Massachusetts
Here's what the largest lottery prize won in Mass. in 2024 was
The largest lottery prize won in Massachusetts in 2024 came from a ticket given to the winner as a birthday gift, which they called “the best birthday present ever.”
There were at least 150 players who won between $1 million and $15 million — and one player won even more.
The top prize won in Massachusetts in 2024 was worth $1 million a year for life.
The prize was from “Lifetime Millions,” a $50 scratch ticket game released on Feb. 6, 2024. As of Jan. 3, there are still two $1 million a year for life grand prizes remaining to be claimed, along with three $2 million prizes and seven $1 million prizes.
The top lottery winner of 2024 claimed their prize through the Merjon Tangovan Nominee Trust of Boston, represented by trustee Greg Racki, on July 10, 2024.
The winner received $15.4 million after Racki selected the cash option instead of annuity for the grand prize. They told Racki they plan on buying a new car, traveling and helping their family with the cash.
The winning ticket was bought at Northside Market & Liquors, located at 44 North Rd. in Bedford. The store received a $50,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Here’s the complete list of the top 10 largest lottery prizes won in Massachusetts in 2024:
- $1 million a year for life prize claimed from the “Lifetime Millions” scratch ticket game on July 10. The winner opted to receive their prize as a one-time payment of $15.4 million, and bought their $50 ticket at the Northside Convenience shop in Bedford. There’s still two grand prizes left to be claimed.
- $15 million prize claimed from the “$15,000,000 Money Maker” scratch ticket game on Aug. 15. The winner bought their $30 ticket in Lynn at the One Stop Mart. As of December, there’s just one grand prize left to be claimed in the game.
- $15 million prize claimed from the “300X” scratch ticket game on June 13. The winning $30 ticket was purchased at the Country Farms store in Topsfield. This was the first and only grand prize claimed in the game as of December, with two more grand prizes left to claim.
- $10 million prize claimed from the “$10,000,000 Cash Blast” scratch ticket game on Oct. 3. The winner bought their $20 ticket at the Star Liquor store in Shrewsbury. It was the first and only grand prize claimed in the game as of December, with two more grand prizes left to claim.
- $10 million prize claimed from the “$10,000,000 Cash King” scratch ticket game, also on Oct. 3. This winner bought their $20 ticket in Boston at Jobi Liquors, Inc., leaving no grand prizes left to be claimed.
- $10 million prize claimed from the “$10,000,000 Bonanza” scratch ticket game on Sept. 4. The winning $20 ticket was sold in Raynham at Coletti’s Market, and was the only grand prize claimed in the game as of December, with two more grand prizes left to claim.
- $5.37 million jackpot prize won during the “Megabucks” drawing on May 4. The winning numbers for the drawing were 4, 11, 15, 26, 30 and 40, and the winning ticket was purchased in Northborough at Lowe’s Variety Mart.
- $5 million prize claimed from a “$5,000,000 100X Cashword 2024″ scratch ticket on Oct. 2. A hot week for lottery players in the state, this $20 winning ticket was sold at From Brazil Restaurant in Peabody. There’s just one grand prize left in the game as of December.
- $5 million prize claimed from a “$5,000,000 100X Cashword” scratch ticket (released in 2023) on June 18. The winning ticket was sold at the Price Chopper in Pittsfield, and was the last grand prize left in the game.
- $2.64 million prize won during the “Megabucks” drawing on Aug. 24. The winning numbers for the drawing were 5, 6, 8, 9, 24 and 32, and the winner bought their ticket while at the Hillcrest Country Club in Leicester.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash
SIMSBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A Massachusetts woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with DUI after a crash in Simsbury, according to police.
The crash happened at around 2:15 p.m. on Hartford Avenue and Elm Street. Police responded to reports that one of the operators of the vehicles was unconscious, later becoming conscious.
Upon arrival, police found that operator, who was identified as 39-year-old Allison Beu of Southwick, Massachusetts, outside of her vehicle and interacting with the other involved parties.
The two occupants in the other vehicle were not transported to the hospital.
Beu was charged with DUI and failure to drive in proper lane.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Governor Healey reacts to Brown University shooting
BOSTON (WWLP) – Following the shooting at Brown University, claiming the lives of two students and injuring nine others, Governor Healey is joining calls for anyone with information to contact authorities.
Police have not yet made any arrests in connection with the shooting, but they have released footage of a person of interest, calling on the public for help.
“At this time, we just have to encourage anyone in the public who may know something, see something, to immediately contact law enforcement,” said Healey.
Governor Healey says the Massachusetts State Police are in Rhode Island to assist with the investigation. The governor also spoke to mounting fear on college campuses, as the number of mass shootings in the United States exceeds the number of days so far in the year.
“In speaking with many of them, I know that they are taking all measures to ensure the safety of students and faculty, and certainly as a state we will do everything that we can to support those efforts,” said Governor Healey.
Local to western Massachusetts, UMass Amherst told 22News about their campus safety plans, which include adding emergency preparedness to student orientation and hosting optional active threat training for students, staff, and faculty.
The FBI is offering an award of up to $50,000 leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone who thinks they may have information is encouraged to call the Providence Police.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand.
Massachusetts
This week’s jobs report was messy, but it shows cracks in the economy as 2026 looms – The Boston Globe
“We anticipated that once the government reopened there would be a few months of noisy data, and we would not get a real sense of where the jobs market is until early 2026. That is exactly what we got,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at corporate advisory firm RSM, wrote in a blog post.
Despite potential statistical distortions from the shutdown, the report underscored that private employers remained stuck in low-fire, low-hire mode in October and November, while unemployment reached the highest rate in four years. Wage growth has stalled.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, with most officials saying they were more worried about the job market falling apart than inflation heating up. Tuesday’s payroll numbers show their concerns weren’t unfounded:
- The private sector added an average of 60,500 jobs in the past two months, extending a mostly anemic run of hiring, while the federal workforce declined by 168,000 as DOGE-related deferred resignations took effect.
- The jobless rate crept up to 4.6 percent in November from 4.4 percent in September. (The Labor Department didn’t tally unemployment in October due to the 43-day shutdown.)
- The number of people working part time because of economic conditions increased by more than 1 million, or 24 percent, over the past year.
“The labor market is showing growing fragility as firms grapple with uneven demand, elevated costs, [profit] margin pressure and persistent uncertainty,” economists Gregory Daco and Lydia Boussour said in note.
Here are some job trends I’ll be watching as we move into the new year.
Just a few sectors are in hiring mode.
The economy is vulnerable to a downturn when job growth is limited to a few sectors.
Health care and social assistance accounted for most of the new jobs in November, with a smaller gain in construction.
The economically sensitive manufacturing and transportation-warehousing industries lost jobs, as did information and finance, two largely white-collar sectors that are important employers in Massachusetts. (State-level data for November will be published later this month.)
Layoffs are low but will that last?
Employers are moving cautiously as they assess the impact of tariffs on their businesses, the direction of consumer spending, and whether artificial intelligence might allow them to operate with fewer workers.
Because the slowdown in hiring has yet to turn into a wave of firing, unemployment is relatively low by historical standards even after recent increases.
But there are concerning signs.
- The unemployment rate among Black workers climbed to 8.3 percent last month from 6.4 percent a year earlier even as white unemployment was little changed. Black workers are often hit first when hiring slows or layoffs begin.
- Similarly, the jobless rate for workers without a high school diploma has risen to 6.8 percent from 6 percent over the past year, and unemployment among 20-24 year olds is at its highest level (excluding the COVID shock) since 2015, the tail end of the long “jobless recovery” that followed the Great Recession.
Slack is building in the labor market.
The supply of workers is growing — surprising some economists who expected a decline amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and aggressive deportation campaign.
With hiring on the decline, many people are idle or not working as many hours as they would like.
The U-6 unemployment rate — a measure of labor-market slack that counts not only the officially unemployed, but also discouraged workers who’ve stopped looking and people stuck in part-time jobs who want full-time work — jumped to 8.7 percent in November from 8 percent in September. That’s the highest rate since early 2017 (excluding the COVID era).
How does the Fed react?
Last week, Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank’s quarter-point cut, plus two others since September, should be enough to shore up hiring while allowing inflation to resume falling toward officials’ 2 percent target.
Most Fed watchers don’t think the latest jobs report alters that view — for now — and are forecasting just two more rate cuts in 2026.
“The report contains enough softness to justify prior rate cuts, but it offers little support for significantly deeper easing ahead,” Kevin O’Neil at Brandywine Global, told Bloomberg.
Final thought
Massachusetts, which has been shedding jobs this year, seems to be leading the way for the rest of the country.
Call me cautiously pessimistic: Things will get worse before they get better.
Larry Edelman can be reached at larry.edelman@globe.com.
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