Lucky for Life: Rules, Price & Odds

How to Play Lucky for Life

If you wish to get lucky for life, the first thing you need to do is to buy a ticket. You can buy a ticket from innumerable gas stations, grocery stores, corner stores, etc. Provided you live in one of the 23 states where the lottery operates. You can find a complete list of the states where you can buy a ticket on the Lucky for Life website.

After buying the ticket, you can choose the numbers yourself or randomly allow the lottery’s computer algorithms to generate them. Once that is done, you need to sit back and wait for a draw to happen. Numbers are drawn every night, so you don’t need to wait too long to get the outcome.

Rules of Lucky for Life

The Lucky for Life lottery rule has much in common with standard online lottery rules. The Life for Life lottery is drawn every day. Five white balls with numbers between 1 and 48 are drawn first. Then a single golden ball, also known as the ‘Lucky Ball,’ with numbers between 1 and 18 is drawn.

Prizes are paid out by how many of the numbers on your ticket match the numbers drawn. For instance, to win the top prize, you need all the numbers drawn to match the numbers on your ticket.

Odds to Win the Prizes

Odds to win at the Lucky for Life lottery depend on the prize level. There are ten prize levels in the game. The odds are naturally different for each. The bigger the prize, the greater the odds – that’s a rule of thumb that you should always remember. For instance, the odds to win the top prize are quite high. They are 1 in 30,821,472.

On the other extreme, the odds to win the lowest prize (worth a one-time $4 payment) is 1 in 32. If you fail to win the big prize, you can still land an amazing second-best prize. That will pay you $25,000 a year for the rest of your life. The odds to win this prize are 1 in 1,813,028.

Price of Lucky for Life Ticket

An unspoken rule of lottery games is that a single ticket is never sufficient. You need to buy multiple tickets to increase your chances. Therefore, lottery tickets need to be priced to purchase numerous tickets easily. Because, unlike the US casinos, there are no bonuses.

Lucky for Life lottery does that quite well. The tickets are affordably priced. Each ticket costs $2. You can stick to buying just one, but you can do so without burning a hole in your wallet if you wish to buy more.

Lucky for Life Jackpot

If you are lucky enough to win the jackpot or top prize at Lucky for life, it will turn your life upside down. In an unbelievably good way.

In contrast to other lotteries, this one continues to pay throughout your entire life. For instance, if you win the top prize, the lottery will pay you $1,000/day (equivalent to $365,000/year). You and your spouse may never need to work a day. You can live out the rest of your days in comfort, travel the world, or follow any other passion/hobbies that you might have.

Like other lotteries, there is a one-time encashment option as well. You might be inclined towards this if your business or personal finances are in a mess. The former cash option will pay you around $5,750,000.00 at this point. This figure is liable to change at any time.

Biggest Win Made

Over the years, there have been several winners of the top prize. The number exceeds 20, and these winners come from several of the 23 states in which this lottery is active. North Carolina and Ohio lead the pack, with four winners coming from each state. Kentucky comes next, with three winners coming from the state. States like Massachusetts and Michigan have contributed two winners each.

Furthermore, there have been single winners from many other states, such as Colorado. In August 2021, Richard from Florence, Colorado, became the first winner of the Lucky for Life grand prize in the state.

Results of Lucky for Life

In addition to the big prizes, another good reason to choose this lottery is that it’s quite speedy because the results come out quickly. Numbers are drawn every day, so you can get to know about the outcome of your ticket within 24 hours of purchase. You can check the results of the latest draw and past draws from the Lucky for Life official website.

Alternatively, you can go to a physical store and have the retailer check your results. You can go to the same store where you bought your ticket(s), or you can go to another Lucky for Life lottery retailer near you. You can also watch videos of the draw on Lucky for Life’s official YouTube channel.

How to Claim Lucky for Life Prizes

Your Lucky for Life tickets is not evergreen. That is to say; they are not valid forever. There is a deadline within which you have to use your ticket and claim your prize if you have won any. The local state lotteries set the deadline or expiration date. So, you need to check your local state lottery website to get the exact details.

For instance, if you are from Colorado like Richard, you have 180 days to claim your prize. You can schedule an appointment with the Colorado Lottery claims offices by phone. Alternatively, if you have won a substantial prize worth $600 or more, you can start the process by filling out an online form.

Taxes on These Prizes

Lottery winnings in the US are taxable income, so you may not have the same amount as the lottery proclaims. But how much can you expect to forego in taxes?

Suppose you win the big prize in Lucky for Life, quite a lot. That would put you in the highest income tax bracket as far as the federal government, i.e., the IRS, is concerned. The national income tax rate that you may have to pay against the Lucky for Life jackpot prize is around 37%. That is the highest federal income tax bracket. 

Moreover, local and state taxes can be as high as 13% of your winnings, depending on where you live. If you win the jackpot prize, it would be best to work with a tax specialist or financial advisor to get the best deal for yourself.

Our Opinion on Lucky for Life

The lifetime annuitized payments are the best thing about this lottery. This prevents losing your entire fortune to frivolous spending or ill-thought-out business decisions. Of course, you can choose a one-time cash payment option, but that is something you should only choose when necessary.

In every other case, you should go with the annuitized payments that can ensure a steady flow of income for you as long as you live.

However, the downside may be the allure of the life-changing jackpot prize. It can set you up for life, so you may easily drift into harmful addictive behaviour in attempting to reach the jackpot. It would help if you avoided such trappings and gambled responsibly.

Lucky for Life FAQs

We’ve tried to answer all your Lucky for life-related questions already. If there are some extras, let’s target them now.