1988
In July the Kentucky Lottery Commission is appointed by Governor Wallace G. Wilkinson to draw up plans for the creation of a lottery in the state of Kentucky.
A referendum is held on November 5th – to determine whether a Kentucky State Lottery should be created. Kentucky voters say “Yes” – with 60% voting in favour.
On December 16th – the Governor of Kentucky signs legislation that creates the Kentucky Lottery. The KY Lottery becomes the first USA Lottery company to be set up as a Corporation.
1989
The Kentucky Lottery Corporation chooses Louisville for its Headquarters in February. Bowling Green, Ashland, Prestonburg, Florence, Lexington and Henderson are chosen to site its regional offices.
April 4th sees the Kentucky Lottery launch its first games at over 5,000 retail locations … BEGINNER’S LUCK – a US$ 1 instant game with a top prize of US$ 1,000 and KENTUCKY DERBY DREAMSTAKES – a US$ 2 instant game based on the Kentucky Derby.
The KY Lottery flagship game – LOTTO KENTUCKY – is launched on October 16th with a 6/42 matrix, jackpot odds of roughly 1 in 5.2 million and jackpots paid in 20 annual instalments. Drawings are to be held every Saturday at 7.28pm EST.
October 28th sees the first millionaires created by the LOTTO KENTUCKY when John and Pat Ackerman from Louisville win the US$ 2 million jackpot.
The Kentucky Lottery Corporation launch the second online lottery –
KENTUCKY CASH – on November 20th. This game was later to be renamed as PICK 3.
1990
A weekly television game show – FUN AND GAMES – is introduced by the Kentucky Lottery on January 27th to be shown on television stations in Kentucky and neighbouring states.
The KY Lottery announce in April that a second drawing per week will be added to its flagship LOTTO KENTUCKY game – with draws now to be held on Wednesday nights as well as Saturdays.
On July 8th – PULL-TAB games are introduced by the Kentucky State Lottery. Games cost either 25¢ or 50¢ each and have prize ranges from 25¢ up to US$ 125.
1991
On January 10th the Kentucky Lottery Corporation becomes the 15th state to join the Multi-State Lottery Association – MUSL – and sell tickets for the huge
LOTTO AMERICA game. The LOTTO AMERICA would later be transformed into POWERBALL.
August saw the first changes to be made to the LOTTO KENTUCKY matrix – making it now a 6/49 game and with increased odds of 1 in 14 million.
September sees the first LOTTO AMERICA jackpot to be sold by the Kentucky Lottery when George and Shirley Haines from Cairo, Illinois win US$ 4.4 Million.
The KY Lottery bring out another online lottery game on – CASH 5 – a 5/35 game. The first tickets are sold on October 5th.
The first CASH 5 draw is held on October 11th at 7.28pm EST with drawings to be held every Tuesday and Friday evenings.
November 7th sees Thomas Savage from Louisville and Robert Coleman from Raccoon share a record LOTTO KENTUCKY jackpot of US$ 42 Million.
1992
The new multi-state geme – POWERBALL – is launched by the MUSL (Multi-State Lottery Association) with the first draw taking place on April 22nd. POWERBALL replaces the LOTTO AMERICA game and offers 9 different ways to win some truly massive jackpots. The games costs just US$ 1 and draws will be televised live from the Des Moines, Iowa HQ of the MUSL.
The Kentucky State Lottery changes the times of its evening draws in July from 7.28pm EST to 10.58pm EST – allowing players extra time to purchase their KY Lotto tickets.
The first extended-play instant scratch-off BINGO ticket in the U.S.A. is introduced by the Kentucky Lottery on November 11th.
1993
A new game is launched by the Kentucky Lottery on March 17th – The PICK – a daily 8/56 numbers game with nightly drawings at 10.58pm EST.
1994
On January 10th – Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nightly drawings are added to the existing CASH 5 draws held on Tuesdays and Fridays making the game a 5 times a week offering.
WILD MONEY – a new US$ 2 game – is introduced by the KY Lottery on March 2nd with a top prize of US$ 10,000.
A new daily online lotto game – PICK 4 – is introduced on April 4th to mark the 5th anniversary of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation. PICK 4 replaces The PICK.
April 20th sees the second largest jackpot won by a single ticket in any USA Lottery game to date when Brenda Knopf from Bloomfield, KY scoops a massive US$ 64.2 Million POWERBALL jackpot.
1995
The LOTTO KENTUCKY sees some changes made in March when it reverts back to its original matrix of 6/42 and now offers players the option of being able to choose a cash lump sum payment should they win the jackpot.
A new BINGO game with a US$ 15,000 top prize is launched in May.
For only the second time since the POWERBALL game began – it is drawn outside of Des Moines, Iowa – when it is drawn live on television from the Kentucky State Fair in August.
December 18th sees a US$ 33.8 Million Kentucky POWERBALL jackpot claimed by a family from La Center, KY.
On the same date 17 sanitation workers from Louisville choose the newly available cash option for a US$ 9.09 Million LOTTO KENTUCKY jackpot.
1996
The first annuity instant ticket – PAYDAY – is launched by the KY Lottery on January 10th. It offers a US$ 52,000 top prize with winners receiving US$ 1,000 a week for a year.
A jackpot of US$ 89.3 Million POWERBALL jackpot is won on January 26th by Kent Miller from Madison, TN.
The Kentucky Lottery launches its first US$ 1 Pull-Tab game – PAYLINE – on July 29th with a top prize of US$ 200.
The Kentucky POWERBALL Lottery sells its fifth jackpot winning ticket on October 23rd – to Robert Mayton and Gwen Howard from Calhoun – who win half of a US$ 56.6 Million jackpot.
The Kentucky State Lottery introduces its first US$ 3 Instant ticket in November – SURPRISE PACKAGE – which has a top prize of US$ 150,000.
1997
June sees a US$ 57.5 Million POWERBALL jackpot won on a single ticket by the Davidson family from Indiana’s Evansville.
November 1st sees some changes made to the POWERBALL game with the intention of offering bigger jackpots. The starting jackpot figure for POWERBALL is increased to US$ 10 Million and players can now choose between a cash lump sum payment or an annuity of 25 annual instalments if they win the jackpot. The matrix also changes to 5/49 + 1/42.
On November 12th – the first US$ 5 Instant game introduced by the Kentucky Lottery is launched. MEGABUCKS has a top prize of US$ ¼ Million.
1998
In April the Kentucky Lottery launches its first instant ticket that offers prizes other than cash. With HAWAII FEVER players can win all-expenses paid trips for two to Hawaii in addition to lesser value cash prizes.
TRUCKS & BUCKS is launched by the Kentucky Lottery on June 3rd – the first game to have vehicles as top prizes.
A POWERBALL record is set on July 29th when a massive US$ 295 Million jackpot is won by 13 Ohio work colleagues who had purchased their
Powerball Tickets in Indiana.
CASH QUEST – a new online lottery with drawings on Tuesday and Thursday nights is launched by the KY Lotto in August.
The first game to offer payments for life is launched by the Kentucky Lottery in November. WIN FOR LIFE is a US$ 5 scratch-game that offers players the chance to win US$ 1,000 per week for the rest of their lives.
1999
Midday drawings are added to the existing nightly drawings for the PICK 3 and PICK 4 games on March 15th.
June 5th sees weekend drawings added to the CASH 5 game meaning that players can now participate 7 days per week.
2000
On April 26th a Kentucky POWERBALL jackpot of US$ 42 Million is claimed by the Melvin Rhodes family.
May 13th sees the biggest LOTTO KENTUCKY jackpot for 3 years when Jane Sigler wins US$ 17.5 Million.
On May 30th a US$ 60 Million Kentucky POWERBALL jackpot is then shared between four auto parts store colleagues from Tennessee – meaning that the KY Lottery had awarded 2 consecutive POWERBALL jackpots.
The POWERBALL TV Game Show is launched in October by the Kentucky Lottery along with 9 other State Lottery companies.
The first US$ 10 scratch-off ticket – KENTUCKY HOLIDAY – is launched on October 30th by the Kentucky State Lottery.
2001
CASH FIVE see its final drawing take place on March 3rd.
A new online game – Kentucky CASH BALL – is introduced on March 4th with a top prize of US$ 200,000 and draws on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
A new US$ 2 scratch-off ticket – COLD CASH – is launched on April 16th with players able to win cash as well as Pepsi products. Every ticket wins a prize in this game.
A US$ 3 scratch-off – FASTCASH – is introduced by the Kentucky Lottery on April 30th and has a top prize of US$ 30,000.
May 7th sees the KY Lottery introduce its second US$ 10 scratch-off game. KENTUCKY ROAD TRIP offers players 20 chances to win and a top prize of US$ 250,000.
August sees a record POWERBALL jackpot at the time of US$ 295 Million which was shared among four lucky winners – one being David Edwards from Westwood, KY.
On September 9th the Kentucky Lottery introduces LOTTO SOUTH – a new online lottery game born from the merger of 3 smaller jackpot games – its own LOTTO KENTUCKY plus games from the Virginia Lottery and the
Georgia Lottery. The flagship Lotto Kentucky is retired.
September 12th sees the first LOTTO SOUTH draw take place. Jackpots start at $2 Million.
2002
The Kentucky Lottery CASH BALL game is now drawn 6 times a week instead of 3 times a week from February 25th.
A pull-tab with a top prize of US$ 1,000 is launched by the Kentucky Lottery on February 28th. The $1,000 GRAND is a US Lottery first and also has a bonus prize of US$ 1,000.
The Kentucky POWERBALL sees its 12th jackpot winners on June 21st when Joe and Lili Anderson from Murray, Kentucky win US$ 14 Million.
Having only just created a POWERBALL jackpot winner – the Kentucky POWERBALL creates another on July 23rd – when Richard Barbella from Lexington claims US$41.5 Million and becomes Kentucky’s 13th POWERBALL jackpot prize winner.
POWERBALL sees some game changes on October 6th when 4 numbers were added to the main (white) balls and the POWERPLAY option had the number 1 removed. Jackpot odds were now 1 in 120 million and even larger POWERBALL jackpots would be created and more frequently.
The Kentucky Lottery sees its first LOTTO SOUTH jackpot winners on October 21st when Nancy and Buddy Meyer from Logan County won US$ 6 Million.
2003
The Kentucky Lottery brought in a feature allowing players to win an online game instantly on January 21st. EXTRA CASH was added to the PICK 3 and PICK 4 games.
The second LOTTO SOUTH jackpot winners from Kentucky emerge on March 13th when Don and Mary Borders claim a US$ 3 Million prize.
On May 28th a third Kentucky Lottery LOTTO SOUTH jackpot is claimed by William Ball of Lexington who wins US$ 9.6 Million.
A US$ 13.5 Million jackpot prize claimed by a woman from Shepherdsville in July means that the Kentucky Lottery has now seen its 14th POWERBALL jackpot winner.
The Kentucky Lottery Corporation introduced a US$ 1 Scratch-Off ticket – DILBERT – on September 26th. It was based on the cartoon character of the same name.
A 4th LOTTO SOUTH jackpot winner in Kentucky emerges in December when Shirley Yearby – a Kentucky Lottery player from Louisville – claim an exciting
US$ 21 Million.
2004
BEGINNER’S LUCK – the very first Kentucky Lottery scratch-off ticket – is reintroduced in March to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation.
A LOTTO SOUTH jackpot of US$ 12.6 Million is claimed on May 18th by a group of 26 colleagues from a manufacturing plant in Erlanger, KY.
August 30th sees the Kentucky Lottery launch TIC TAC CASH – a new online game played in the manner of Tic Tac Toe.
2005
The KY Lottery introduced its first Scratch-Off ticket with a US$ 1 Million top prize in March – KENTUCKY MILLIONAIRE.
A new online game was introduced by the Kentucky Lottery on April 4th.
DOUBLE UP CASH where players could double their non-jackpot prizes by correctly picking the results of a heads or tails coin flip.
May sees the Kentucky Lottery discontinue of the DOUBLE UP CASH game due to poor sales.
From July 1st – 100% of proceeds from Kentucky Lotto games will be going towards college grant, scholarship and literacy programs.
POWERBALL sees some further game changes on August 25th when 2 main (white) balls were added, nos. 54 and 55. Jackpots were now to start at a more exciting US$ 15 Million and second prizes at US$ 200,000.
On October 19th sees a record POWERBALL jackpot occur when an incredible US$ 340 Million was won by a family from Oregon. This draw also sees the first winners of the POWERBALL’s Match 5 Bonus pool which is won by 4 groups of Kentucky Lottery players – each receiving US$ 200,000 PLUS an extra US$ 653,492 Bonus pool prizes.
The LOTTO SOUTH records its record jackpot which is and won on December 31st.
2006
A world record POWERBALL jackpot of an incredible US$ 365 Million is won by a group of Nebraska factory workers following the drawing on February 18th. This still stands as the largest lottery jackpot won to date in the world on a single lottery ticket.
The LOTTO SOUTH game is retired by the Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky Lottery companies with its final draw taking place on February 25th.
The LOTTO SOUTH was replaced with the WIN FOR LIFE game on February 26th – where Georgia Lottery, Virginia Lottery and Kentucky Lottery players could win US$ 1,000 a week for life.
2007
The first Millionaire Raffle game is launched by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation in January – MILLION DOLLAR DRAW – which offers the best odds ever for winning US$ 1 Million at 1 in 250,000.
3 LINE LOTTO – Kentucky Lottery’s first US$ 2 online lottery game was brought in during April.
Also in April the Kentucky State Lottery end the TIC TAC CASH game.
The second Raffle game by the Kentucky Lottery was drawn on August 14th. LUCKY 7’s RAFFLE has 2 top prizes of US$ 500,000 which are won by KY Lottery payers in Louisville and Florence.
A US$ 61.5 Million POWERBALL jackpot is won in September by a group of 22 Bardstown employees – the first POWERBALL jackpot winners in Kentucky since July 2003 and the 6th biggest Kentucky Lottery jackpot ever.
The Kentucky State Lottery sees its second POWERBALL jackpot winner in just 11 weeks when a man from Shepherdsville wins US$ 33.6 Million in December.
2008
January sees the biggest THREE LINE LOTTO jackpot won when Angela McNear – a Kentucky Lottery player from Big Clifty – scooped US$ 670,000 after the game enjoyed a 19 week rollover.
November sees a new record THREE LINE LOTTO jackpot produced when
US$ 760,000 was won by a Kentucky Lotto player from Louisville.
2009
On October 9th an agreement is made between the Mega Millions Consortium and the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association – to allow the cross-sales of Mega Millions tickets within states that offer the Powerball game and the sale of Powerball tickets within states that offer the Mega Millions game. The Kentucky Lottery would be selling Mega Millions tickets come January.
2010
The record jackpot ever won to date on the KENTUCKY POWERBALL happens on January 6th when Ron and Tuesday Anderson from Georgetown scoop a massive US$ 128.6 Million.
On January 31st the Kentucky Lottery begins the first sales of its own
Kentucky MEGA MILLIONS tickets as a result of the cross-selling agreement made between the Mega Millions Consortium and the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association in October.
On April 19th – Ronald Cook from Louisville wins US$ 250,000 having purchased a Kentucky Lottery Mega Millions ticket.
Kentucky Lottery – Where the Money Goes…