Ann Richards at Polk's Feed Store in Oak Hill on May 29, 1992.
First-day sales of 23.2 million tickets sets a then-world record.
[2] First-week sales ending June 5 set another world record, with over 102 million tickets.
As part of the cross-selling arrangement between the operators of Mega Millions and Powerball, the Texas Lottery Commission agreed to begin selling Powerball tickets on January 31, 2010; the first drawing including Texas was three days later.
[7] Joan R. Ginther became a four-time winner of prizes over $1 million from 1993 to 2010, first from Lotto Texas and subsequently three times from scratch tickets.
[8][9] All of her winning tickets were purchased in Texas, and two of them were bought from the same convenience store in Bishop.
[12] Prior to the 2018 fiscal year, the Texas Lottery Commission paid retailers a bonus for selling top-prize tickets for in-house draw games and for scratch tickets winning $1 million or higher.
Within Texas, players must choose the cash value option (CVO) or annual pay (AP) when purchasing Powerball, Mega Millions, and/or Lotto Texas tickets when playing, instead of after winning (see below).
The Texas Lottery began operations on May 29, 1992 with sales of Lone Star Millions.
[5]: 1993 Initially sold as an annuity-only game (no cash option), the purchaser having to pick numbers, and the drawings held only on Saturdays, Lotto Texas later added the "Quick Pick" option (random selection of numbers, added on May 29, 1993, the Lottery's first anniversary),[5]: 1993 the "Cash Value" option (CVO),[5]: 1997 and changed the drawings to twice weekly, adding Wednesdays.
Among notable winners was Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, the former Dallas Cowboys linebacker, who claimed a winning jackpot in excess of $14 million in 2000.
[5]: 2000 The current format utilizes 54 balls drawn from a machine; players choose 6 numbers.
Each game costs $1, the minimum jackpot is $5 million, and drawings are held at 10:12 PM Central time on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Each game is $1, the minimum jackpot is $200,000, and drawings are held at 10:12 PM on Mondays and Thursdays.
[5]: 2018 The current format utilizes one set of 35 balls; players choose five numbers.
Each game costs $1; and drawings are held at 10:12 PM Central time Mondays through Saturdays.
Each game costs $2, the minimum jackpot is $40 million, and drawings are held at 10:00 PM Central time on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Texas, as in all Mega Millions jurisdictions except for California, offers an option, called Megaplier (similar to Powerball's Power Play) which multiplies non-jackpot prizes by either 2, 3, 4, or 5.
On October 13, 2009, the Mega Millions consortium and MUSL (the operator of Powerball, the other major US lottery game) reached an agreement in principle for lotteries, at their option, to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball; the earliest date agreed on was January 31, 2010.
The Texas Lottery Commission elected to participate in the agreement; on November 17, 2009 voted to publish Powerball rules for public comment.
On December 14, 2009 the Commission held a public hearing, receiving comments on the proposal to join Powerball.
[24] Texas Triple Chance was a $2 game featuring a $100,000 top prize, with play beginning on September 28, 2015.
Texas Triple Chance drawings were held Monday through Saturday at 10:12 p.m. Central Time.
[citation needed] Monopoly Millionaires' Club (MMC) began sales on October 19, 2014; it was drawn Fridays.
MMC was tied to a television game show, which continued airing until April 2016.
Texas Lottery regulations require the players to choose either cash value option (CVO) or the annuity value (AP) on the lottery playslips at the ticket sales for Texas Lotto, Powerball, and MegaMillions.
The games such as Texas Two Step, Pick 3, Daily 4, Cash Five, and All or Nothing are paid in lump sum only.