MIDDLETOWN, Pa., Dec. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tickets for the Pennsylvania Lottery's Millionaire Raffle drawing are selling briskly, with the game passing the half-sold mark at mid-day on Dec. 18. At that time, fewer than 250,000 tickets remained available for sale.

This popular game, which offers the Pennsylvania Lottery's best odds of winning $1 million, offers 6,000 cash prizes totaling more than $5 million. Four $1 million top prizes will be awarded.

Sales of Millionaire Raffle tickets will continue until 5 p.m. on the drawing date, Saturday, Jan. 4, or until all remaining tickets are sold – whichever comes first. Tickets for all previous Millionaire Raffles sold out before each drawing.

Players should immediately sign the back of all tickets and keep them in a safe place until the drawing.

Each raffle ticket features a unique, eight-digit number issued sequentially as tickets are sold across the state. The first ticket sold on Nov. 15 carried number 00000001, and the final ticket sold will carry number 00500000.

To be considered a winning ticket, the number on a Millionaire Raffle ticket must exactly match a winning number selected in the raffle drawing, and all digits must appear in the same sequence as the winning number.

Winning Millionaire Raffle numbers will be randomly selected at 6:59 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4. The Lottery's live drawing show will televise the selection of four $1 million, top-prize ticket numbers and four $100,000, second-prize ticket numbers.

The remaining 100 winning numbers for prizes of $1,000 each and 5,892 winning numbers for prizes of $100 each also will be selected, but will not be televised live due to time constraints. In total, 6,000 prizes worth $5,089,200 will be awarded.

After the drawing, players may visit www.palottery.com to review a list of winning numbers or check their Millionaire Raffle tickets at Pennsylvania Lottery retailers.

Millionaire Raffle Pool Play forms are available on www.palottery.com for the convenience of players who enjoy pooling ticket purchases with friends, family members or coworkers.

About the Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception in 1971, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed nearly $23.7 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free transit and reduced-fare shared rides; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state.

The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly. Players must be 18 or older.

For more information, visit www.palottery.com, log in to Facebook and like us at www.facebook.com/palottery or follow us at www.twitter.com/palottery. 

Media contact: Gary Miller or Lauren Piccolo, 717-702-8008

SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery