Omaha Dec. 11.
6. New Lotto Game
Lucky for Life, a $2 lotto game that offers players a chance at $1,000 a day for life, came to Nebraska August 20th. Nebraska was the 25th state to offer the multi-state game, which originated in Connecticut in 2009 and exploded in popularity throughout the country.
In the roughly four months Nebraska has offered the game, we’ve had seven $5,000—or third prize–winners.
7. Solar Eclipse
The very first Lucky for Life drawing held in Nebraska fell on another significant event: the Great American Eclipse on Monday, August 21. Americans turned their gaze to the skies to catch this rare phenomenon. Many protected their eyes with complimentary eclipse glasses distributed by the Nebraska Lottery to celebrate Lucky for Life’s first drawing.
In addition, Nebraska Lottery staff distributed free Lucky for Life plays at random at retailers across the State. Lottery crews even joined the thousands who gathered in Lincoln at the Saltdogs game to distribute free Lucky for Life plays as fans entered the gates. Talk about a new game launch!
8. Nebraska’s 150th birthday
To celebrate Nebraska’s 150th birthday, the Nebraska Lottery created a $2 Scratch ticket featuring the Nebraska 150 celebration logo. The game gave players a shot at 15 top prizes of $1,000. Currently, one top prize remains in this game, with no inventory left in the warehouse.
If you’ve been saving your ticket as a commemorative keepsake, perhaps you should scratch it and see if you’ve won $1,000!
9. Concert Giveaways
We love making winners at the Nebraska Lottery– and not just of cold hard cash. In 2017 we had great fun giving lottery fans the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in the entertainment business. Check out a list of all the concert tickets we gave away all over the state and who enjoyed the show.
Billy Joel – Shelly Schwaderer of Lincoln
Soul2Soul – Sheri Hampton of Lincoln
Alan Jackson – Angela Gilbert of North Platte
Alan Jackson – Samantha Carlson of Cozad
Chris Stapleton – Jessica Verba of Alda
Chris Stapleton – Tina Crowell of North Platte
Toby Keith – Crystal Erickson of Kearney
Bruno Mars – Lynnsey Jewett of Adams
Brad Paisley – Kelly Everley of North Platte
Brad Paisley – Misty Horn of Brady
Pentatonix – Samantha Matz of Sioux City
Pentatonix – Dee Fisher of Clarks
The Weeknd – Rebecca Graybill of Carter Lake
Garth Brooks – Alice Kudron of Columbus
Garth Brooks – Anthony Knickerbocker of Omaha
Garth Brooks – Amanda Fulton of Nehawka
Garth Brooks – Kasey Welch of Hildreth
Follow the Nebraska Lottery on Facebook for more opportunities to win concert tickets.
10. Beneficiaries: September transfer of $12.1 million is 2nd largest
Let’s take a good look at one of the reasons our lottery exists: the beneficiaries. When Nebraskans voted to create a lottery in 1992, they did so not only to have a chance at life-changing sums of money, but also to give back to their home state.
Each quarter approximately 24% of lottery proceeds is transferred to Nebraska Lottery beneficiaries. Last September we transferred the second-largest-ever amount of $12.1 million.
Of that total amount, 44.5% goes to education, 44.5% to the Environmental Trust, 10% to the Nebraska State Fair and 1% to the Gamblers Assistance Program.
These programs ensure students in need get needed financial assistance for college, protect our environment, educate generations to come about Nebraska’s land and agricultural value, and more.
In total, the Nebraska Lottery has given back more than $660 million since the lottery began in 1993.
So, there you have it! And those are just the top 10 moments of the year. Thanks for being a fan, and we hope to meet you in the Winner’s Lounge in 2018!
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