SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WWLP) – A lottery trust claimed the first $25 million grand prize in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s $50 “Billion Dollar Extravaganza” instant game.
Simmons & Schiavo Lottery Trust 2023-28 of Woburn, represented by trustee Marco Schiavo, claimed the largest instant “scratch and win” prize that has ever been awarded in Mass Lottery history, according to a news release from the Mass Lottery.
The ticket was sold at Speedway on McGrath Highway in Somerville, and the retailer will receive a $50,000 bonus for the sale.
The trust chose the cash option on the prize and received a one-time payment of $16,250,000
(before taxes), and Schiavo said that the client plans to use some of the winnings to purchase real estate and invest.
The “Billion Dollar Extravaganza” has the largest amount of total prize money and the highest payout percentage of any other game that is offered by the Mass Lottery. The odds of winning the game are 1 in 4.10.
Two $25 million prizes still remain in the “Billion Dollar Extravaganza” game and the Mass Lottery’s first $50 instant ticket. Seven of the game’s 15 $1 million prizes have all been claimed. All five of the game’s $2 million prizes have not been claimed yet.
“Billion Dollar Extravaganza” went on sale on February 7, and over 12.6 million tickets
have been sold since, including over three million winning tickets that totaled over $485 million in prizes.
The $50 game also features 10-second chance drawings, which allow players to enter non-winning tickets for the chance to win cash prizes from $100 to $50,000. Four drawings have been conducted, and the dates of the remaining drawings will be determined based on the sales of the ticket.