July 1 - The Illinois State Lottery officially comes into being with
Ralph Batch as the First Superintendent.
July 30 - First Lottery tickets go on sale.
Aug. 8 - First Lottery drawing for the weekly passive games is held
at the State Fair in Springfield.
Oct. 3 - Irene Halley becomes the Lottery's first million-dollar winner.
Dec. 31 - 100,000,000th Lottery ticket sold.
1975
Oct. 21 - First instant game (7-11-21) introduced.
1977
July 1 - Richard Carlson becomes the Lottery's second Superintendent.
1980
Feb. 19 - Daily Game (Pick 3) is introduced featuring six drawings
weekly.
1981
Aug. 1 - Michael J. Jones is appointed as the Lottery's third Superintendent.
1982
Feb. 16 - Pick 4 is introduced with drawings on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Daily Games sales increase 52 percent over 1981 sales. A 62 percent
increase in instant game sales follows an introduction of four instant
games in one year.
1983
Feb. 19 - Lotto is introduced featuring a field of 40 numbers.
Mar. 20 - Daily Game (Pick 3) drawings are increased to seven days
per week.
1984
Feb. 22 - Lotto "Quick Pick " is introduced.
May 19 - First drawing of Lotto 6/44 is held.
Aug. 27 - Pick 4 drawings are increased to six days per week.
Sep. 1 - Michael Wittkowski wins $40 million Lotto Grand Prize,
the largest Lottery prize awarded to a single winner in
North America.
Nov. 5 - Lottery sales reach $2 billion since its inception.
1985
Mar. 9 - Pick 4 drawings are increased to seven days per week.
Aug. 1 - Rebecca Paul is appointed as the fourth Superintendent of
the Illinois State Lottery.
Aug. 30 - First transfer of Lottery proceeds to the Common School
Fund (instead of the General Revenue Fund).
Dec. 1 - Lotto "Advance Play" is introduced. Quick Pick
for the Daily Game (Pick 3) and Pick 4 is introduced. For the first
time in Lottery history, sales exceed $1 billion in a single year.
1986
Jan. 15 - Wednesday Lotto drawing introduced.
Feb. 19 - Lotto subscription service begins.
July 1 - The Illinois Lottery separates from the Department of Revenue
and becomes the Department of the Lottery with Rebecca Paul as Director.
Sep 25 & 26 The same numbers were selected in the Pick 3 game
(0-0-0).
Nov. 10 - Instant Game #37, CASHFLOW< introduces the new concept
of "entry" qualifying tickets for a million-dollar Grand Prize
drawing.
1987
April 22 - Lotto 7 is introduced, replacing the Wednesday Lotto drawing.
June 30 - Lottery sales reach $6.5 billion since its inception.
July 29 - The Lotto 7 jackpot hits $22 million - the largest in Lotto
7 history and the then second largest Grand Prize ever in a Lotto game.
It is split by two winners.
Aug. 17 - Sharon Sharp is appointed as the fifth Director of the Illinois
State Lottery.
1988
May 4 - Last draw date for Lotto 7.
May 7 - First draw date for Lotto 6/54, replacing Lotto 6/44.
June 1 - Cash 5 game starts, a 5/35 Lotto game, held Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday.
1989
Feb. 17 - The quarterly players' newspaper, Jackpot, is launched.
April 15 - The Illinois State Lottery records its highest jackpot
ever, 69.9 million. It is split by four winners. This jackpot sets a
new record (since broken) for North American Lotto jackpots.
May 15 - The name of the Cash 5 game is changed to Little Lotto.
July 1 - The Lottery hits $1.5 billion in sales during Fiscal year
1989 - a new record.
Aug. 9 - Highest ever Daily Game (Pick 3) payout on 1-1-1 (prize payout
of $7.28 million or 723%). That same day saw the highest Pick 4 payout
ever on 1-0-1-1 (prize payout of $1.6 million or 544%.
Aug. 17 - GTECH Corp. takes over on-line computer system.
Aug. 26 - The Madigan Partnership wins $42 million Grand Prize, the
then largest Lottery prize awarded to a single winner in Lottery history.
Nov. 13 - The Lottery reaches $10 billion in sales since its beginning.
Dec. 26 - First unclaimed prize fund promotion held. Every 25th Lotto
transaction statewide wins holiday bonus.
1990
Mar. 2 - Little Lotto jackpot reaches all-time high, $1,059,197.30.
It is split by five First Prize winners.
Mar. 4 - Lotto and Little Lotto can now be played 1 through 15 consecutive
draws. Replacing 5, 10, and 15 advance plays.
April 6 & 7 New machines used for Little Lotto (April 6) and Lotto
(April 7). Also used are new sets of balls.
May 19 - Lotto jackpot reaches $42 million and is awarded to a single
winner, the Sherwin Family Partnership. This ties the August 1989 record
for the then highest single-winner jackpot.
Aug. 15 - Lotto expanded to twice-weekly drawings held on Wednesdays
and Saturdays.
Nov. 26 - Single-winner Little Lotto jackpot of $747,494.50 establishes
new record.
Dec. 19 - "3 For A Million" promotion begins. Players matching
3 of 6 Lotto numbers drawn on the 19th, 22nd, 26th, or 29th of December
may win $1 million. Twenty potential winners.
1991
Feb. 8 - Desirée Glapion Rogers is appointed as the sixth Director
of the Illinois State Lottery.
Mar. 19 - Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar assists the Lottery in launching
"Cash 'n Fly," a first-of-its-kind instant game that offers
consumers the chance to win travel prizes on United Airlines. Gov. Edgar
buys a ticket for the next day's $61.5 million Lotto drawing.
Mar. 20 - The Illinois Lottery records its then second highest Lotto
jackpot of $61.5 million, the result of seven consecutive rollovers.
The Grand Prize is split by three winners.
Oct. 16 - Eight consecutive rollovers result in a $65.5 million dollar
jackpot (the second highest ever) split by three winners.
Oct. 30 - For the 11th time in Lottery history, payouts for both Pick
4 (1-2-1-1) and Pick 3 (2-1-2) exceed 100 percent for both games on
the same day.
Nov. 9 - The Illinois Lottery creates its 700th millionaire when Allen
& Elizabeth Hardt, from Oswego, win a $2.7 million Lotto jackpot.
Dec. 14 - Dr. Glen Bynum wins $2.8 million playing Lotto-By-Mail,
the 2nd Lotto-By-Mail Grand Prize winner in Lottery history.
1992
Feb. 17 - Little Lotto has 22 First Prize winners, the second largest
number of First Prize winners since Sept. 26, 1988, when there were
23 First Prize winners.
Mar. 7 - John Mattinen makes the most brilliant mistake of his life
by purchasing one ticket with two of the same series of numbers (copied
in error). Mattinen becomes the first Illinois play to win the Lotto
Grand Prize twice on one ticket, collecting $20.8 million, two thirds
of the $31.4 million jackpot.
Mar. 26 - Close to 1 million people enter the Sweet Dreams "Sheepstakes"
wnd chance drawing. Five lucky people win Ford Mustang Convertibles,
and 1,000 people win $100 cash in one of the Lottery's most successful
2nd chance promotions ever.
April 25 - The Little Lotto "Wizard" makes his debut with
his message "Play Little Lotto, The Odds Be With You."
May 27 - "Safeguarding the System," a 15-minute behind-the-scenes
look at Lottery security operations, is produced and distributed to
public libraries throughout the state.
Aug. 14 - The Illinois Lottery introduces "Keno" as a on-time,
experimental game at the Illinois State Fair. Sales of "Keno"
a the nine-day fair exceed $80,000.
Nov. 2 - A new Instant-ticket validation procedure is unveiled. The
system features bar-coded tickets and computerized scanners that provide
faster, more efficient payment of instant ticket prizes.
Dec. 26 - $15 million Lotto jackpot is the 100th jackpot of $10 million
or more.
Dec. 28 - The Lottery begins hosting live nightly drawings on WBBM-TV
(Channel 2) in Chicago.
1993
Jan. 2 - "$100,000 Fortune Hunt" TV game show is revamped,
allowing winner to return to following week's show for up to five consecutive
weeks.
Nov. 1 - The Lottery kicks off a "Win Wheels with the Wizard"
promotion. During each of the 15 consecutive drawings, one Little Lotto
player wins a Mercury Tracer.
Nov. 29 - "Stocking Stuffer," the Lottery's first $5 instant
ticket with top prizes of $100,000, is launched.
Dec. 20 - A midday, Monday-through-Saturday, Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawing
is implemented at 12 -40 p.m. to provide added convenience to players.
1994
Jan. 1 - Evening drawings return to WGN-TV at a new time, 9 -22 p.m.
Mar. 21 - Over $40 million in instant tickets are sold in a 3-week
period, including a record $14.4 million in sales for the week ending
March 21.
Mar. 28 - "Win the World With The Wizard" promotion begins.
During each of 15 consecutive drawings, one player wins $2,000 and an
around-the-world trip for 2 on United Airlines.
July 9 - The Lottery unveils a new TV game show, "Illinois Instant
Riches," which was created by Mark Goodman Productions. Linda Kollmeyer
and Mark Goodman are are co-hosts.
July 18 - The first of 1,000 Instant Ticket Vending Machines, and
600 In-Counter Ticket Dispensers, are installed in agent locations.
Nov. 7 - First draw date for Little Lotto 5/30, replacing Little Lotto
5/35. Matrix change is first since game began in 1988. More winners
generated in each prize category.
1995
Jan. 29 - Lottery check-writing centers can issue winners on-the-spot
checks of $1 to $25,000. Agents can not cash winning on-line tickets
up to one year old.
Feb. 11 - Two new TV game show segments - "Mismatch" and
"Thunderball" - debut on Illinois Instant Riches.
Feb. 13 - Little Lotto subscription program begins. Players can subscribe
to Little Lotto for up to one year. Minimum subscription costs $39.
Feb. 27 - The last combination was for Pick 3 was chosen for the first
time, making all 1000 combinations selected at least once.
April 19 - 500,000 entries are received for "Win For Life"
second chance drawing. Fifty players win 100 free tickets.
April 24 - An all-time record Pick 4 payout of $3.78 million.
April 25 - Governor Jim Edgar hosts a ceremony dedicating the Lottery's
administrative headquarters in Springfield to the memory of Rockford
State Rep. E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi.
May 9 - The same Pick 3 number (6-8-7) was selected for both the midday
and evening Pick 3 drawing.
June 16 - The Lottery unveils a Caesars Palace Instant Game and Caesars
Palace bonus Lotto promotion at the 13th annual Millionaires' reunion.
Players of both games won trips to Caesars Palace Las Vegas (via United
Airlines) and cash. It marks the first cross-promotion of an on-line
and instant game in Lottery history.
June 21 - Arthur and Julia Britton of Chicago win $45 million in Lotto.
The prize is the largest ever awarded to a single winner.
Nov. 1 - A month-long Daily Games promotion is launched where players
who submit $10 worth of non-winning Pick 3 or Pick 4 tickets receive
a free, 48-page "Lucky Numbers Book." The Lottery distributed
more than 30,000 books, which contain how-to-play information, winner
profiles, "fun facts," and past winning numbers.
Nov. 3 - Michael Jordan's jersey numbers pay off big in the Lottery's
Pick 4 evening drawing (and opening night for the Chicago Bulls). The
numbers, 2-3-4-5, result in a payout of $1,819,5000, the third largest
in Lottery history. Jordan, who wears 23 for the Bulls, wore 45 early
in last year's comeback season (and as a White Sox minor leaguer). Jordan
scores a game-high 42 points as the Bulls topped Charlotte.
Nov. 29 - The first of 8 consecutive "Home for Holidays"
Lotto drawings is held. Players who purchase a $5 Lotto ticket for one
or more of the drawings are eligible for the bonus drawing. One bonus
prize is awarded each drawing. Prizes range from $5,000 (for the first
seven drawings) to a new home - or $150,000 - courtesy of Town &
Country Homes (final drawing).
1996
Mar. 4 - Pick 4 sales for the week ending March 4, 1996 reached $2,962,859,
the highest weakly sales since the inception of Pick 4. This surpasses
the previous May 1, 1995 sales record of $2.72 million.
Mar. 22 - The first drawing of the Universal Studios, Florida "Breakaway"
Promotion begins. Players who purchase a $5 Little Lotto ticket for
one or more of 12 bonus drawings receive a bonus number. One player's
number is selected after each drawing to wins a trip for four to Universal
Studios in Florida and $1,200.
July 24 - With more than 1.5 million entries received, the Lotto Fantastic
Fantasy Promotion was a big success. Players who purchase a $5 Lotto
ticket enter a drawing for one of the five fantasy prizes - car, boat,
home improvement, shopping spree and cash.
Aug. 30 - The Lottery's "Legends of the Fall" instant game
offers football fans five, separate "collector edition" $1
tickets. Each ticket features a different Chicago Bear, including pictures,
autographs and interesting facts. Former Bears players featured include
Gale Sayers, Mike Ditka, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, and William Perry.
Sep. 6 - The big news is the Big Game, a multi-state Lotto game with
weekly drawings offering hundred of thousands of dollars in prizes.
The mega-million jackpot game features include nine ways to win eight
different prizes. Tickets are offered in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia,
Maryland, Michigan, and Massachusetts. For $1, players choose five numbers
from 1 - 50 and a sixth bonus number from 1 - 25.
Nov. 21 - For the second consecutive holiday season, the Lottery teams
with Town and Country Homes for a month-long Lotto promotion. More than
2 million "Home for the Holidays" entries are received, an
all-time record. A Bloomington man and Chicago woman win $150,000 homes.
1997
Feb. 14 - The final of four Cadillac Sevilles is awarded in the Pick
3 "Ride in Style" promotion. More than 250,000 players mailed
in $5 worth of non-wining tickets for a chance to win one of the $41,000
cars.
Feb. 19 - Lotto subscribers Thomas and Carol Leischner win $3 million
- the second group of subscribers to win a multi-million dollar jackpot.
Mar. 1 - Lori S. Montana takes the helm as the seventh Director of
the Illinois State Lottery. She was appointed to the post February 7
by Governor Jim Edgar.
April 4 - Big Game jackpot grows to $79.7 million, the largest jackpot
ever offered in Illinois. The jackpot is split by three winners (two
from Massachusetts and one from Georgia). Six Illinois players each
win $150,000.
May 13 - The Lottery introduces its first $3 instant game, "Special
Edition Win For Life," which features nine "lifetime"
prizes of $1,000, $2,000, or $5,000 a week for life.
June 2 - A 12-drawing "License to Win" Little Lotto promotion
is launched. The promotion requires a $5 single-drawing purchase. Twelve
players win Dodge vehicles of their choice (up to $20,000 value).
June 3 - The Lottery expands its website to include winning numbers
from every drawing since the Lottery's inception, as well as all remaining
prizes for every available instant game.
July 1 - The Lottery links its "free" 800 player hotline
to a professional gambling help-line. Callers with gambling problems
can receive 24-hour assistance from professional counselors.
July 15 - The Lottery further solidifies its partnership with Illinois'
horse racing industry by launching Derby Dollars, a horse racing instant
game with ties to four separate Illinois horse racing tracks.
July 18 - Chicagoan Frank Byczek wins $19.6 million, then the largest
Big Game prize won to by an Illinois player. Byczek gives a $1,000 tip
to the clerk who sold him the ticket.
July 19 - For the first time in its history, the Lottery cross-promotes
on-line and instant products. Consumers who buy a Lotto ticket between
July 19 and July 26 receive a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" coupon for
the Grand Slam instant game. More than 2.2 million coupons were generated.
August 10 - A new "Wrecking Ball" segment is added to the
Lottery's Illinois Instant Riches TV game show.
September - Illinois becomes the first business entity in the nation
to "wrap" a rapid transit train in vinyl for advertising purpose.
The 8-car Lottery "El" train will run for 4 months on the
north/south "Redline" that runs through Chicago's famous "Loop".
Each of the 8 cars is dedicated to one of the Lottery's on-line games.
Inside, 26 playcards are reserved exclusively for Lottery advertisements.
Sept. 16 - The Lottery's 5-ticket "Lucy & Desi" instant
ticket collector's series is introduced. World-renowned Lucille Ball
impersonator Suzanne LaRusch joins Lottery Director Lori Montana in
unveiling the series at Viacom Store on Chicago's Michigan Ave. The
Lottery's latest retro-theme ticket series is a hot seller with consumers.
Oct. 1 - "Bonus Buy" on-line promotion is launched, under
which players receive $6 worth of Lottery quick-pick ($1 Big Game, $2
Lotto, and $3 Little Lotto) for only $5. During its 6 week run, more
than $2.4 million worth of Bonus Buy tickets are sold, introducing the
Big Game and multi-draw options to hundreds of thousands of players.
Nov. 24 - The Lottery mails holiday discount coupons to 1 million
Illinois households offering a buy one (or two) instant ticket(s) and
receive a free $1 instant ticket. Nearly 19.4 percent of the coupons
are redeemed.
Dec. 1 - The Lottery's holiday instant game line-up us expanded to
include six separate games, including Merry Money gift tags, a perforated
$1 ticket that separates into two gift tags.
Dec. 31 - Lottery Director Lori Montana climbs into a huge drawing
drum before a room full of news media to select the $1 million all-cash
winner in "Lotto's $1,000,000 New Year's Eve Countdown" promotion.
Nearly 2 million entries are received from players across the state.
Lim Burch of Metamora wins the lucky $1million prize, while 25 other
players each win 2nd-place prizes of $1,998.
1998
Jan 15 - "New Lotto…All the Money, All Once" is introduced,
featuring an all-cash jackpot that begins at $1 million and increases
with every rollover, a 6-48 matrix, and a free $1 instant game prize
for matching only 3 numbers. Over the first two months of the game,
sales increase 30 percent over comparable "old" Lotto jackpots.
Jan. 16 - The Lottery mails Valentine's Day discount coupons to 1
million Illinois households offering a buy one (or two, or three) instant
ticket(s) and receive a free $1 instant ticket. More that 20.5 percent
of the coupons are redeemed.
Jan. 26 - The Lottery introduced a 4-ticket "Three Stooges"
instant game series, the latest in a long line of nostalgic, retro Lottery
products. The game is supported with TV ads that feature clips fr5om
actual Stooges movies.
Feb. 9 - Weekly Pick 4 sales total $3.065 million, an all-time record;
weekly Pick 3 sales total $7.608 million, a near record.
Feb. 10 - A second weekly Big Game drawing is added on Tuesdays. During
the initial weeks of the semi-weekly drawings, sales increase by some
60 percent compared to the once-a-week format.
Feb. 23 - The Lottery announces that instant games players have a
full year, instead of 60 days, to redeem winning instant tickets. Players
continue to have 60 days from the announced end of game to claim prizes
in-store; however, they now have an additional 10-month "grace
period" during which players can file a claim form and receive
a check three to five weeks later.
March 9 - The first "High Payout Week" is launched for Pick
3 and Pick 4. Players who win during this week receive prizes that are
20 percent higher than normal. The "high payout" week is selected
randomly and repeated for a period of several months. More that 3,700
agents receive cash bonuses for meeting or exceeding sales goals.
March 31 - Bonus Buy II is launched. Through April 29, consumers can
purchase $6 worth of Quick picks (2 each of Lotto, Big Game, and Little
Lotto) for only $5. Agents receive an extra $.25 bonus for every Bonus
Buy set sold after the 25th set. Like the first Bonus Buy program, sales
top $400,000 per week.
April 7 - Ancel and Connie Young purchase consumers receive a coupon
for a "Buy one $1 instant ticket, get one free." About 1.5
million coupons are issued. The promotion runs May 10-16, and the coupon
expire may 31, 1998.
June 16 - The Lottery extends to one full year the time period for
claiming 3-of6 Lotto prizes. Players may claim such prizes in-store
up to 60 days after the drawing; after 60 days, players can submit a
claim form to the Lottery and receive their prize via the mail.
June 19 - The Lottery begins a year-long celebration of its 25th year
by launching-at its bi-annual Millionaires Reunion-a $2, "25th
Anniversary Cash" instant ticket that will be available for an
entire year. The ticket launch, held at Chicago's Scuzzi! Restaurant,
garners huge media coverage across Illinois.
July 13 - The Lottery lauches Baywatch, a four-ticket instant games
series where players can win up to #3,000 or one of five trips for 2
to LA to watch a Baywatch taping and meet the cast of the popular TV
show. An overlay program offers cool Baywatch merchandise to consumers
who participate in "Watch n' Win" and "Listen n' Win"
promotions with TV and radio stations across Illinois.
July 27 - The Lotto and Ameritech announce a first-in-the-nation joint
venture that utilizes the Lottery's on-line computer network to activate
"Ameritech-Lotto PrePaid Phone Cards." With the purchase of
the $10 and $20 phone cards, consumers receive a free $1 or $2 Lotto
quick pick ticket, respectively, paid for by Ameritech.
August 4 - The first Tuesday Little Lotto drawing is held, marking
the beginning of 5-day-a-week Little Lotto drawings. The move provides
players added convenience and opportunity to play the Lottery's popular
5-of-30 game.
August 29 - The Lottery's new "Illinois Luckiest" TV game
show debuts nationwide on WGN-TV. The new show features 18 contestants
(instead of 15) all of whom get the opportunity to compete on-camera.
Contestants win entry on the show by playing the all-new "Illinois'
Luckiest" instant game, or by playing the "25th Anniversary
Cash" game. Since the TV game show was first introduced in 1989,
the Illinois Lottery has awarded more than $53 million in cash and prizes
to game show contestant. Like the two previous Lottery TV game shows,
"Illinois' Luckiest" is the only TV game show produced in
Illinois.
September - A multi-media instant game branding campaign is launched
with a new tagline - "It Can Happen In An Instant." The campaign's
TV commercials feature state-of-the-art animated dancers who move in
unison to infections swing and salsa music. In addition to related radio
and print ads, the Lottery utilizes a new advertising medium - stylish
instant game "go cards" available at trendy Chicago-area restaurants.
Sept. 23 - The Lottery unveils four changeable "Millionaire Tally"
billboards in the Chicago area. The "935 Millionaires and Counting"
message is updated every time a millionaire is created. A similar 8-foot-long
sign is created for use at Lottery news conferences and winning events.
Nov. 5 - The Lottery unveils four changeable "Millionaire Tally"
billboards in the Chicago area. The "935 Millionaires and Counting"
message is updated every time a millionaire is created. A similar 8-foot-long
sign is created for use at Lottery news conferences and winner events.
Nov. 9 - The Lottery launches a holiday subscription discounts program,
under which subscribers receive up to 4 week's worth of free drawings.
The available discounts are promoted via in-store POS and are the largest
subscription discounts ever offered by the Lottery.
Nov. 11 - The Lottery introduces "Yule Win," a $5 holiday
instant game where every ticket wins either cash or a free $1instant
ticket. Yule Win is one of seven holiday instant games, the most ever
offered by the Lottery.
Nov. 16 - From Nov. 16 through Dec. 31, Daily Games players have a
chance to win 20 percent higher prizes for each and every Pick 3 and
4 drawing. The bonus prizes are determined by a special drawing; 5 green
and 5 red balls are placed in a drawing machine. Then, one of the balls
is selected. If a green ball is selected, prize payouts climb to 60
percent, rather than the normal 50 percent.
Nov. 19 - Sales begin for "Lotto's Holiday in Las Vegas"
promotion. Through December 19, every $5 Lotto purchase creates a terminal-generated
coupon, which consumers mail to Springfield for a chance to win one
of 35 trips for two to Las Vegas. One trip is awarded daily from Thanksgiving
Day through New Year's Eve.
Dec. 15 - The Lottery announces a 25th Anniversary Logo Contest open
to all Illinois residents 18 or older. The winning logo will receive
$10,000, with five runners-up each receiving $1,000. An advisory committee
comprised of 25 young adults will select the six finalists. The winning
logo will be determined by visitors to the Lottery's newly-revamped
website(www.illinoislottery.com) who will vote for their favorite design.
The new logo will be used selectively to promote the fun and youthful
aspects of the Lottery, and will supplement the Lottery's traditional
pot-of-gold logo.
1999
Jan. 13 - The Big Game's Big Money Ball matrix changes from 1/25 to
1/36. This revision changes the odds of winning the grand prize jackpot
to 1 in 76.2 million.
Jan. 27 - The Lottery launches $10,000 Money Maze, which features
a new, extended game-play.
Mar. 19 - The Lottery debuts the WCW Wrestling Match instant game
at Navy Pier in Chicago. Wresting stars Ric Flair and Bill Goldberg
unveiled oversize instant tickets featuring their images, and Lori Montana
debuted the WCW/Lottery t-shirt featuring 15 WCW wrestlers. Players
can win the one-of-a-kind t-shirt by collecting three tickets with the
word "T-SHIRT" in the bonus area.
Mar. 24 - The $10,000 Logo contest winner is announced. Bridget Cahill,
23, a Chicago graphic artist, received an oversized check for $10,000
featuring her winning logo. (See December 15, 1998)
Apr. 6 - The largest Big Game jackpot to date, and the second largest
in United States History--$197 million-is hit in Boston, MA. During
the 17 rollover run, 47 winning $150,000 tickets were sold in Illinois.
All told, Illinois retailers sold more than $83 million worth of tickets.
Big Game fever resulted in a single-week sales record of $57.2 million
(all games) for the week ending April 5.
Apr. 12 - "The Mummy" instant game is released in coordination
with the new Universal Pictures movie of the same name, which will begin
on May 7.
Apr. 14 - Lotto matrix changes from 6/48 to 6/52, with a new prize
structure of $3 for matching 3 numbers.
May 26 - New Jersey joins the Big Game, resulting in bigger, quicker-building
Big Game jackpots.
June 16 - The IL Lottery, the first Lottery ever to partner with Ticketmaster,
unveils its new "Instant Access" instant game by hosting a
House of Cards building contest at Chicago's Navy Pier with Guinness
World Record Holder Bryan Berg serving as judge. Similar events are
held in Springfield and Rockford. The $2 instant game features $10,000
cash prizes and a bonus-area for winning $100 Ticketmaster gift certificates.
Radio stations across Illinois offer listeners a chance to win tickets
to the summer's top concerts and sporting events.
July 8 - The IL Lottery is named by its peers the "Best Lottery
Innovator" at the 4th Annual Lottery World Symposium held in Washington
D.C.
July 20 - The Lottery presents its first annual "Heart of Gold"
award to Loyd Elam of Lincoln. Elam, who won $7 million in 1991, annually
treats a group of 35 to 40 underprivileged children to a chartered-bus
trip to attend a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Elam received the
wood-and-bronze award from Lottery Director Lori Montana. The Cubs beat
the Royals 8-7!
August 3 - Matt Burnett of Chicago uses a one-of-a-kind "Double
21" instant ticket to surprise his long-time girlfriend, Jill Maurer,
with a marriage proposal. The romantic ruse garnered nationwide publicity,
including an extensive report on NBC's Today Show. And yes, Jill, said
"I will".
September - The Lottery unveils a new quarterly publication for its
960-plus millionaires, "Winners". The publication receives
glowing reviews from its target audience.
Nov. 9 - A winning $63 million Big Game ticket, the largest Big Game
ticket ever sold in Illinois, is claimed by two long-time friends and
CTA co-workers. A Nov. 24 news conference with Bob Powell and Michael
Flynn attracts a room fill of reporters who report the news as the perfect
Thanksgiving Day story.
Nov. 18 "Lucky" the Lottery cow mooooves home! After being
on display all summer as part of Chicago's successful Cows on Parade
program, Lucky is welcome home by scored on Lottery employees. The event
makes news across the state!
Dec. 3 The Lottery announces that 100 people who purchase a Lotto
or Little Lotto subscription between Dec. 2 and Dec. 14 will each win
a free, 13-week Lotto subscription. A double-decker bus replete with
singing "Jingle Balls" helps get the word out to consumers.
2000
January - The Lottery launches "Ripley's Believe it or Not!",
a 16-ticket instant-game series featuring fun and unusual Illinois people,
places and things. Several of the people featured on the tickets-including
Sue Zera of Columbia-accompanied Lottery Director Lori Montana in announcing
the new game, which garnered media coverage throughout the state. Zera,
a former store clerk, is featured on a ticket because in 1988 she incorrectly
entered a customer's Lotto numbers on a ticket and was forced to buy
the ticket-per the store's policy. Ripley's became interested in Zera
after the next Lotto drawing, when the former clerk's unwanted ticket
won her $10 million-believe it or not!
March - The Illinois Lottery launches a fun, new advertising campaign
called "Player's Have More Fun." The campaign features a heavy
focus of outdoor advertising. In addtion, billboards and radio ads feature
Illinois celebrities suck as Mike Ditka, Mark Grace, Buddy Guy, and
others.
May - The Illinois Lottery reached a total of $10 billion in transfers
to the Common School Fund.
May 9 - The Big Game reached a record setting $363 million jackpot,
the largest in North American history. The jackpot was split by a family
in Michigan and Joe and Sue Kainz of Tower Lakes, Illinois.
June 2 - The Illinois Lottery launches a new instant ticket called
Let's Make A Deal during it's Big annual Millionaires' Reunion. A visit
from Monty Hall was a highlight of the event.
June 30 - The Illinois Lottery ends Fiscal Year 2000 with sales reaching
$1.5 billion for the 12th consecutive year.
July - The Illinois Lottery starts an innovative, grass-roots marketing
and public relations "Player's Tour" at the funky Buddha Lounge
in Chicago. Each month the Lottery visits venues around the state.
September - The Illinois Lottery won four awards during the National
Assocation of State and Providencial Lotteries Conference. The awards
were for Best Original Radio Campaign, Best Billboard Campaign, Best
Advetising Campaign, and Best Special Promotional Event.
October - The Illinois Lottery launches a new casino style game featuring
the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Top prizes are $25,000 cash
and trips for two to Aladdin.
Oct. 21 - The final Illinois' Luckiest (previously Fortune Hunt and
then Illinois Instant Riches) TV game show airs. This shows features
25 contestants and a $200,000 grand prize winner.
November - The Illinois Lottery launches it's first $10 instant ticket,
Merry Millionaire. By the end of December the Lottery had it's first
"Merry Millionaire"-Peter Diventi of Rockford.
2001
March - Eddie and Eunice Suber are presented with a "big check"
as the sole winners of a $33 million Lotto jackpot. This was the highest
Lotto jackpot since Lotto reached $36 million in 1997. During this same
news conference, Shonece King and Tajuana Bibbs are presented with a
commemorative check for $1 million for winning a top prize on the Lottery's
second $10 instant game, "$1 Million Cash."
April - The Illinois Lottery partners with the popular vacation company
FunJet for its "Fun in the Sun" promotion. Players received
an entry form for the promotion with every $5 Lotto and Little Lotto
ticket purchase.
May 6 - The Lottery partners with the Illinois Bureau of Tourism to
launch its unique "Illinois Road Trip" instant ticket, where
players can win cash prizes, a Sport Utility Vehicle and mini-vacations
to exclusive destinations across Illinois. The Lottery holds second-chance
drawings for the SUV and trips throughout the summer.
July 2 - The Lottery launches its "Ultimate Bleacher Bum"
promotion. Through August 10, players who purchase a $5 Big Game ticket
receive an entry for a second-chance drawing to win $100,000 and an
exclusive skybox party for 14 friends during the Cubs vs. St. Louis
game on Aug. 24 at Wrigley Field.
July 19 - The "Harley Davidson" instant game launches with
a "hog calling contest" in front of a Harley-Davidson retail
store in Chicago. Illinois hog calling champion Joe Conguisti is on
hand to show the city folks how hog calling is really done. Lottery
Director Lori Montana arrives on a "hog" of a Harley to join
the festivities. The $5 Harley Davidson ticket features top prizes of
$100,000 and the chance to win Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycles
instantly. Players who send in non-winning Harley-Davidson tickets can
enter several second-chance drawings to win Harley Sportsters or Harley
merchandise.
August 24 - The Lottery announces its "Ultimate Bleacher Bum,"
Michael Brock, and presents him with a "big check" for $100,000
at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
October 23 - The Lottery begins "Extra," an instant-win
feature for two of its online games.
Dec. 19 - The New York Lottery announces it will join the Big Game
in the spring of 2002 during a press conference at Radio City Music
Hall with the Rockettes.
2002
January 25 - The Lottery announces its 1000th millionaire, Steve Harris
of Effingham, during a press conference at the ESPN Zone in Chicago.
Mr. Harris won the December 22, 2001, Lotto drawing for $9 million.
Feb. 11 - The Ohio Lottery announces it will join the Big Game.
Feb. 13 - The Lottery is presented with a plaque in recognition for
its leadership role in carrying out the Governor's Green Illinois Executive
Order. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency presented awards
to seven agencies for their accomplishments to reduce energy use, cut
waste generation, using environmentally friendly materials, and saving
money.
April 3 - The Washington Lottery announces it will join the Big Game
in the Fall of 2002.
April 10 - The nine member states comprising the Big Game Group announces
the launch of Mega Millions, the nation's newest and most exciting multi-state,
mega-jackpot lottery game. Mega Millions expects to achieve an average
jackpot of $80 million with the potential to exceed $500 million based
on expected ticket sales across all participating jurisdictions. Tickets
for the Mega Millions game will be sold exclusively in Georgia, Illinois,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia,
and Washington (due to join in the Fall of 2002). Tickets for Mega Millions
will go on sale Wednesday, May 15, 2002 and the first televised drawing
will be conducted on Friday, May 17, 2002.
April 16 - The Big Game achieves the second largest jackpot in North
American history by rolling over 20 times and reaching $331 million.
(The largest jackpot title is held by the Big Game of May 9, 2000.)
Winning tickets were sold in New Jersey, Georgia, and Illinois. Illinois
now has sold 22 of the winning Big Game jackpot tickets, which is followed
by Georgia with 12.
April 26 - The Illinois Lottery has a $12 million winner in the Big
Game. Ultimately, this winner is the very last winner of the Big Game.
May 15 - Tickets go on sale for "Mega Millions," which replaces
the Big Game. The original Big Game Group is joined by the states of
Ohio and New York to offer Mega Millions. Tickets cost $1 each and jackpots
start at $10 million.
May 17 - The first Mega Millions drawing produces one winner - in Illinois.
Samuel and Frances Rice and their daughter Caroline Southall of Chicago
were presented with the commemorative check at a press conference on
June 25 for the $28 million jackpot.
May 24 - The second Mega Millions winner is again found in Illinois.
Susan Hannoun accepted a $12 million commemorative check at the June
25 press conference.
June 12 - The second Ultimate Bleacher Bum second chance promotion is
launched offering nine weekly $10,000 prizes, 45 Cubs merchandise packets,
and one "Ultimate" prize of $100,000 plus a trip for 15 to
a Cubs game in a luxury skybox at Wrigley Field.
June 14 - The Lottery launches its second Harley-Davidson instant game.
It is a two dollar instant ticket offering a total of six $25,000 top
cash prizes and eight Anniversary Special Edition Harley-Davidson Sportser
1200 Custom Motorcycles.
June 17 - The launch of the Illinois Lottery's second Crossword instant
ticket is expected to be just as successful as the first. There also
will be a winter edition of the popular game.
June 30 - The Illinois Lottery closes Fiscal Year 2002 with sales of
$1.59 billion, which top the previous year's sales by more than $140
million. This is the highest year-to-year sales increase for the Illinois
Lottery since Fiscal Year 1989 and the fifth-highest sales year in Lottery
history.
Aug. 26 - The Illinois Lottery launches its first Wheel of Fortune 20th
Anniversary instant game. The three-dollar ticket offers over $5 million
total in prizes with five top prizes of $40,000 each. A unique second
chance feature of the ticket includes drawings for the chance to win
an audition for the Wheel of Fortune game show.
Sept. 4 - The state of Washington joins the Mega Millions game bringing
the total states in the Mega Millions group to ten.
Sept. 27 - Illinois sells its third Mega Millions grand prize winning
ticket since the game started in May, 2002.
Oct. 19 - The Illinois Lottery's "Boleto Gigante" promotion
ends with 15 lucky winners who attended the Vicente and Alejandro Fernandez
"farewell" concert at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. Two
of those winners had the opportunity to go backstage to meet Vicente.
Players entered the promotion by sending five dollars' worth of non-winning
tickets.
Oct. 25 - The Illinois Lottery's latest Mega Millions winners (from
Sept. 27), the MSB Partnership, are introduced during a press conference
in the Lottery's Chicago office. Barbara and George Martinek accept
a commemorative check for $37 million
Oct. 28 - A new extension of the Lottery's "Players Have More Fun"
advertising campaign is introduced. The integrated campaign features
fun television spots, radio spots and print ads.
Dec. 9 - The Lottery recorded $14.65 million in instant sales in one
week, the highest in Lottery history. The next highest one-week instant
sales for the Lottery were $14.40 million, recorded after the week ending
March 21, 1994.
2003
Feb. 14 - Following the Lottery’s special “Thank you” promotion, “The Fun For All Cash Give-away,” 20 lucky players were drawn from nearly one million entries. Each winner received $10,000.
Mar. 17 - The Boleto Gigante launches featuring two all-expense paid trips for two to the 2003 Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami, Florida.
Apr. 21 - The Lottery launches “Fun for Summer,” an innovative summer promotion featuring chances to win exclusive concert tickets and $100,000.
June 1 - The Illinois Lottery once again becomes a part of the Illinois Department of Revenue.
June 18 - Carolyn Adams begins her tenure as the Superintendent of the Illinois Lottery.
June 30 - The Lottery ends Fiscal Year 2003 with the highest-ever Instant sales of $698 million.
Aug. 20 - “The Flying Elvi,” parachute into the fairgrounds and help Governor Rod Blagovich and Superintendent Carolyn Adams launch the Lottery’s first “Elvis” instant ticket during the Illinois State fair. This ticket offers seven top prizes of $10,000 and features five memorable photographic highlights of Elvis Presley’s career (which the Governor recounts during the tickets’ State Fair launch).
November - Ezekiel “Zeek” and Karen Garnett claim their $10.5 million Lotto prize after retrieving their winning ticket from the garbage. Ordinarily, the Garnett’s garbage was put out and whisked away on garbage day. However, because of the City of Chicago garbage strike some weeks earlier, the garbage bag containing the winning ticket was still sitting outside when the two went to search for tickets they had thrown away.
December - Pick 3 “Double Draw” promotion offers a special chance to Players for the month of December. Following each Pick 3 drawing a special drawing is held to see if a second Pick 3 number will be drawn, giving Players a second chance on their tickets. If a “green” ball is pulled from the barrel of mostly white balls, the Lottery will immediately hold another Pick 3 and will pay out on both sets of numbers.
Dec. 3 - Texas joins the Mega Millions game, bringing the total states in the Mega Millions group to eleven.
2004
Feb. 20 - Mega Millions reaches the then highest jackpot of $239 million; winning ticket sold in Virginia.
Feb. 25 - “New Little Lotto” begins, featuring a new 5/39 matrix, rolling jackpots starting at $100,000, and a new prize level for matching just two numbers and also expanded the drawings to 7 days per week.
Mar. 4 - First Monday night drawing for Lotto is held.
Mar. 8 - The Second-Annual Big Ticket (Boleto Gigante) promotion launches, with two lucky players winning expense-paid trips to the 2004 Latin Music Awards in Miami, Florida.
April 12 - The Lottery launches its 30th Anniversary $3 million Second Chance Promotion. This is the highest total prize money offered for a second-chance promotion in Illinois. Players have the chance to enter and win 20 weekly drawings for $100,000, and a Grand Prize drawing of $1 million. The Lottery hosts several events throughout the summer, including an “Anniversary Party” on July 1 with special guest J. J. Walker. The introduction of the “Have A Ball” advertising campaign featuring Bernie Mac has everybody saying, “Woo!” Seven new instant games featuring the 30th Anniversary “Have A Ball” theme offer over $100 million in prizes.
May 4 - The Lottery breaks another record, the all-time highest Instant Ticket sales for one-day of $3.43 million.
June 28 - “Numbers Now” begins, replacing Extra for the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games. Numbers Now features the same odds—and 20 percent higher prizes—as regular Pick 3 and Pick 4, with prizes that are paid instantly and “announced” via a terminal jingle.
June 30 - The Lottery ends Fiscal Year 2004 with the highest-ever sales totaling $1.7 billion, and Common School Fund transfers of $570 million.
July 2 - Mega Millions reaches a high of $294 million, won by Geraldine Williams of Lowell, Massachusetts. This is the highest single-winner payout in the history of Mega Millions/Big Game.
July 16 - “Sony Xtreme” instant ticket is launched, the first time the Lottery partners with Sony Corporation. This ticket offers the chance to instantly win one of 76 42-inch Plasma TVs (the first Plasma TV we’ve offered) or up to $25,000.
Sept. 23 - The Lottery holds its 30th Anniversary Grand Finale Drawing for $1,000,000. Karen Willemalck of Round Lake Park is the lucky winner. Throughout the promotion over 1.19 million entries are received.
December - “Green Ball Double Draw” Pick 3 promotion is held from December 1 to December 24. Following each Pick 3 drawing a special drawing is held to see if a second Pick 3 number will be drawn, giving Players a second chance on their tickets. If a “green” ball is pulled from the barrel of mostly white balls, the Lottery will immediately hold another Pick 3 and will pay out on both sets of numbers. The “green” ball was selected eight times.
2005
January 14 - Maui Money instant ticket and promotion launches. Players have the chance to win up to $100,000 or a trip for two to the Island of Maui in Hawaii. Non-winning tickets can also be redeemed for a $100 discount on a flight to Hawaii via United Airlines.
January 24 - The Lottery launches another popular “Boleto Gigante” promotion. “The Big Ticket to Universal Orlando Resort” promotion offers two lucky winners a trip for two to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Sharon Hanneman of Harwood Heights and Connie Harmony of Round Lake are the winners drawn on February 24.
February California announces it will join the Mega Millions multi-state game.
Feb. 28 - The Illinois Lottery reaches a record high for Instant Ticket weekly sales of $19.31 million.
March 1 - “Shamrock Shuffle” from March 1 – 22 offers Pick 3 Players a possible double chance to win on their tickets. If a “green” ball is pulled from a special barrel of mostly white balls, the Lottery will immediately hold another Pick 3 drawing and will pay out on both sets of numbers. The “green” ball was selected six times.
April 1 - The Illinois Lottery launches its first $20 instant ticket, $50 Million Spectacular. Total prizes available of $50 million with three top prizes of $2 million. The Game sells out weeks ahead of schedule.
April 1 - “Road to Riches” promotion launches offering 20 weekly drawings starting May 5. Each week the winning entry will receive the keys to a new car that they will receive during a September 24 grand finale. The 20 winners will gather at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago to claim their car and, upon opening the trunk, find an additional prize of between $25,000 to $1 million cash. More than 1.6 million entries are received during the promotion, including 332,000 entries received via www.illinoislottery.com In addition to the consumer winners, the Lottery offered a retailer promotion that awarded 40 retailers with $2,500 bonuses ($100,000 in total prize money for retailers).
April 4 - A Monday draw is added to Lotto for a total of three draws per week.
April 14 - The Illinois Lottery conducts “The Big Ticket “ (Boleto Gigante) promotion drawing. The winners, Mike Pernicka and Kim Pascal, each receive a trip for two to the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards held in Miami, Florida.
May 9 - The Illinois Lottery reaches an all-time record high for Instant Ticket weekly sales of $21.05 million.
May 18 - The Illinois Lottery in conjunction with the Chicago Tribune and JJ Peppers conducts the “Lotto Second Chance Promotion” drawing. The winner, Elaine Fisher, receives a trip for two to Maui.
June 22 - California begins selling Mega Millions tickets as the 12th state in this multi-state cooperation.
June 22 - The Illinois Lottery launches “Mega Tripler” Promotion. If a Mega Million ticket printed between June 22 and July 22 contains the “Mega Tripler” phrase at the top and bottom and the player wins prize levels 6 through 9 then the prize is “tripled.”
June 24 - First draw of “New” Mega Millions is held in Hollywood, when California becomes the 12th state to offer Mega Millions. Game changes include - matrix changes to 1/56 and 1/46, starting jackpot increases to $12 million, second prize increases to $250,000, and third prize increases to $10,000.
June 30 - Illinois Lottery completes another record fiscal year (FY05). Highest-ever sales reached $1.84 billion, which allowed the Illinois Lottery to transfer a record amount of $614 million to the Common School Fund. Instant ticket sales had a record of $904 million.
October - The Lottery launches 19 day (Oct 1-19) Little Lotto Super Game promotion that offers daily prizes of trips for 4 to the Super football game to be held in Detroit in February 2006.
October - The popular Battleship instant game (#406) is offered in mid-October. That same month, the Lottery launches the first of seven holiday-themed instant games. The $10 Merry Millionaire game (#415) is the first Lottery game that comes in books with alternating red and green tickets. Three retailers with $5,000 bonuses tied to sales of holiday instant games.
November - The Lottery caps its retailer selling bonus at $500,000, which is still one of the most generous in the industry.
Dec. 1-24 - The Lottery reintroduces its popular Green Ball Double Draw Pick 3 promotion. If a green ball is selected during the promotion, a 2nd set of winning Pick 3 numbers are drawn.
Dec. 31 - The final drawing of Numbers Now is held.
2006
January - The Illinois Lottery launches “Ticket For the Cure,” a $2 instant game whose proceeds support the fight against breast cancer. This ticket is the first of its kind in the United States.
February The Lottery launches $2 “Veterans Cash,” a first in the nation instant game that benefits Illinois veterans groups.
March 27 - Pick ‘n Play is launched, a new online game that combines the best of both instant and online games. To play, customers selected one of more play cards (that look like instant games without a scratch area) and take tem to the Lottery counter for purchase/activation; the Lottery clerk scans the play card, producing an online ticket that that is used to play game against the play card. The Lottery promotes Pick ‘n Play through advertising, POS materials, and a related Little Lotto promo (see below).
April 17-May 7 - A new online game, Pick ‘n Play, is launched as part of a special Little Lotto/Pick ‘n Play promotion. During the promotion, consumers receive a coupon for a free $2 Lucky Dough Pick ‘n Play ticket with every $5, single-drawing Little Lotto ticket purchased. Over 1 million winning Pick ‘n Play tickets are paid out during the first six weeks of the game. A related retailer Pick ‘n Play promotion sees 180 clerks win iPods or Visa gift cards ($100 or $200); an additional 18 retailers win $1,000 bonuses.
April - The Lottery launches a huge, summer-long promotion called “Set for Life.” Under the promotion, consumers mail in $30 in eligible non-winning tickets for a chance to win one of 16 great, lifetime prizes. Pick ‘n Play online tickets, and a suite of six Set for Life instant games are eligible for the promotion. Consumers can either mail their non-winning tickets to Springfield, or enter via the Lottery’s website. Sixteen winners (one per week) will gather at a September finale event at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the following prizes will be awarded” $100,000 a year for life (one prize); $7,000 a year for life (five prizes) and $3,500 a year for life (10 prizes). As part of the promotion, 32 retailers will each receive $3,000 bonuses.
May 12 - The Lottery partners with Chicago radio station WVON to provide women with free mammograms via a mobile examining truck. Free “Ticket for the Cure” giveaways at the event capture the spirit of the day!
June 30 - The Lottery ends Fiscal Year 2006 with record sales of $1.989 billion, and record Common School Fund transfers of $670.5 million.
July 11-31 - The Lottery reintroduces its popular Mega Tripler promotion from the past summer. During the promotion, Mega Millions tickets that win $10, $7, $3 or $2 and contain a promotional message pay out triple the amount.
August 1-31 - The popular Green Ball Double Draw Pick 3 promotion is reintroduced—the first time it is offered during the summer. If a green ball is selected, a second set of winning Pick 3 numbers is drawn.
November - The Lottery offers two instant game firsts, as part of its holiday instant game lineup - $5 Gift Tag Bonus (five tickets in one, including four to -/from - gift tags); and $15 Holiday Countdown (the Lottery’s first $15 game), a huge 7.5” x 11” game that opens like a countdown calendar. Three retailers each win $5,000 bonuses, as part of a holiday instant game/Pick ‘n Play retailer promotion.
2007
Jan 16 - A Chicago Bulls “Hot Seats” promotion is launched. Consumers who submit $10 worth of eligible non-winning tickets can win one of ten prize packages (valued at $450) that includes a Bulls Jersey, two game tickets and an on-court shoot-around. Over 17,400 entries are received.
Feb. 5 - “$20 St. Patrick’s Day Millionaire Raffle” is launched. A total of 500,000 tickets are sold sequentially throughout the state via the Lottery’s online terminals. Consumer reaction is overwhelmingly positive. The final, 500,000th ticket is sold March 1. On March 17, a drawing is held to select the following winners - Four $1 million winners, five $100,000 winners, and 500 $1,000 winners.
Feb. 5 - A Universal Studio “Big Ticket” promotion is launched. Over 53,000 entries are received ($5 non-winning tickets). Four players win expense-paid trips for two to Universal Studios worth nearly $4,000.
March 26 - Lottery Supt. Carolyn Adams passes away after a long battle with breast cancer. Memorial services are held in Chicago and Springfield for the late Superintendent. Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are among the many dignitaries who attend Supt. Adams’ funeral in Chicago. Gov. Blagojevich suggests changing the name of the Lottery’s Ticket For the Cure instant game to the “Carolyn Adams Ticket for the Cure.”
April - Department of Revenue executive Jodie Winnett is named Acting Lottery Superintendent.
June 21 - Summer Millionaire Raffle tickets go on sale. The Illinois Lottery launches a record-setting summer promotion called “Million Dollar Summer” with more than $300 million in total available cash prizes. This is the largest amount of available cash prizes of any promotion in Illinois Lottery history.
June 30 - Fiscal Year 2007 Lottery sales eclipse $2 billion for the first time ever!
July 31 - Summer Millionaire Raffle drawing is held, with 509 winners (including four $1 million prizes) selected from the 500,000 tickets sold.
August 31 - The Mega Millions jackpot reaches $330 million, the 2nd largest in Mega Millions history. The jackpot is split by four lucky players (one per state) in Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland and Texas. During the 8-week jackpot run, Illinois retailers sold over $49 million worth of tickets, including seven winning $250,000 tickets and 81 winning $10,000 tickets.
September - The Lottery launches a $5 Deal or No Deal (DoND) instant game. The game includes instant-win prizes of up to $100,000. A 2nd-chance component awards nine IL Lottery players with a trip to Hollywood (with one lucky contestant playing the DoND game show). A second, 2nd-chance component offers the chance to win $1 million!
Oct/Nov - The Lottery launches a 10-game suite of holiday instant tickets, including a huge, $15 game called Holiday Countdown (calendar-type game).
December 18 - A Shell station in Streamwood receives a $500,000 bonus for selling a grand prize Mega Millions ticket worth $81.5 million. A 2nd grand prize ticket worth $81.5 million was sold in New Jersey.
2008
Feb 18 - The Lottery launches Red Ribbon Cash, a $2 specialty game whose proceeds go to improving the lives of those living with HIV-AIDS.
Feb 21 - Sales begin for the latest Millionaire Raffle game, which sells out in 22 days.
June 16 - The first of 12 weekly drawings is held in the Replay For Riches summer promotion. Consumers submit $30 worth of eligible non-winning tickets for a chance to win one of 12 finalist prizes. Over 1 million entries are received during the 12-week promotion. Ascension Tristan of East Chicago is selected as the $1 million winner during a finale event held in late September at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field.
June 30 - Fiscal Year 2008 sales reach $2.078 billion, the largest single-year sales in Lottery history. FY08 transfers to the Common School Fund reach $657 million.
July 24 - Lottery Supt Jodie Winnett holds a press conference with Terry and Renee Hackman of Franklin Park. The Hackmans won $8.5 million in Mega Millions, the 2nd grand prize Mega Millions winner sold in Illinois in the last 6 months. The Hackmans bought their ticket at a Murphy Oil station in Dixon, which received an $85,000 selling bonus.
September 16 - The Lottery launches $2 “It’s Double Time!” All proceeds from this specialty instant game support the fight against Multiple Sclerosis.
Oct 3 - Halloween Millionaire Raffle tickets go on sale. 509 winning tickets—including four $1 million winners—are selected on Oct 31, 2008.
Oct 23 - Lottery Supt Jodie Winnett holds a press conference with Tammy Duckworth, director of the IL Dept of Veterans Affairs, to announce $2 Coin Craze, a new instant ticket that benefits Illinois Veterans. Coin Craze is the 6th instant game that benefits IL veterans to be offered by the Lottery. Over $6 million has been raised for IL veteran’s groups to date.
Dec 4-24 - The Lottery runs its popular, perennial holiday promotion - Pick 3 Green Ball Double Draw. When a green ball is selected in a special drawing, a second set of Pick 3 numbers is drawn (with the Lottery paying out on both sets of Pick 3 numbers).
2009
Jan 19 - Chicago Blackhawks fan Cary Stolarczyk wins $1 million as part of an in-stadium promotion with the Lottery. To win, the Blackhawks had to score a goal at precisely the 10-minute mark of the 2nd period (Martin Havlat did the scoring honors).
March 17 - 509 winners are selected in the Lottery’s third St. Patrick’s Day millionaire raffle. 500,000 tickets sell out in only 23 days!
March 23 - The Lottery launches a 2nd-chance Wedding of Your Dreams promotion, under which one lucky couple will win $25,000 in wedding-related expenses. Three finalist couples are selected via random drawing. Profiles of the three finalists are posted online, with the winning couple selected via online voting at telemundochicago.com. The winning couple has its wedding videotaped and aired (in part) on Telemundo.
April 1 - The Lottery launches its first “Pick 3 Red Ball” promotion. If a red ball is selected from April 1-21, prizes increase by 20 percent! A red ball is selected seven times during the 3-week promotion.
May 11 - Illinois residents can now purchase subscriptions to the Mega Millions game. Mega Millions subscriptions start at only $26.
May 15 - The Lottery launches a summer-long 35th Anniversary 2nd-Chance promotion. Consumers who mail in $35 worth of eligible non-winning tickets are entered in a drawing to win one of sixty $35,000 prizes awarded (five winners per week, or one per weekday) through September 1. During the promotion, $2.1 million is awarded in 2nd-chance cash.
July 1- FY09 Lottery sales total nearly $2.1 billion, the largest single-year sales in Lottery history; FY09 contributions to the Common School Fund total $625 million.
August - $3,000,000 Cash Spectacular, the Lottery’s first $30 instant game, is launched. It features 20 prizes between $1 million and $3 million, and has the largest prize-payout percentage of any instant game every offered by the Lottery. Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 2.46.
August 28 - The Mega Millions jackpot grows to $336 million, the then-2nd largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. During the 15-drawing run-up to $336 million, Illinois sold nine winning $250,000 tickets and 80 winning $10,000 tickets—plus more than 1.2 million other cash prizes for IL players. Jackpot prizes for this drawing were sold in California and New York.
September - The Lottery launches a multi-media “cash-alanche” ad campaign designed to peak interest in Mega Millions when the jackpot is relatively small. TV, radio, digital and out-of-home executions depict Mega winners buried in cash. The campaign receives high marks from the Chicago Sun-Times marketing columnist.
October 1 - The sixth Raffle game goes on sale, with 500,000 $20 tickets selling out in 30 days. Like previous raffles, there are 509 prizes awarded, including four top prizes of $1-million, and five $100,000 prizes.
November - The Lottery launches 10 holiday instant games, including $10 Merry Millionaire, which contains the first-ever “scratch my back” feature (three instant-win play areas on the ticket’s back)!
Dec 3-24: The Lottery runs its popular, perennial holiday promotion: Pick 3 Green Ball Double Draw. When a green ball is selected in a special drawing, a second set of Pick 3 numbers is drawn (with the Lottery paying out on both sets of Pick 3 numbers).
2010
January - $2 Chicago Blackhawks Cash is launched, the first Lottery instant game offered in conjunction with a National Hockey League. Players can win up to $20,000 in cash, or one of 875 Blackhawks game jerseys. A related 2nd-chance drawing awards two players with 1-of-a-kind trips to a Blackhawks road game, including an overnight stay at the Blackhawks team hotel, and the chance to ride the team bus to the game!
January 10 - The first midday, Sunday Pick 3/4 drawings are held. Pick 3:038 Pick 4:1170
January 31 - The Illinois Lottery begins selling tickets to Powerball, the Mega-Millions-like game with drawings every Wednesday and Saturday. Powerball offers a Powerplay option that doubles the ticket cost and multiplies most prizes between 2x and 5x. With the addition of Powerball, IL Lottery players now have four chances each week to win really big jackpots (via Powerball and Mega Millions).
Updated - January/2010
If you believe you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).
