Six-number games are the most widely played form of lottery in the US, costing an average of $1 per play and drawn twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They’re also popular across Canada – Lotto 6/49 being one national lotterie; in Pennsylvania alone they include Match 6 Lotto, Lucky 7 and Powerball among many others.
On March 15, 1972, Pennsylvania held its inaugural Lottery drawing featuring 50-cent tickets with top prizes of $50,000. It proved so successful that state legislators approved another lottery in 1984.
Powerball was introduced as a multi-state jackpot game in Pennsylvania with larger starting jackpots and better odds than previous state lottery games. Powerball also became the first multi-state jackpot game that utilized an RNG (random number generator) to select numbers and determine winners.
March 8, 1997 – To mark its silver anniversary celebrations, Pennsylvania Lottery broadcasts its 25th Anniversary Game Show featuring Dick Clark. Players won over $400,000 worth of prizes during this 30-minute production!
The Lottery unveiled its mobile website today, providing information about all their games as well as instructions for playing them. The user-friendly site boasts an easily navigable searchable database of past winning numbers as well as valuable Lottery info.
On February 28, 2017 the Lottery began selling Fast Play games that provide players with instantaneous wins without scratching a ticket. Over 11 million winners have already benefitted from this innovative category of lottery games and received over $94 Million in prizes!
April 12 2007 – The Lottery kicks off its Midday drawings for The Daily Number and Big 4. These televised shows can be seen in Altoona, Lancaster and Erie; WTAJ-TV in Altoona is broadcasting its drawings via local television stations like WJET-TV while evening drawings can also be accessed via this network of local stations such as those found in Bradford County which do not have access to WTAJ or WGAL or ET-TV and therefore cannot access these events.
Security procedures at the Lottery are intended to avoid incidents like when William Schmitz, a vendor for the Lottery, was charged with stealing balls during the May 1, 2007 Super 7 jackpot drawing. These measures involve multiple people and stringent audits. For instance, prior to every drawing at least six people (two Lottery officials, two certified public accountants and two senior citizen witnesses) assemble outside of the secure room where machines and balls are kept. Nerf balls with microchips installed can be tracked easily while being stored safely inside a cabinet that requires biometric recognition in order to open it, complete with cameras both inside and outside the room for added surveillance purposes.
The Lottery’s drawing results are independently audited by a third-party accounting firm and posted online after each drawing, in order to ensure their accuracy in case of discrepancies or any discrepancies that might arise.