GAME HISTORY

Lucky For Life or also known as the “The Game Of A Lifetime” is a lottery drawing game, that is, for now, available in 25 states and the District Of Columbia. This lottery began in 2009 in Connecticut as Lucky-4-Life, became a New England–wide game three years later, and added eleven lotteries during 2015. The drawings are held in Connecticut on Mondays and Thursdays at 10:38 p.m. Eastern Time, using two drawing machines and numbered balls.

The Changes of 2013

The Game of a Lifetime was modified on September 17, 2013, adding a second "lifetime" prize tier, and a cash option for either annuity tier; Lucky For Life was modified again in January 2015 to its current format. It costs $2 per Lucky For Life play. Since 2015 we have seen a number of states joining in the lottery such as The District of Columbia, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, Kansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, etc.

Unlike other lottery games, Lucky for Life offers two annuitized prize levels and both of them are advertised as “Lifetime prizes”. With the changes of 2013, a first-prize winner can choose cash in lieu of the lifetime annuity whereas the second-prize winners also are offered a cash option. If a first prize winner chooses the annuity option, receives or shares the equivalent of "$1,000 a day for life" (the timing of the payments is according to the rules where the ticket was sold), with a 20-year guarantee and if the winner dies, the payments continue to the winner's estate. And the second prize receives $25,000 per year for life.

The Lucky For Life’s original version or we can say the Connecticut-only version was 4 of 39 white balls and 1 of 19 green balls; hence the name Lucky-4-Life. Used at the beginning of January 2015, Lucky for Life's double matrix was 5 of 48 white balls and 1 of 18 green "Lucky Balls". The format again went through a modification process to its current name with a matrix of 5/40 + 1/21. Whereas the 2013 game modification including the new second "lifetime" prize tier and the introduction of a cash option had 43 balls in each of the two drums. The game matrix of 5/43 + 1/43 version never produced a top prize-winning ticket. Also, the first winner under the current matrix was sold in South Carolina for the November 19, 2015 drawing. The winner, who claimed the prize anonymously under SCEL rules, was the first to choose cash in lieu of the annuity for the game's top prize, as all previous top prize winners are receiving their winnings under the game's pre-2013 rules.

You just have to pay $2 for one game and select five numbers from 1 to 48 and one Lucky Ball from 1 to 18, or can choose a Quick Pick and have your numbers randomly generated. If you match all five main numbers plus the Lucky Ball, on the day of the drawing, then you have won the Jackpot. The overall odds of winning any Lucky for Life prize are 1 in 7.8 based on a $2 wager.

The minimum age to play Lucky for Life in Iowa is 21, whereas in Nebraska it is 19 elsewhere it is 18.