View source for Tri-State Lottery

{{Short description|Lottery covering Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2021}}'''Tri-State Lottery''' is the terminal-generated game series offered by the [[Maine Lottery|Maine]], [[New Hampshire Lottery|New Hampshire]], and/or [[Vermont Lottery|Vermont]] lotteries. It was the first multi-jurisdictional lottery. Its first multi-state game (''Tri-State Megabucks'') came in September 1985.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Hampshire Lottery Commission : Megabucks|url=http://nhlottery.com/the-games/mb-info.asp|accessdate=2008-07-17 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080627202012/http://www.nhlottery.com/the-games/mb-info.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-06-27}}</ref> The compact (as of September 2017) includes five games: ''Megabucks'' (drawn Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays); ''Pick 3'' and ''Pick 4'' (both have "day" and "night" drawings daily, including Sundays), ''Gimme 5'' (drawn Monday to Friday), and ''Fast Play'' (terminal-generated "instant" tickets); the latter are games that differ among the three states.
== Games ==
The Tri-State lottery corporation is not part of the [[Multi-State Lottery Association]] (MUSL).
Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont offer individual [[scratchcard|instant (scratch) games]] (scratch games currently are not offered through MUSL, although it created the former scratch game [[Midwest Millions]]).
== History ==
Prior to the Tri-State compact, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont individually operated online games, including pick-3 and pick-4 games. Maine currently offers a poker-style game that is drawn every few minutes.
Maine (a MUSL member from 1990 to 1992) returned to MUSL in 2004. All three lotteries offer [[Powerball]]. The three states also participate in the 46-jurisdiction [[Mega Millions]]. Vermont joined on January 31, 2010, Maine joined on May 9, 2010. Maine and New Hampshire also offer MUSL's Hot (similar to ''Mega Millions'' or ''Lucky for Life''), which is offered by 14 lotteries. Vermont ended sales of Hot Lotto in May 2014 (Hot Lotto ended on October 28, 2017, while a new version of ''[[Lotto*America]]'' debuted on November 12, 2017. New Hampshire joined Lotto America in January 2018).
Tri-State games are not directly part of MUSL. The Iowa-based organization assists with multi-jurisdictional games. ''Powerball'' is operated by MUSL, while ''Mega Millions'' is not. ''Mega Millions''′ draws are held in Georgia, ''Lucky for Life'' draws are held in [[Connecticut]], where the game began in 2009 as ''Lucky4Life'', and ''Powerball'' draws are in [[Florida Lottery|Florida]]; the first two games use traditional drawing machines and numbered balls, while Lucky for Life uses an RNG, since mid-2021. ''Lucky for Life'' became a "quasi-national" game in January 2015; as of September 2017 it was available in 24 states and the [[D.C. Lottery|District of Columbia]].
In 2010 ''Mega Millions''′s moved to a higher starting jackpot, and a potential second prize of $5,000,000 if its ''Megaplier'' is activated. ''Mega Millions'' basic plays remain at $2.
The ''Gimme 5'', began on May 12, 2013.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} ''Gimme 5'' draws 5 of 39 numbers; the top prize is $100,000 split among plays matching all five numbers.
''Megabucks'', whose original version began in 1985, became ''Megabucks Plus'' in July 2009, doubling the cost of a ticket to $2.{{citation needed|date=July 2009}} In the late 2010s, Megabucks Plus switched back to the name Megabucks. Megabucks is a double-matrix game like ''Powerball'', ''Mega Millions'' and ''Lucky for Life''; players select five numbers out of a field of 1 to 41, and a "Megaball" from a field of 1 to 6.
Tri-State drawings are held in New Hampshire. These drawings use "classic" numbered balls and drawing machines, except for raffles.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://nhlottery.org/Pages/AboutUs/meetings/nhlc/20081209minutes.pdf | title=Minutes of commission meeting | date=2008-12-09 | publisher=New Hampshire Lottery Commission | access-date=2024-07-19}}</ref>
New Hampshire and Vermont allow subscription play for ''Megabucks'' and ''Mega Millions''; in the case of New Hampshire, it does not have a residency requirement for subscription play.
== Notes ==
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{{U.S. lotteries}}
[[Category:New England]]
[[Category:Economy of the Northeastern United States]]
[[Category:Lottery games in the United States]]