Montanans Line Up Early for Millionaire Tickets

It took a little longer this year, 6.5 hours, to sell out the Montana Millionaire tickets. It was a busy scene at bars, convenience stores, and grocery stores across the state.

In my neighborhood, when I got up and left the house at about 5:15 a.m., car after car was pulling out at the same time with the same goal, to get their hands on a Montana Millionaire ticket.

Lines Form Before Sunrise Across Montana

This year’s Montana Millionaire game saw an increase in jackpots, instant wins, and the number of tickets sold overall, with five million-dollar jackpots available and 620,000 tickets sold.

Chris Wolfe

Seeing parking lots full and lines out the door at many convenience stores at 5:30 a.m. isn’t something you see every day. There is one convenience store that I normally go to that hasn’t had long lines in the past. This year, there was a line running around the store.

Record Speed: 620,000 Tickets Gone in 6.5 Hours

The store where I went to get my tickets had music playing and the mood was festive. It almost felt like we were standing in line to get concert tickets. People in line were talking about the chance at a million dollars and getting to know each other. Everyone was polite and in a good mood, even though they knew they were going to be there for a while.

via GIPHY

When I finally got my ticket, about 25 minutes after they went on sale, almost 100,000 tickets were already sold. Selling 620,000 tickets in six and a half hours works out to over 1,500 tickets sold per minute. I heard stories of people waiting in line for two hours to get their tickets.

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Keep those tickets in a safe place; the early-bird $250,000 drawing will take place on Monday, December 1. The five jackpot drawings will take place on Friday, December 26.