NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On Friday, one lucky person could win $825 million in the Mega Millions drawing. But if there are no winners, the money would go to fund education in Tennessee.
According to the Tennessee Lottery, there are $27 million worth of unclaimed lottery prizes ranging from $10 to $1 million. If a prize is not claimed within 180 days of the original drawing, the cash gets redirected to education accounts and participation in after-school programs involved in Lottery for Education After-school Programs (LEAP).
Up to $18 million dollars each year goes toward after-school programs like Moves & Grooves, Inc.
“It’s huge,” Britney Taylor with Moves and Grooves, Inc. told News 2 in 2023. “To be honest, without this funding, we would not be able to offer the quality after-school program we do offer.”
While many won big this year, the Tennessee Lottery did not. The Tennessee Lottery generated $70 million dollars less than last year, according the Tennessee Comptroller of The Treasury.
Some Nashvillians told News 2 that this revenue loss did not come as a shock.
“It’s not a thing anymore, I don’t think,” Nashville resident Donna Robinson said.
As of June, the Tennessee Lottery saw a $65 million decline in instant games and a $6 million decline in draw-style games.
“All my friends — they just are into stock [and] Bitcoin,” Vincent Gilmore of Nashville explained.
In a November budget hearing for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, president and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation Rebecca Hargrove said the organization has a plan to fill the financial gap.
“We are looking at distribution channels,” Hargrove said. “We are looking at price payout. We are looking at enhanced value in our instant product.”
Hargrove said the fastest way to make up the revenue loss would be to implement larger starting, fasting growing and more frequent jackpots. This change would impact the Mega Millions in April 2025, possibly bringing in more customers.
“When it gets to, like, the $900 million or a billion, I’ll buy one,” Nashville resident Randy Higgs said.
Tel projects a spike in Mega Millions revenue in 2025 to be around $70 to $74 million.
“I’ll only buy them whenever I have some extra money, but I’ve never bought a Powerball ticket or anything like that,” resident Aaron Hitchcock said. “I think you got better odds to get eaten by a shark on land or something like that.”
With the $825 million Mega Millions drawing on Friday, one Nashvillian told News 2 that he is trying his luck in the lottery for the first time.
“I was like, ‘Why not? That could be my chance,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore added that even if he wins, he would like to see the unclaimed money go toward after-school and LEAP programs.
“The children are our future,” Gilmore said. “We just need to invest in our future.”
