News writer; Opinion columnist
Pennsylvania Lottery players closed out the month of January with some impressive wins. The state lottery announced that three players collectively won almost $8 million from two scratchers and one draw game.
Read on to learn which games were the biggest that week.
Pass go!
The week's biggest winner took home a $5 million grand prize playing the Monopoly Own it All scratcher. The winning ticket was sold at the Weis Markets in Kutztown, which earned a $10,000 bonus.
In Monopoly, Players must match any of their thirty numbers to one of the eight winning numbers to win the corresponding prize. Prizes can be multiplied up to 50x by uncovering a BOARDWALK or PARKPLACE symbol. Discovering a MONOPOLY MONEYBAG symbol means you win all thirty prizes on the ticket.
This scratcher also contains a separate bonus game called Ride the Rail. Players can win up to $400 by uncovering RAILROAD symbols on the bottom of their ticket.
Monopoly Own It All costs $50 to play, and cash prizes range from $75 to $5,000,000.
If you're a big Monopoly player, don't lose hope because there are still 4 top prizes waiting to be claimed, as well as 14 half-million dollar prizes and nine $250 thousand prizes.
Making Millions
The Millionaire Maker scratcher lived up to its name when a Rite Aid in Gibsonia sold a game worth $1,000,000 to a lucky player. The retailer will receive a $5,000 bonus for creating another Keystone millionaire.
The game offers players twenty numbers, which must be matched with one of the seven winning numbers to win the associated prize. Players who uncover a MONEY BAG symbol win every award on their ticket automatically.
Players can win the top prize instantly by uncovering a MIL MAKER symbol in the designated area of the ticket. This scratcher also features a bonus game where players can win $100 instantly by uncovering a SILVER BAR symbol.
Millionaire Maker scratchers cost $20 to play and offer cash prizes ranging from $1 million to $20.
Draw your fortune
While it may seem like scratch-off players are having all of the fun, draw games also had some big prizes to pass out this week. One jackpot winner took home $860,761.50 after matching all five of their numbers for the January 27 Cash 5 with Quick Cash drawing.
The winning numbers were 18, 21, 22, 34, and 35, and the ticket was sold at the Weis Market in Easton, which will receive a $5,000 bonus.
One of the game's best features is that no matter how big the jackpot is, you collect your entire prize immediately instead of waiting for an annuity to pay it out.
In addition to the big winner, 18,500 other players won cash prizes ranging from $200 to $2 from the January 27 drawing.
A month of millions
While this may have seemed like a big week for winners, creating multiple millionaires isn't anything new or surprising for the Pennsylvania Lottery.
In December, scratch-off players in the state took home over $195 million.
The two biggest winners each took home $500,000 for playing $500,000 Crossword Blowout and $500,000 Merry Mint.
The lottery offers 66 different scratch-off games to play, and several multi-million dollar prizes are still waiting to be claimed.
