Not a joke: thousands of players paid out handsomely

By Kate Northrop

Thousands of lottery players won a total of $7.9 million in an April Fool's Day Daily 4 drawing in Texas after the game drew a "rare" number combination.

The Texas Lottery announced last week that it tallied up nearly $8 million in winnings in a single Daily 4 draw after the game produced a "rare" but popular result.

The April 1 Daily 4 Night drawing resulted in a payout that was far from a joke: identical quadruple numbers 7-7-7-7 awarded $7.9 million in winnings to thousands of players in one go.

It produced 3,353 winning tickets, of which 3,155 matched the 7-7-7-7 combination with a Straight Play, or exact order. For matching all four numbers, winners were awarded a $2,500 prize.

"Drawing four of the same number is a rare and exciting event in our Daily 4 game, but seeing lucky sevens come up on April Fool's Day made it even more memorable," Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Executive Director Courtney Arbour said in a press release. "We always enjoy seeing our players win, and these quadruple 7s certainly delivered a lucky night for many Texans."

Number combinations with the same four digits are often called "quads" and are a popular choice among lottery players, which is why the prize payout is so large.

This marks the 18th time a quadruple combination was drawn in Texas Daily 4 history and the first time 7-7-7-7 has ever been drawn since the game launched in 2007, according to the Texas Lottery.

Since the drawn Fireball number that night was 5, those who added the Fireball option to their ticket also won big if their ticket contained the combinations 5-7-7-7, 7-5-7-7, 7-7-5-7, or 7-7-7-5. For matching a straight win with the Fireball number, players walked away with a $1,350 prize.

Adding the Fireball option to a ticket doubles the cost of each Daily 4 board played.

Lottery winners in this drawing have 180 days from April 1 to claim their prizes. Most prizes from this draw can be claimed at a Texas Lottery claim center or through the Texas Lottery mobile app, the Lottery advised.

Daily 4 drawings take place four times a day, six days a week (Monday-Saturday) at 10:00 a.m., 12:27 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 10:12 p.m. Central Time. A live webcast and results of all Texas Lottery drawings are available at txlottery.org.

All Texas lottery results are published right after each drawing at Lottery Post's Texas Lottery Results page.