The Connecticut Lottery Corporation, also called the CT Lottery, is the official lottery in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. It was created in 1971 by then-Gov. Thomas Meskill, who signed Public Act No. 865. The first tickets were sold on February 15, 1972. The Connecticut Lottery offers five in-house drawing games. Connecticut also participates in Mega Millions

Mega Millions

Mega Millions is a US multi-jurisdictional $1 lottery game. Since it replaced The Big Game in May 2002 , Mega Millions' advertised jackpots have started at $12 million, paid in 26 yearly installments , increasing when there is no jackpot winner...

 and Powerball

Powerball

Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...

, each with 44 jurisdictions.

Connecticut-only draw games

The Connecticut Lottery, in April 2011, began its Replay option; players can use "old" tickets, in lieu of betting cards, to repeat number selections played in the appropriate game(s). Drawings are broadcast on WCCT-TV and WTIC-TV

WTIC-TV

WTIC-TV, channel 61, is a television station in Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the Tribune Company, WTIC-TV is a charter affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company...

. Replay is not available for the recurring game Super Draw.

Play3

A three-digit numbers game

Numbers game

Numbers game, also known as a numbers racket, policy racket or Italian lottery, is an illegal lottery played mostly in poor neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a bettor attempts to pick three digits to match those that will be randomly drawn the following day...

-style game drawn twice daily, with day and night drawings. Tickets can be bought in 50-cent multiples. Bets include straight (all three digits in order), box (all three digits in any order) and pairs.

Cash5

Cash5 is a nightly five-number game. The winning numbers are chosen from a field of 35. The basic Cash5 game costs $1; for an additional 50 cents, the Kicker option is activated. The Kicker option gives a player more opportunities to win.

Lucky4Life

Lucky4Life is drawn Mondays and Thursdays. Players pick 4 of 39 numbers in one pool, and 1 of 39 in a second pool. The top prize is $2000 weekly, split among multiple winners; second prize is $10,000, with a liability limit of $100,000. Winners in Lucky4Life cannot choose cash in lieu of the annuity.

Classic Lotto

Connecticut's six-number jackpot game, Classic Lotto, is drawn Tuesday and Friday nights. Six winning numbers are chosen from a field of 44.

Classic Lotto jackpots start at $1 million, payable in 21 annual installments; usually, winner(s) choose the cash option

Present value

Present value, also known as present discounted value, is the value on a given date of a future payment or series of future payments, discounted to reflect the time value of money and other factors such as investment risk...

. Under current rules, after two consecutive drawings without a first-prize winner at the $1 million minimum, the Classic Lotto jackpot increases by at least $100,000 per drawing until it is won.

A scratch game, $50,000 Connecticut Cash, introduced on June 2, 2011, offers players the chance to win cash prizes; each $5 winner, when activated, also generates a $1 quick-pick for Classic Lotto.

Super Draw

In October 2010, Connecticut introduced a recurring raffle-style game, Super Draw. Its first drawing was January 1, 2011; the second was July 4, 2011. Each Super Draw drew 1,311 winning six-digit numbers; prizes were $100, $1,000, $20,000 and $1,000,000 (all prizes paid in lump sum). Each ticket cost $10.

Sales for the third Super Draw began in October 2011 for the drawing to be held on January 1, 2012. The parameters for this drawing are the same as its previous drawings.

Mega Millions

Connecticut began selling Mega Millions tickets January 31, 2010, following a 2009 agreement where lotteries then offering either Mega Millions or Powerball to offer both games. Connecticut is among 44 lotteries selling Mega Millions tickets. Mega Millions plays are $1 each, or $2 with the Megaplier option.

Powerball

Connecticut has been a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association

Multi-State Lottery Association

The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 33 member lotteries MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, including Powerball, Mega Millions), video lottery, and instant ...

 (MUSL) since 1995. MUSL is the operator of Powerball, which is offered by 44 lotteries. A jackpot of $254.2 million was won in the November 2, 2011 drawing by one ticket, sold in Fairfield County

Fairfield County, Connecticut

Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...

; if claimed, it will be the largest prize won on a Connecticut Lottery ticket.

As with Mega Millions, basic Powerball plays are $1 each, or $2 with its Power Play. On January 15, 2012, Powerball will become a $2-per-play game, or $3 with Power Play.

Scratch games

The Connecticut Lottery offers numerous scratchcard

Scratchcard

A scratchcard is a small card, often made of thin paper-based card for competitions and plastic to conceal PINs, where one or more areas contain concealed information which can...

 games with various price points and prize levels, with differing themes.

1998 shootings

On March 6, 1998, there was a fatal shooting at the then-Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Newington

Newington, Connecticut

Newington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, it had a total population of 29,306. The Connecticut Department of Transportation has its headquarters in Newington....

. (The Connecticut Lottery headquarters currently is in Rocky Hill

Rocky Hill, Connecticut

Rocky Hill is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,966 at the 2000 census. Rocky Hill was part of Wethersfield, the neighboring town to the north, until it was independently incorporated in 1849....

.) A Lottery employee, Matt Beck, killed four of his supervisors, then himself.