RI Lottery – Rhode Island Lottery

Rhode Island Lottery – Lottery RI

The Rhode Island State Lottery was originally launched way back in March 1974 following a constitutional amendment the previous November that saw an overwhelming margin of 3 to 1 voting in favor of a Lottery in the State of Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Lottery is operated by the Government of the State of Rhode Island and run and organized by the Rhode Island Lottery Commission.

The Rhode Island Lottery was the 9th US State Lottery to be formed and began selling its first lottery tickets on May 21st 1974.

From its beginning – the aim of the RI Lottery was to raise money to benefit both the citizens and the visitors of the Ocean State by providing exciting and innovative lottery products.

Things are just the same today with net proceeds going towards areas such as Education, Human Services, Public Safety, Natural Resources, Distressed Communities and the Government via the State’s General Fund.

The RI State Lottery is based in Cranston, Rhode Island.

RI Lottery – Overview

The Rhode Island State Lottery sells tickets from its network of 1,200 authorized RI Lottery retailers throughout the state and has its Headquarters at Rhode Island Lottery, 1425 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920.

The RI Lottery also takes part in 2 of the largest world lotteries – the huge Multi-State USA Lottery games – Mega Millions and Powerball which we will be looking into in greater detail.

We will be looking at the various RI Lotto games below – how these games work and who can play them – as well as delving into some of the history of the Rhode Island Lottery Commission in much more depth.

RI Lottery – Games

There are numerous games that are offered by the Rhode Island State Lottery – including 2 of the biggest lottery games in the world – Mega Millions and Powerball.

We will first of all take a look at these Multi State Lottery games – that the RI Lottery offers in conjunction with the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association and Mega Millions Consortium – and later move on to the other RI Lotto games available.

Currently – the games offered by the RI State Lottery that players from anywhere in the world can buy lottery tickets online for are these two huge USA Lottery games – the Mega Millions and the Powerball.

Other games offered by the Rhode Island Lottery that can be played in-state are noted further down the page – if any of these RI Lot games become available to a wider audience at a later date – we will be writing about it here.

RI Powerball – Rhode Island Lottery Powerball

Powerball is a Multi-State USA Lottery that is run & syndicated across the USA by the MUSL – Multi State Lottery Association – and is one of the largest lottery games in the world having produced a record jackpot of an incredible US$ 1.58 BILLION. This sum is the bigest lottery jackpot ever won to date in the history of world lottery games.

The very first Powerball draw took place on April 22nd 1992 with 16 USA Lottery companies – who were all members of the MUSL – taking part after the game changed its format and name from Lotto America which had first started on February 13th 1988.

Rhode Island Lottery Powerball – Overview

The Rhode Island Lottery is 1 of 47 US State Lotteries & District Lotteries that offer the Powerball game – in this particular case the RI Powerball – as part of its overall lottery portfolio.

The Rhode Island Powerball was first sold on April 19th 1992 when the Powerball game was launched – as the Rhode Island Lottery was already a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) – having been a founder member on September 16th 1987 and selling tickets for the Powerball predecessor – Lotto America.

RI Powerball – How it Works

The RI Powerball works in the same way as the Powerball game works in all the States and Districts in the US that offer the game.

Jackpots start off at US$ 40 MILLION and ROLLOVER after each draw when the top prize is not won – making for some massive jackpot figures.

6 numbers are drawn in total for the RI Lottery Powerball game from 2 separate drawing machines – first of all 5 numbers from 69 white balls are drawn followed by 1 number (the POWERball) from 26 red balls.

Draws for the Rhode Island Lottery Powerball take place twice every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10.59pm EST.

In addition to the 6 main Powerball numbers drawn – a further number is drawn – using a Random Number Generator…the Powerball POWERPLAY number…

POWERPLAY…

This separate Powerball POWERPLAY number drawn will be either 2, 3, 4, 5 and occasionally number 10 – and is there to give players of the Powerball RI a chance to increase their winnings on all levels of the prize structure apart from the Rhode Island Powerball jackpot itself.

With Powerball POWER PLAY – you will multiply your winnings on these levels by 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x – greatly increasing the amount you can walk away with.

During special promotions – the Powerball POWER PLAY multiplier will be 10x – allowing Rhode Island Lottery players to increase their Powerball winnings by an incredible 10 times!

So, for just an extra dollar – you can choose to increase your RI Powerball winnings on all levels except the jackpot – by adding the Power Ball POWER PLAY option when playing.

Click Here to PLAY Powerball NOW

RI Lottery Powerball Results

With the Rhode Island Lottery Powerball being drawn every week on both Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10.59pm EST there are various ways you can check the RI Powerball Results and Powerball winning numbers as well as other RI Lottery results.

You can find the latest Rhode Island Powerball Results in addition to other Rhode Island Lottery results at all RI Lottery retailers, in select newspapers and here online at Global Lottery Review where you can also see previous RI Powerball Results.

The RI Powerball results, Powerball winning numbers and RI Lottery results for the daily Numbers game and Wild Money are also published on the official Lottery RI website – rilot.com – and will be broadcast on the following TV channel in Rhode Island…

WPRI (CBS) Channel 12 from Providence

RI Powerball – Odds of Winning

There are 9 separate ways that you can win on this Rhode Island State Lottery game providing a great chance to win something on the RI Powerball.

Odds range from 1 in 292,201,338 for correctly matching all the Rhode Island Powerball winning numbers right down to 1 in 38.32 for matching just 1 number correctly.

The overall odds of you winning any prize on the Rhode Island Lottery Powerball are just 1 in 24.87.

See the Powerball Odds and Prizes calculation table on the separate Rhode Island Powerball page for a complete list of odds and prizes for this game.

RI Mega Millions – Mega Millions RI

The Mega Millions is a Multi-State USA Lottery that is run and operated by the Mega Millions Consortium – who administer and syndicate the game across the USA and is one of the largest lottery games in the world – having produced a massive world record jackpot of an incredible US$ 656 MILLION on March 30th 2012. This world record jackpot was equally shared between 3 Mega Millions winners from Maryland, Illinois and Kansas and stands as the 2nd largest lotto jackpot ever won to date.

The very first Mega Millions draw took place on May 17th 2002 with 6 USA Lottery companies taking part who were all members of the Mega Millions Consortium.

The game had changed its name and format from the Big Game which had started on August 31st 1996. Upon this change – 2 further State Lotteries joined and many more were to follow.

RI Mega Millions – Overview

The Rhode Island Lottery is 1 of 46 US State Lotteries & District Lotteries that offer the Mega Millions – in this particular case the RI Mega Millions – as part of its overall portfolio of lottery games.

The RI Mega Millions was first sold on January 31st 2010 when the Multi State Lottery Association (MUSL) who run the Powerball game – of which the RI Lottery is a member – entered into a cross-selling agreement with the Mega Millions consortium – allowing the sales of Mega Millions in Powerball States and Powerball in Mega Millions States.

RI Mega Millions – How it Works

The RI MegaMillions works in exactly the same way that the Mega Millions works in all the States and Districts in the US that offer the game.

Jackpots start off at US$ 40 MILLION and ROLLOVER after each draw when the top prize is not won – making for some enormous jackpot figures that can be won on the RI MegaMillions.

6 numbers are drawn in total for the Rhode Island Mega Millions – from 2 separate drawing machines – firstly 5 numbers from 70 white balls are drawn and then 1 number (the MEGAball) from 25 gold balls.

Draws for the Rhode Island Mega Millions take place twice every week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11.00pm EST.

In addition to the 6 Mega Millions numbers drawn – a further number is drawn – using a Random Number Generator…the MEGAPLIER number…

MEGAPLIER…

This separate MEGAPLIER multiplier number drawn will be either 2, 3, 4 or 5 – and is there to give players of the RI Mega Millions a chance to increase their winnings on all levels of the prize structure apart from the RI Mega Millions jackpot itself.

With the Mega Millions MEGAPLIER feature – you will automatically multiply your winnings by 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x on these levels – greatly increasing the amount you can walk away with.

If you match the 5 main Mega Millions numbers playing with the MEGAPLIER add-on – and a MEGAPLIER number of 5 is drawn – the second tier prize of US$ 1 MILLION would be increased by x5 and you could win US$ 5 MILLION.

So, for just an extra dollar – you can choose to increase your RI Mega Millions winnings on all levels except the jackpot – by adding the Mega Millions MEGAPLIER option when playing.

Click Here to PLAY Mega Millions NOW

RI Mega Millions Results

With the Rhode Island Mega Millions being drawn every week on both Tuesdays and Fridays at 11.00pm EST there are numerous ways you can check the Mega Millions winning numbers as well as any other RI Lottery results.

You can find the latest RI Mega Millions Results as well as other Rhode Island Lottery results at all RI Lottery retailers, in select newspapers and here online at Global Lottery Review where you can also look up any
previous Rhode Island Mega Millions Results.

The RI Mega Millions results, Mega Millions winning numbers plus RI Lottery results for the daily Numbers game and Wild Money will be displayed on rilot.com – the official website of Lottery RI – and are broadcast on the following TV Channel in Rhode Island…

WPRI (CBS) Channel 12 from Providence

RI Mega Millions – Odds of Winning

There are 9 separate ways that you can win on this Rhode Island State Lottery game providing a great chance to win something on the RI Mega Millions.

Odds range from 1 in 302,575,350 for correctly matching all the Rhode Island Mega Millions winning numbers right down to 1 in 37 for matching just 1 number correctly.

Overall odds of winning any prize on the RI Mega Millions are just 1 in 24.

See the Mega Millions Odds and Prizes calculation table on the separate Rhode Island Mega Millions page for a complete list of odds and prizes.

Other RI Lottery Games...

In addition to the RI Powerball and RI Mega Millions games which can be played from anywhere in the world – the Rhode Island State Lottery also offers various other lotto games which can be played within Rhode Island – like the Numbers Game, Wild Money, and Keno plus numerous RILottery Scratch games and Pull Tabs.

If any of these RI Lottery games become available to a wider audience outside of Rhode Island at a later date we will be writing about it here.

RI Lottery – Who Can Play?

In the past – you would have had to buy your lottery ticket in the state of Rhode Island itself to take part in any of the Rhode Island State Lottery games – including the RI Powerball and RI MegaMillions.

These days though – you can play Mega Millions Online and the Powerball Online from anywhere in the world due to the presence of accredited and fully authorized online lottery ticket sales companies like TheLotter.com – allowing you to play wherever you’re based.

So if you live outside of Rhode Island or the USA but wish to play either the Powerball or Mega Millions this is simple to do using the right lottery ticket sales companies where you can quickly and easily buy lottery tickets online – and save yourself a fair amount of time too – allowing you to play no matter where you live.

The RI Lottery Commission requires all players to be a minimum of 18 years of age before purchasing any RI Lotto tickets including tickets for the RI MegaMillions and RI Powerball.

RI Lottery – How Prizes are Paid?

If you have won either a RI Powerball or RI Mega Millions jackpot – you will be able to claim your prize as either a cash lump sum or as an annuity payment – you will need to make this very important choice within 60 days of making your claim.

If you choose the annuity option – your winnings will be paid to you annually in 30 installments over a 29 year period.

For all Rhode Island Lottery prizes you will have 365 days from either the date of the draw or the announced end of game to make your claim before your RI Lottery ticket will expire.

If your win with the RI Lottery is up to US$ 599 – you will be able to claim your winnings at any Rhode Island Lottery retailer.

If you’ve had an RI Lotto win of US$ 600 or more – you will need to claim your prize at Rhode Island Lottery Headquarters in Cranston

These details are all taken care for you if you play lottery online with one of the trusted and genuine online lottery ticket sale companies such as TheLotter as it is their job to make your transaction a seamless process – collecting your winnings and sending them directly to you.

RI Lottery Timeline – History

1973

A Constitutional Amendment is passed by a margin of 3 to 1 on November 6th – in favor of the formation of State Lottery in Rhode Island.

1974

March sees the passing of law in Rhode Island which creates the Rhode Island Lottery which is to be governed by the Rhode Island Lottery Commission.

The first Rhode Island Lottery tickets go on sale on May 21st. THE LOT – the first RI Lottery game has a top prize of US$ 50,000 and costs 50 cents a play.

May 30th sees the first drawing of THE LOT – which is held at the State House.

1975

January sees the Rhode Island Lottery become the first US Lottery company to broadcast a lottery drawing live and at not cost to the RI Lottery.

This year also sees the RI Lottery become the first State Lottery company to have a weekly lottery TV show – GRAND LOT.

1976

On February 13th – the Rhode Island State Lottery introduces its daily NUMBERS GAME which is still going strong today. Draws for the NUMBERS GAME are shown on TV live from Monday through Saturday at 7.00pm and on Sundays at 6.30pm.

The RI State Lottery introduces its first Instant ticket game on May 11th – PLAY BALL.

1978

In February the RI Lottery introduce online games and as a result RILOT sees the sales of its lottery games double.

1981

Spring this year sees the RI Lottery introduce the 4/40 game. This game has undergone various incarnations over the years.

1984

A HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY Instant ticket is brought out by the RI Lottery to mark the occasion. The game offers a top prize of US$ 100,000.

1986

The Rhode Island Lottery introduce another Instant lotto ticket called RI 350 to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Rhode Island itself. The top prize on offer is US$ 35,000.

1987

On September 16th – the Multi State Lottery Association – MUSL – is formed by six USA Lottery companies. As well as the Rhode Island Lottery – other MUSL founding members are the Washington DC Lottery, Iowa Lottery, West Virginia Lottery, Kansas Lottery and the Oregon Lottery.

1988

On February 3rd – the newly formed Multi State Lottery Association – MUSL – launch their first Multi State Lottery game. LOTTO AMERICA has a matrix of 7/40, costs US$ 1 per game and offers jackpot odds of 1 in 18,643,560.

The first LOTTO AMERICA draw is conducted by the MUSL on February 13th. RI Lotto players take part from the beginning.

1989

The Multi State Lottery Association changes the matrix of the LOTTO AMERICA game on February 5th to 6/54 and the jackpot odds change to 1 in 54,979,155. RILOT players now also get 2 games for US$ 1.

February 8th sees the first draw of LOTTO AMERICA with the new game configuration.

1992

On April 18th – the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) conduct the very last draw of the LOTTO AMERICA game.

The following day sees the launch of a bigger and better game from the MUSL – POWERBALL – which replaces LOTTO AMERICA. The Rhode Island Lottery begins selling POWERBALL tickets on April 19th.

The first Rhode Island POWERBALL draw takes place on April 22nd. POWERBALL has a double matrix of 5/45 + 1/45, costs US$ 1 per play and offers jackpot odds of 1 in 54,979,155.

On September 13th – the RI State Lottery become only the second USA Lottery company to introduce KENO – the Oregon Lottery being the first.

Also this year – the Rhode Island Lottery Commission approve the use of VIDEO LOTTERY – player interactive gaming machines. VLTs – Video Lottery Terminals are introduced at the two pari-mutuel facilities in Rhode Island.

1994

The very first Rhode Island POWERBALL Lottery jackpot is on August 10th at US$ 7.6 Million.

1995

LOT-O-BUCKS – the first Rhode Island Lottery terminal based lottery game is retired.

The RI State Lottery bring out a new game – RHODY CASH – replacing the retired LOT-O-BUCKS.

August 26th sees the second jackpot to be won on the POWERBALL Rhode Island when a ticket purchased in Cranston wins the US$ 31 Million top prize.

1996

On April 20th – Donald Pierce from Rhode Island becomes the third winner of an RI Lottery POWERBALL top prize when he shares a US$ 34 Million jackpot with Ronnie Solomon Ware Sr. from Washington DC. Each of the 2 winning tickets receives US$ 17 Million.

A new lottery game is introduced by the Rhode Island Lottery and eight other US State Lotteries on September 16th – the Multi State Lottery Association (MUSL) DAILY MILLIONS. RI Lotto players can win a top prize of US$ 1 Million by picking 2 numbers from each of three sets of 21. The game is drawn at 7.29pm EST.

1997

The MUSL changes the draw time of the DAILY MILLIONS game on June 15th. RI LOT players now see the DAILY MILLIONS drawn at 9.46pm EST.

November 1st sees some changes made to the MUSL POWERBALL with the intention of offering bigger jackpots. The starting jackpot figure for the POWERBALL lottery is increased to US$ 10 Million and Rhode Island Lottery players can now choose between a cash lump sum payment or an annuity of 25 annual instalments if they win the jackpot. The POWERBALL matrix also changes to 5/49 + 1/42.

The RHODY CASH game is retired by the Rhode Island Lottery.

1998

On February 21st – the Rhode Island Lottery replaces the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) DAILY MILLIONS Game with the introduction of its own lotto game – ROLL DOWN.

A POWERBALL jackpot record is set on July 29th when a massive US$ 295 Million is won by 13 work colleagues from Ohio who had purchased their Powerball Tickets in Indiana.

October 31st sees the fourth RI

POWERBALL jackpot won – a top prize of US$ 46 Million which is split with winners in Wisconsin.

RHODE ISLAND SCENES – a multi vignette game is introduced by the Rhode Island Lottery costing US$ 2 and with a US$ 15,000 top prize.

1999

The 25th anniversary of the Rhode Island Lottery is marked by the introduction of a 25th ANNIVERSARY Instant Scratch ticket costing US$ 5 and with a top prize of US$ 25,000.

2000

March sees the Rhode Island Lottery retire its ROLL DOWN game and replace it with a new RI Lotto game – EASY WIN.

The EASY WIN game is retired by the Rhode Island Lottery in November and replaced with another new RI Lotto game – MONEY ROLL.

2001

On February 21st – Michael Goulden from Pawtucket, RI. becomes the fifth winner of a Rhode Island POWERBALL jackpot prize when he scooped a huge US$ 93.5 Million. At the time – this is the largest RI POWERBALL win to date.

The MUSL add a significant feature to its POWERBALL game on March 7th. RILOT players can now play with the POWERPLAY add-on which multiplies non-jackpot winnings by up to 5 times.

In April – the Rhode Island Lottery introduce KENO PLUS – a KENO add-on that gives RI LOT players the chance to multiply their KENO winnings by up to 10 times and the possibility of a US$ 1 Million top prize.

2002

In January – the Rhode Island Lottery retires its MONEY ROLL game and replaces it with WILD MONEY – which is still going strong today. WILD MONEY has a starting jackpot of US$ 20,000 which will rollover until won – and matrix of 5/35. Draws take place every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7.20pm.

The first Rhode Island Lottery WILD MONEY jackpot is won on April 13th at US$ 315,869.

September sees the RI Lottery introduce an INSTANT MATCH feature to its daily NUMBERS GAME. For an additional US$ 1 – RILOT players can win up to US$ 500 instantly on a NUMBERS GAME ticket.

POWERBALL sees some game changes on October 6th when 4 numbers are added to the main (white) balls giving a new matrix of 5/53 + 1/42 and the POWERPLAY option has the number 1 removed. Jackpot odds are now 1 in 120 million and even larger POWERBALL jackpots will be created and more frequently. A new feature called Match 5 BONUS is also added.

October 9th sees the first POWERBALL draw with the new features in place.

2003

A request to increase the number of VIDEO LOTTERY TERMINALS (VLT’s) – to 4,303 from 2,478 – is approved by the Rhode Island Lottery Commission in January.

2004

The Rhode Island State Lottery introduces HotTrax – an auto racing game – on May 28th.

A $5 Instant ticket game – 30th ANNIVERSARY – is brought out in June to celebrate the milestone in the history of the Rhode Island Lottery.

2005

POWERBALL sees some further game changes on August 25th when 2 main (white) balls are added, nos. 54 and 55. Jackpots will now start at a more exciting US$ 15 Million and second prizes at US$ 200,000.

The POWERBALL matrix is given another change by the Multi-State Lottery Association on August 28th – to 5/55 + 1/42.

On October 19th sees a record POWERBALL jackpot occur when an incredible US$ 340 Million was won by a family from Oregon.

2006

A world record POWERBALL jackpot of  US$ 365 Million is won by a group of Nebraska factory workers following the drawing on February 18th. Right up until May 2013 this had stood as the the largest lottery jackpot won in the world on a single lottery ticket.

March 25th saw the biggest Wild Money jackpot win to date when US$ 601,206 is won by a lucky winner from Providence.

The Multi State Lottery Association introduce a brand new game – CA$HOLA – on July 23rd – which is sold by the RI State Lottery, the West Virginia Lottery and the Delaware Lottery. CA$HOLA is the first Multi-State progressive, video lottery game to be brought out by the MUSL.

2007

November 28th sees the biggest win to date on the RI POWERBALL when Sheila Botelho from Swansea, MA. scoops a massive US$ 151.9 Million jackpot. Sheila had bought her ticket at the Warren Mart, 428 Child Street in Warren, RI. This is still the record Rhode Island POWERBALL jackpot ever won and is the 6th RI POWERBALL jackpot won so far.

2008

On February 28th – Michael Goudreau from Lincoln wins the largest RILottery CA$HOLA jackpot to date – US$ 1,936,695.28. This is the third biggest jackpot to be on the CA$HOLA game since it began in July 2006.

2009

January 4th sees some significant changes to the POWERBALL game – the intention being to create larger jackpot prizes and produce even more winners. Rhode Island Lottery players will now see jackpots starting off at an increased US$ 20 Million. Also a new prize level is created – where players can win US$ 1 Million with the Match 5 BONUS feature using POWERPLAY. The Powerball matrix changes to 5/59 + 1/39 and draws for the Powerball move to Orlando’s Universal Studios in Florida – with the Florida Lottery joining the MUSL in selling Powerball Tickets.

On October 9th an agreement was made between the Mega Millions Consortium and the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association – to allow the cross-sales of Mega Millions tickets within states that offered the Powerball game and the sale of Powerball Tickets within states that offered the Mega Millions game. The RILottery will be selling Mega Millions Tickets come January.

2010

On January 31st – the Rhode Island Lottery begins the sales of MEGA MILLIONS tickets as a result of the cross-selling agreement made between the Mega Millions Consortium and the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association the previous October.

Just over a week after launching – the RI MEGA MILLIONS produced a winner of US$ 40,000 on February 9th – when an Rhode Island Lottery player from Cranston struck lucky playing with the MEGAPLIER option. The lucky winner matched 4 of the main balls plus the MEGAball and multiplied his winnings by 4 times from US$ 10,000. This still ranks as the largest RI MEGA MILLIONS win to date.

RI Lottery – Where the Money Goes

Net Proceeds from Rhode Island Lottery games go right back to citizens of Rhode Island State – benefiting them in numerous different ways.

These profits raised by the sale of RILOT games are put into Rhode Island State’s General Fund from where they are allocated to different programs that enhance the quality of life for Rhode Islanders.

The General Fund uses these monies throughout the 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island in important areas such as Education, Human Services, Public Safety, Natural Resources, plus General Government and Law Enforcement.

Another area that benefits benefit from Rhode Island Lottery funding is the Distressed Communities Relief Fund.

In addition to the good causes that Rhode Island Lottery net profits provide for – the Rhode Island Lottery also pays out one of the highest percentages of profits straight back to its players in the form of prizes (67.9%) – more than most US State Lotteries.

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