$68M Lotto 6/49 jackpot ‘guaranteed’ to be won
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A record-breaking jackpot of $68 million will have a guaranteed winner after Wednesday’s draw.
A new element introduced to Lotto 6/49 last year means that along with the regular draw, each ticket is also entered into a chance at a growing jackpot.
At its core, the game is the same. You purchase a ticket and choose your six out of 49 numbers — but your ticket also generates a 10-digit number that is put into the progressive draw. Think of it like a raffle.
“There are 30 balls – 29 white balls and one gold ball,” Tony Bitonti, OLG’s director of communications, told the Toronto Sun.
“If a white ball drops, then that ticket still wins $1 million but the jackpot grows,” he explained. “But for the last 29 draws, only white balls have dropped.”
This week, the only ball left in the progressive jackpot of a maximum $68 million is the gold ball.
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“We can say with 100% certainty that it’s guaranteed to be won tonight,” Bitonti said Wednesday of the record-breaking jackpot. “This is a first time [in the progressive portion] the gold ball is the last ball standing.”
The last highest gold-ball-winning ticket was sold in New Brunswick in April, though that player has yet to claim the $64-million prize, while another $64-million ticket was won by a Mississauga resident in 2015, the last highest ticket sold in Ontario.
The most recent gold ball ticket, worth $42 million, was sold in June to a lucky player in Niagara Falls. It has yet to be claimed.
