Montana
Coming up: 'Quarter Million Monday' drawing
Somebody is going to kick off the holiday season with a much bigger budget for gifts, thanks to the Montana Lottery.
As part of this year’s Montana Millionaire, one of the 500,000 tickets sold on November 1st will be drawn on Monday, December 2nd, with a prize of $250,000.
The winning ticket is scheduled to be announced at 10 a.m. on Monday.
The “Quarter Million Monday” drawing this year replaced the former “Early Bird” drawings.
The drawing for the four one-million dollar grand prizes will be on Thursday, December 26, 2024.
The winner of Monday’s $250,000 remains eligible for one of the $1M grand prizes.
(NOVEMBER 1, 2024) Tickets for the annual “Montana Millionaire” went on sale at 5:30 a.m. on Friday, November 1, 2024 – and they are selling fast.
Early-risers get Montana Millionaire tickets
This year, there are 500,000 tickets available. Montana Lottery said at 8:24 a.m. that all 500,000 tickets have been sold: “Hold onto your hats (and your tickets), now! Montana Millionaire has officially SOLD OUT in less than 3 hours. We hope you were able to participate in this year’s raffle.”
Pictures on social media show lines of people snaking through the aisles of convenience stores, and in some cases long lines extending out the doors of stores.
During last year’s sale, all 380,000 tickets available sold within five hours.
Last year, there were three one-million dollar prizes – and one of them was sold at the Heidelberg Lounge on Division Road in Great Falls.
Blair Michel of the Heidelberg said on Thursday, “I feel like somebody winning locally, and especially here, makes it just a little bit more exciting and makes it feel like it’s within reach for people.”
Excitement about sales of Montana Millionaire tickets
The lounge opened at 5:30 a.m. on Friday to serve up coffee and donuts for people who didn’t want to risk missing out on a chance to buy a ticket – and the parking lot was full even before then.
There are several changes for this year’s Montana Millionaire.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES
- Four $1M grand prizes
- 500,000 available tickets
- ‘Quarter-Million Monday’
- More instant wins
The agency is adding another million-dollar grand prize this year, bringing the total to four. This comes after last year’s increase from two to three $1M prizes.
The number of tickets sold this year will increase to 500,000 – up from 380,000 sold in 2023. Tickets will still cost $20. Last year, all tickets sold within five hours.
The Montana Lottery is also adding a “Quarter Million Monday” drawing for $250,000 on Monday, December 2, 2024; this will replace the former “Early Bird” drawings.
There will also be more instant win prizes: 2,300 tickets of $500 instant wins, and 4,500 tickets of $100 instant wins.
Montana Millionaire tickets will be sold at all Montana Lottery retailers, including most convenience stores across the state.
The drawing for the grand prizes will be on Thursday, December 26, 2024.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
The winning $1M tickets in 2023 and where they were sold:
- 299951 – Town Pump of Kalispell (2910 US 93 South)
- 315800 – Town & Country Supply (Hilltop Road in Billings)
- 346589 – Heidelberg Lounge (Division Road in Great Falls)
Previous million-dollar winners over the years include three from Butte, two from Great Falls, four from Billings, two from Columbia Falls, and one each from Winnett, East Helena, and Laurel. In 2022, no one claimed one of the two Montana Millionaire prizes, so the money went into the State General Fund.
Due to a change in legislation, the Montana Lottery is no longer allowed to release the names of Montana Millionaire winners without their explicit consent.
WHO CAN BUY TICKETS – AND HOW MANY?
The Montana Lottery has provided responses to several frequently-asked questions:
Why don’t you limit Montana Millionaire to Montana residents only?
The Montana Lottery is available to everyone of legal age, whether resident or visitor. Limiting the sale of a product to some people while excluding others is discrimination. It would also be contrary to our mission and place an undue burden on our retailers.Why don’t you limit the number of Montana Millionaire tickets someone can buy?
The mission of the Montana Lottery is to maximize revenue for the State of Montana. Our proceeds fund Montana’s STEM/Healthcare Scholarship Program and contribute to the General Fund. To limit sales of our products would be contrary to our mission and result in less positive impact for the residents of Montana.Why don’t you offer Montana Millionaire or another raffle game more than once per year?
The Montana Lottery has a large selection of games available every day of the year. We believe Montana Millionaire is special and successful because it’s exclusive. While it is not impossible that we may introduce other raffle games in the future, currently we have made this strategic business decision based on detailed market research and analysis.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the Montana Lottery, here is the contact information:
Email: montanalottery@mt.gov
Phone: 406-444-5825
Address: Montana Lottery, 2525 North Montana Avenue, Helena, Montana, 59601-0598
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
Money generated from the lottery is used in several ways.
“The lottery exists to generate revenue for the State of Montana. Most sales go towards paying prizes, operations, and essentially whatever is left at the end of that is what goes back to the state. That’s determined by state legislative action and the beneficiary, as we call it, has changed a number of times,” Montana Lottery content manager Dan Iverson told MTN News several months ago.
Currently, the first $2.25 million goes to the Montana Stem/Healthcare Scholarship Program, operated by the Office Of The Commissioner Of Higher Education and the Montana University System. Whatever is left goes to the state’s general fund, which is dictated by the legislature.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 13, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 13 drawing
22-31-52-56-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from May 13 drawing
17-18-28-37-42, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 13 drawing
02-06-10-16, Bonus: 16
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 13 drawing
08-13-39-63-66, Powerball: 02
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 13 drawing
02-04-13-17-32
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 13 drawing
21-24-29-42-49, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Montana
Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin
Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart announced that on May 5, 2026, the State of Montana placed a call under Article V(A) of the Yellowstone River Compact to fill Tongue River Reservoir in Montana. As a result, priority administration is in effect on post-1950 water rights in Wyoming that divert water from the Tongue River and its tributaries and are not excluded from the compact.
A public meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the dining room of The Hub on Smith. Attendees are asked to enter on the north side of the building.
The Tongue River Basin has been experiencing drought conditions over the past year with historically low winter snowpack and streamflow conditions. According to the release, those conditions led to Montana’s interstate call and prompted the administration of the Tongue River Basin in Wyoming.
The priority administration will affect post-1950 water rights within the Tongue River Basin, including reservoir storage, stream diversions and groundwater withdrawals, all of which affect river flows. Post-1950 water rights will be regulated off or prevented from turning on. Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners will continue to administer reservoir storage and post-1950 diversions throughout the spring and work with affected water users until the administration is lifted.
As provided in the compact, domestic uses less than one-half acre in area and livestock uses, including stock reservoirs less than 20 acre-feet in capacity, are excluded from this administration. The release noted these excluded rights could be subject to future regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
Beginning May 5, 2026, Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners have worked to record the current storage levels of reservoirs with post-1950 water rights. Going forward, those reservoirs can continue to accrue storage so long as post-1950 storage gained after the interstate call on May 5 remains in storage until either the water is released to satisfy the Montana call or Montana lifts the call because Tongue River Reservoir will fill.
Reservoirs with unfulfilled pre-1950 water rights can continue to store water and that storage will not be subject to release to satisfy Montana’s call. However, that storage and other direct flow rights could be subject to regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
The priority administration will be carried out pursuant to state law by hydrographer-commissioners assigned to various portions of the Tongue River Basin, working under the direction of Division II Superintendent David Schroeder.
The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office can be contacted at:
Jack Morey, deputy state engineer, 307-777-5032, jack.morey2@wyo.gov
David Schroeder, Division II superintendent, 307-674-7012, d.schroeder@wyo.gov
Jeff Cowley, interstate streams administrator, 307-777-1942, jeff.cowley@wyo.gov
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 12, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 12 drawing
17-32-35-40-47, Mega Ball: 17
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 12 drawing
04-12-17-24, Bonus: 11
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 12 drawing
19-21-35-38-53, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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