Montana Millionaire — the state lottery famous for selling out in record time — ground to a halt this year as technical problems locked up sales within minutes, forcing small-business owners to scramble and leaving them waiting for a full explanation.
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In 2024, more than 100,000 tickets sold in the first half hour, and all 500,000 were gone in under three hours. This year, with a record 720,000 available, fewer than 13,000 sold before sales were halted at 11.
At the Black Chip Tavern and Casino in Laurel, the trouble began almost immediately. Mike Gray, the manager, said the bar and casino opened at 5:30 a.m. so customers could come in early and get ready.
"We had a great crowd come in, and the first player that started playing started having problems. There were no tickets coming out," Gray said. "He sat there for a good hour trying to get tickets. Nothing would come out. Then it came back up for a couple minutes, but the tickets that he got after that were instant winners automatically."
According to Gray, that's when they knew there was a problem.
Gray said he got on the phone with his Montana Lottery representative around a quarter to six.
"The minute we started having problems, I automatically jumped on my phone, got a hold of my Montana Lottery rep, Stephanie, and she told me exactly what was going on and what to do," Gray said.
He said she told him the lottery was working to fix the issue as it unfolded.
"Just that they were definitely having problems and they were trying to figure it out as it was going," Gray said. "I think when they realized that a lot of the instant winning money was coming out right away is when they had to shut it down, which I kind of agree with."
Gray said keeping customers informed was key to easing the tension, especially compared to those waiting in the cold outside convenience and grocery stores with no updates.
"Every time I got a report from the Montana Lottery, I would instantly let all my customers know about what was happening, what I knew, and what we could do to help," Gray said.
Related: Montana Lottery director answers questions on Montana Lottery postponement
Gray acknowledged the frustration ran through him, too.
"Of course you're, you know, you get here three thirty in the morning, you get your stuff done, you open the door at five thirty, you get a bunch of people in. And when something doesn't work, yes, the irritation starts coming," Gray said. "Not only for myself, because I was worried, you know, is there something I'm not doing? Is it my machine that's down?"
He said the mood shifted once information started flowing.
"Once you start finding out information and you start relaying that information, the tension seemed to kind of subside," Gray said.
The Laurel crowd kept warm with coffee and muffins, and Gray said the community spirit carried the day, even cheering on the early instant winners.
"When somebody wins on that machine, a $500 winner, they're all happy because they think, okay, now I have a chance. If they can do it, we can do it," Gray said.
Twenty minutes away in Billings, the story was the same for other casinos.
In Billings, Rachel Dehler was dealing with the same thing. It was the first year her bar and casino, High Tide, sold Montana Millionaire tickets, and she said they kept it low-key, opening just for regulars.
"This was our first year doing it where we just opened to our regulars, like our customers, and just kind of kept it low profile," Dehler said. "So we didn't have huge lines and everything. It was more just a perk of being a regular here."
She said people showed up at 5 a.m., ahead of the 5:30 a.m. start, and the trouble was obvious right away.
"Right off the bat we knew. It kept showing up as the error and 'talk to an attendant,' and I'm like, there's nothing I can do," Dehler said.
Dehler said her first customer bought a couple of tickets and hit an instant winner immediately, the only ticket her location was able to fulfill. Rather than let the morning fall apart, her regulars turned it into something else.
"One of our regulars went and got a bunch of donuts for everybody. When lunchtime came, another regular went and got a bunch of pizzas for us. And then I had bingo boards in the back, so I became a bingo caller to pass some time," Dehler said.
"Everybody threw some money in a pot. Another guy here paid for everyone to play shake a day. You know, we were all inside and warm. And it was actually, dare I say, a lot of fun," Dehler said.
She estimated 40 or 50 regulars showed up, and said she tried to set a positive tone for a frustrated room.
"People were frustrated and irritated, but I feel like I have to set the tone. And so I really tried to stay positive about it," Dehler said. "Frustrated, like, you could sense the irritation and the frustration, but nobody was upset or complained or anything like that."
Both owners said they learned about the postponement the same way their customers did — through the Montana Lottery's Facebook page — and both said they're still waiting for a full explanation.
"There's so many rumors going around that there was a glitch with instant winners or that they hired a new software company that messed everything up," Dehler said.
Dehler said the small businesses that sell the tickets carry much of the burden with little to show for it.
"I do feel like we deserve an answer. You know, a lot of this falls on these small casinos and bars every year," Dehler said. "And we become the bank for the state pretty much throughout the year. And we don't make hardly anything off the sales."
She also questioned the 5:30 a.m. start time, which falls before bars can serve liquor or run gambling machines.
"Nobody really benefits from that because we obviously can't serve liquor. At 5:30, people can't gamble here at 5:30 in the morning," Dehler said. "So if you think about it, it's really the big box stores like Town Pump that benefit from the 5:30 a.m. start time"
Gray said he had heard tickets already printed — including instant winners — remained valid, but little else.
"The only thing that I did here is yes, it's postponed. Any tickets that were printed out are still valid is what I was told," Gray said.
For his part, Gray was philosophical about the issue.
"Computers nowadays are everywhere. Technical glitches happen in just about everyday life, be it your car to your computers at home to anything. So things happen," Gray said.
For all the frustration, both owners said the day turned into a boom once the bars could start serving.
"We had our highest liquor sales for Sunday morning that we've ever had," Dehler said.
She summed it up in a post on her bar's Facebook page.
"Montana Lottery accidentally sponsored the busiest Sunday morning bar sales we've ever had," Dehler said.
Gray said his Sunday picked up the moment customers could order a drink.
"By the time eight o'clock hit, you know, these people that have been here since five thirty, they were ready. We had Bloody Mary's and Caesar's lined up everywhere on the bar. Our machines started to open up so people could play," Gray said.
Still, Dehler said she's torn about whether the chaos was worth it.
"If that's the worst thing that happens to us in a day, like, miracles are a shift in perception, right? And we had so many beautiful things that came out of it," Dehler said.
The two owners are heading in different directions on whether they'll do it again.
Dehler, whose location only opened for the Montana Millionaire for the first time this year, said she's undecided.
"We are up in the air right now. We are unsure," Dehler said. "I just think it's being left in the dark and not having any concrete answers to what happened and then they haven't even given us a new date."
Gray, on the other hand, said he's already committed to a repeat whenever Montana Millionaire returns.
"As soon as I find out, like I said, I will paste it on our Facebook page for our customers. I will be here bright and early that day again to let my customers in and we'll do it all over again. That's what it's about," Gray said.
