The Massachusetts Lottery on Tuesday announced plans to launch a "Jaws"-themed scratch ticket next month that will offer losers a second chance drawing that could score them a trip to Martha's Vineyard next summer as part of the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's classic nautical thriller.
Just more than 8 million of the $10 "Jaws" tickets will be available starting March 26 and will feature prizes of up to $1 million.
In addition to the instant-win prizes, people who buy a "Jaws" ticket and do not win instantly can enter into second chance drawings. Those second chance drawings will feature 30 total top prizes -- a trip to the Vineyard and a three-night stay for two people at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown. The winning package also includes black car service to and from the ferry, a custom guided bus tour of the island and some of the locations seen in the film, a private screening of "Jaws," $1,000 in spending cash and more. Each of the 30 second-chance winners will also win a cash prize, with one person winning $1 million.
Also Tuesday, the agency's head reported to the Lottery Commission that with no significant jackpots at stake, sales were down nearly $34 million last month compared to the previous January.
Executive Director Mark William Bracken said January sales of $556.7 million were $33.8 million lower than January 2023 sales, and that the Lottery's monthly estimated profit was $94.5 million last month compared to $122 a year ago.
In his report, Bracken said the decline was due "primarily to a $25.8 million decrease in Mega Millions sales and a $10.7 million decrease in Powerball sales resulting from smaller jackpots." The percentage of sales revenue that was returned to players as winnings was higher in January 2024 than in January 2023 -- 74.96% compared to 71.72%.
Now seven months through fiscal 2024, Lottery sales of nearly $3.73 billion are up $118 million or 3.3% over the same checkpoint in fiscal 2023. The Lottery's estimated profit, which Beacon Hill eventually divides up among the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, trails last year's record-setting pace by $21.5 million at $682.7 million.
Bracken's report also highlighted a $38.8 million increase in scratch ticket grand prizes claimed so far in fiscal 2024 compared to the same period of time in fiscal 2023, $216.8 million vs. $178 million.
The Lottery last fiscal year returned a record profit of $1.194 billion and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg forecast a profit of $1 billion this fiscal year. Gov. Maura Healey's budget managers in January increased the administration's year-end expectation for state revenue from the Lottery by $75 million to $1.275 billion to help close a $1 billion state revenue shortfall.
