BILLINGS, Mt. — What began as an early-morning tradition for thousands of Montanans hoping to win $1 million turned into hours of waiting and confusion Sunday after technical issues forced the Montana Lottery to postpone Montana Millionaire ticket sales statewide.
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People began lining up before sunrise, with some arriving as early as 3 or 4 a.m. Tickets officially went on sale at 5:30 a.m., but the excitement quickly faded when the lottery system began experiencing problems.
The Montana Lottery first acknowledged the issues around 6 a.m., just 30 minutes after sales began. After hours of attempted fixes, the lottery announced around 11 a.m. that it was postponing the game.
Related: Montana Millionaire postponed after 'technical issues' disrupt ticket sales
At Circle K on Grand Avenue in Billings, Jason Ans arrived just before 4 a.m. and secured the fifth spot in line. He watched as the first few customers began purchasing tickets before the system suddenly stopped working.
"First person in line, she got, I think, eight tickets, but they came out every five minutes or so," said Ans. "Then the next guy went up, and then, boosh, it just crashed."
At first, he thought the problem might be isolated to that location. But after contacting his son, who was at another gas station, he learned the issue was happening elsewhere, too.
What was supposed to be a quick stop for a chance at a $1 million prize turned into nearly seven hours of waiting.
"It's going on six hours, almost six and a half hours now," Ans said.
He wasn't alone. Austin Miles, who was also waiting at a Billings Circle K on Broadwater Avenue, said he arrived around 4 a.m. and watched as employees tried to get the system back online after the store experienced a power outage. After the lights came back on, the lottery system briefly started working again before going down a second time.
Miles said he was hearing from friends working at other gas stations and bars across the state, all reporting similar problems.
"System's been down from everything I've been told all over the state," Miles said. “I mean, normally by now it's usually sold out.”
The long waits came as thousands of Montanans hoped to take part in one of the state's most anticipated lottery events. In 2024, Montana Millionaire tickets sold out in a record three hours.
Related: Montana Millionaire tickets sold out in just over 6 hours
For many, the annual drawing has become a tradition. The $20 tickets offer players a chance at this year's six $1 million grand prizes, along with additional instant-win prizes.
"Everybody that's lived here forever just kind of knows that's the day. Every November 1st is Montana Millionaire Day," Miles said.
This year, some people spent more time waiting than they did buying tickets. Customers brought chairs to sit in, while others stood in line for hours. Some reportedly felt faint as the morning stretched on.
Frustrations also spilled onto social media as people across Montana questioned what was happening and when sales would resume.
Around 11 a.m., the Montana Lottery officially postponed the game.
The lottery declined an interview request but provided a statement explaining the technical problems. According to the lottery, it transitioned to a new central gaming system provided by its vendor, Bally's Intralot, in September. This was the first year Montana Millionaire sales were conducted on that system.
The lottery identified three issues: system performance problems caused by high volumes of simultaneous transactions, instant-win prizes being awarded more frequently than intended, and problems with the information feed on its website and mobile platforms.
The lottery said it is working with Bally's Intralot to address the problems. To maintain the game's integrity, approximately $500,000 in instant-win prizes that were awarded too frequently during the brief sales window will be added back into the remaining tickets.
All tickets purchased before the shutdown remain valid, according to the lottery. A new sales date and time will be announced after the technical issues are resolved and all game and sales data are validated.
"There are some places where they are a little hostile. Our group here is just like, 'Hey, can't do anything about it. It's Montana Lottery,'" said Ans. "It's the biggest day of the year for the lottery, and you figure it would have been going off without a hitch, but it didn't.”
Despite the long wait and uncertainty, not everyone left frustrated. Ans said the people around him remained patient, with some even looking out for one another.
"The guy was standing next to me, bought me water, which is really nice," he said. "Yeah, just a good group of people."
Miles said most people at his location were also keeping their spirits up.
"There's been a couple people that are a little angry, but other than that, everybody's been in a pretty good mood," he said. "It can always be worse. This, not bad at all.”
For Zane Johnson, who was second in line and managed to get his tickets right before the lottery was postponed, the morning ended with a little more luck.
"They kept us updated. It wasn't their fault. It was a system that wasn't working right," Johnson said. "Got my tickets. So I'm happy. I'm ready to go home."
The Montana Lottery says it will share updates through its website, social media channels, and lottery retailers once a new sales date is determined.
