Massachusetts Lottery to start selling $50 scratch ticket

BOSTON - The Massachusetts State Lottery is unveiling its priciest scratch ticket yet.

The $50 "Billion Dollar Extravaganza" ticket is set to go on sale February 7. It offers three $25 million prizes - the largest instant win prize in Lottery history - along with five $2 million winners and 15 $1 million prizes.

The Lottery says the ticket has the highest payout percentage of any game, with the odds of winning something 1 in 4.10. All winning tickets are worth at least $100.

"Our customers had been requesting this ticket for some time," State Treasurer and State Lottery Commission chair Deb Goldberg said in a statement. "After careful consideration, the Lottery has what we believe will provide them with the entirely new level of excitement they have been seeking."  

Massachusetts will join more than a dozen states that offer $50 scratch tickets. Currently, the most expensive scratch ticket in the state is $30.

Last month, the Massachusetts State Lottery interim executive director told the State House News Service that he's "very concerned" about slumping scratch ticket and Keno sales. 

"Right now, what we're seeing is that our sales are really indicative of jackpot-driven games and not games that we have control over," Mark William Bracken said.