The Texas Lottery Commission could formalize its decision to enter the multi-state lottery game Mega Millions today, a move expected to bring more than $50 million a year to state coffers.
The three-member panel is scheduled to take action on a proposal that would allow lottery director Reagan Greer to sign a contract with the consortium of ten states that make up Mega Millions.
Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Washington are the other states in Mega Millions.
Officials hope Texas could begin selling Mega Millions tickets by mid- to late October.
Greer recommended joining Mega Millions in August after the Texas Legislature gave the lottery commission permission to participate in a multi-state game. Greer said the association of large states works to Texas' advantage because many of them have lottery operations similar to Texas and offer the same game types.
Mega Millions drawings are at 10 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. Those times will not conflict with the Wednesday and Saturday drawings for Lotto Texas, a game that has features similar to Mega Millions, Greer said. Had the state gone with the better-known Powerball, the Wednesday-Saturday drawings would have conflicted with Lotto Texas.
I'm surprised Texas would be able to join and potentially start selling tickets almost right away. Granted they made the first announcement in August, but lots of states have taken a longer. And with Texas being large, you'd think it would take them longer because of that. Interesting.
It's already mid-October.
I'm surprised Texas would be able to join and potentially start selling tickets almost right away. Granted they made the first announcement in August, but lots of states have taken a longer. And with Texas being large, you'd think it would take them longer because of that. Interesting.
It's going to be about a month before they start selling tickets. More details posted in the news tomorrow morning!