Hey there! As an expert in home design and renovation, I‘m often looking for interesting facts and stats to share. So I decided to dig into the drawing schedule for the California Lottery. As a fellow gaming enthusiast, I thought you might find this information useful too!
The California Lottery offers a wide selection of draw games happening at various times. If you‘re hoping to win big, it‘s good to know exactly when your numbers get picked.
Here‘s a breakdown of the drawing schedule for California‘s most popular lottery games:
Daily 3 and Daily 4 Drawings
The Daily 3 and Daily 4 games have two drawings per day:
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Midday drawings are held around 1:30pm Pacific Time.
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Evening drawings happen between 6:00pm – 6:30pm Pacific Time.
These quick pick games are easy to play. Simply choose numbers between 0-9 and wait for the drawings twice a day.
In the 2021 fiscal year:
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Daily 3 had nearly $767 million in sales with total prizes of over $454 million.
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Daily 4 had $291 million in sales with total prizes around $173 million.
While the top prizes aren‘t huge, the odds of winning are way better than games like Powerball. I‘ll share more stats on odds a bit later.
Fantasy 5 Drawings
Fantasy 5 drawings are held daily at approximately 6:30pm Pacific Time.
To play, choose 5 numbers between 1-39. Match all five and you‘ll win the Fantasy 5 jackpot starting at $50,000. Match 2 and you can still win a free ticket.
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In FY 2021, Fantasy 5 had $88 million in sales and awarded over $49 million in total prizes.
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A $2 ticket has odds of 1 in 575,757 of hitting the jackpot. Overall odds of any prize are 1 in 8.
Fantasy 5 is one of the California Lottery games with the best odds. And drawings happen every day, so more chances to play and win!
Daily Derby Drawings
This unique racing-themed game has drawings every 4 minutes from 7:00am – 12:59am Pacific Time.
Pick the order of 3 horses to match the daily racing order. Match all 3 and you win the $221,000 grand prize. Match 2 for a $1,445 prize.
With 212 total races each day, you‘ll have lots of chances to win a prize. This game has awarded over $500 million since its launch in 2007.
SuperLotto Plus Drawings
SuperLotto Plus drawings are held twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:57pm Pacific Time.
Choose 5 numbers between 1-47 and a Mega number between 1-27 to play. Match all six and you‘ll win the jackpot starting at $7 million. Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 23.
The biggest SuperLotto Plus jackpot was $193 million split between 2 tickets in 2005. It‘s paid out over $4.8 billion in prizes since launch in 1986.
Mega Millions Drawings
Mega Millions drawings happen Tuesdays and Fridays at 8:00pm Pacific Time.
Select 5 numbers between 1-70 and a MegaBall between 1-25. Match all six and you could win a jackpot starting at $20 million. Odds are 1 in 302 million to hit the jackpot. But overall odds are 1 in 24 to win any prize.
The record Mega Millions prize in California was $420 million won by a single ticket in 2021. Across all states, the biggest MegaMillions jackpot was $1.537 billion in 2018.
Powerball Drawings
Powerball also has drawings twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. But the drawing is at 7:59pm Pacific Time.
Like Mega Millions, players pick 5 numbers between 1-69 and a Powerball between 1-26. Match all six to win a jackpot starting at $40 million. The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.87.
In August 2017, a single Powerball ticket in Massachusetts won a $758.7 million jackpot – the biggest Powerball prize ever! The record across all US lotteries is a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot in 2016.
As you can see, playing the huge multi-state games has worse odds but life-changing jackpot potential!
Tickets can be purchased daily from 5:00am to 2:00am Pacific Time. However, sales times may vary based on when retailers open and close each day.
All ticket sales are stopped in California from 1:59am to 5:00am Pacific Time each day. And sales are completely suspended on Christmas Day.
If you want to play, be sure to buy tickets during retail hours before the drawings happen. Don‘t wait until the last minute!
When you can expect to receive your prize money depends on the amount:
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Prizes $599 or less are usually available at Lottery retailers within 1 day of winning. Just return to the store and scan your ticket.
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Prizes $600 – $50,000 take 1-2 weeks to process after submitting a claim form. Wins will be mailed to you via check.
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Prizes over $50,000 can take 4-6 weeks to arrive by mail after completing the claim process.
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Jackpots over $10 million may take 6-8 weeks for payment. These huge prizes take extra time to verify.
Always sign your winning tickets immediately and store them securely until ready to claim. For prizes over $600, complete the claim form fully and provide valid ID when mailing it in.
Be sure to check the estimated payout timing on the Lottery website so you know when your prize money is expected to arrive.
Losing a winning ticket is every player‘s nightmare. Without the original ticket, you technically have no claim to a prize. Lottery tickets are bearer instruments, meaning physical possession equals ownership.
However, if you have convincing evidence you purchased the winner, like a photo of the ticket or retailer records, you can contact the Lottery‘s Investigations Division and file a claim. But there‘s no guarantee they will still pay out without the actual ticket.
To avoid problems, sign all tickets immediately after purchase and keep them very safe. Get them scanned by a retailer as soon as possible to confirm any wins. Don‘t delay on claiming prizes to avoid losing or misplacing tickets.
I‘d recommend keeping tickets in a fireproof safe or bank deposit box until you redeem them. Also take a clear photo or photocopy as back up evidence in case anything happens to the original. Protect yourself by handling winning tickets with extreme care!
The chances of winning the jackpot or other prizes varies widely across California Lottery games. Here are the odds for the most popular draw games:
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Fantasy 5: Odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 575,757. But overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 8.
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Daily 3: Odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 1,000. Overall odds of any prize are 1 in 4.7.
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Daily Derby: The chances of picking all 3 winning horses are 1 in 1,221,759. Overall odds are 1 in 8.
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SuperLotto Plus: Jackpot odds are 1 in 41,416,353. But overall odds to win are 1 in 23.
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Mega Millions: Hitting this jackpot starts at 1 in 302,575,350. Overall odds are 1 in 24.
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Powerball: Your chances of the grand prize are 1 in 292,201,338. Overall odds are 1 in 24.87.
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Scratchers: Vary widely based on prize amounts. But overall odds range from 1 in 3 to 1 in 5.
The huge jackpots clearly have very stacked odds. But games like Fantasy 5 and the daily draw games give you way better chances to win smaller prizes.
Starting with those before playing Powerball and Mega Millions can help boost your lottery skills! And be sure to play responsibly within your entertainment budget.
For scratcher games, any unclaimed prizes stay in the prize pool to fund future games and prizes. But for draw games, unclaimed prizes get returned proportionally to each state in the game.
In California, draw game prizes expire 180 days after the draw date. Scratcher prizes expire 180 days after the end of the game. These expired prizes get added to the education fund as required by California law.
So if you‘re lucky enough to win, be sure to claim your prize promptly! Letting winnings expire means less money for schools and less chance of increased future prizes.
Here are the largest jackpots ever won in California Lottery games:
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Powerball: $758.7 million (single ticket in Massachusetts in 2017)
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Mega Millions: $420 million (single California ticket in 2021)
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SuperLotto Plus: $193 million (split between 2 tickets in 2005)
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Fantasy 5: $36.6 million (split between 2 tickets in 2008)
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Scratchers: $30 million (top prizes on $30 scratcher games)
Since the California Lottery began in 1985, it has created over 40,000 millionaires and contributed $36 billion to public education. Could you be next to win?
Well, I hope this breakdown gives you a better overview of when and how to play the California Lottery! Let me know if you have any other lottery questions. And good luck if you decide to try your chances on any of these awesome games!
