MIDDLETOWN, Pa., June 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than half of the Pennsylvania Lottery's Millionaire Raffle tickets have been sold for the July 4 drawing. Only 248,783 tickets remained as of 8 a.m. today.

The raffle-style game offers 6,000 cash prizes worth more than $5 million. Sales of Millionaire Raffle tickets began April 27 and will continue until 5 p.m. on July 4, or until all 500,000 tickets are sold, which ever comes first. Tickets for the seven previous Millionaire Raffles sold out before the drawing.

"With less than four weeks until the drawing, we expect the remaining tickets to sell out quickly," said Lottery Executive Director Ed Trees.

Each of the game's $20 tickets offers a 1-in-125,000 chance of winning $1 million -- the best odds ever offered by the Pennsylvania Lottery for winning a million dollars. The drawing will award four top prizes of $1 million cash; four $100,000 cash prizes; 100 prizes of $1,000 cash; and 5,892 prizes of $100 cash. A total of 6,000 prizes worth $5,089,200 will be awarded.

The winning raffle ticket numbers will be randomly selected at 7 p.m. on July 4 when the Lottery's live drawing show will televise the selection of the four $1 million top-prize numbers and the four $100,000 second-prize numbers. The remaining 5,992 winning numbers for third and fourth prizes also will be selected, but will not be televised due to time constraints.

Players can check winning numbers the next day at www.palottery.com or by visiting a local retailer.

Trees reminded Millionaire Raffle players to sign the back of each ticket and keep tickets in a safe place until the July 4 drawing. To be considered a winning ticket, the eight-digit number printed on a ticket must match the eight-digit combination selected in the drawing, in the exact sequence in which it was selected.

Odds of winning a $1 million top prize or a $100,000 second-tier prize are 1-in-125,000; odds of winning a $1,000 prize are 1-in-5,000; and the odds of winning $100 are 1-in-85. The overall odds of winning any prize are 1-in-83.

For a list of top-prize winners from the previous seven Millionaire Raffle drawings, visit the winner's circle at www.palottery.com.

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 37 years ago, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed more than $18.3 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free and reduced-fare transit; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term care services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including more than 600 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 on the Pennsylvania Lottery, visit www.palottery.com

    CONTACT:  Stephanie Weyant    (717) 787-6960

SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery