PHOENIX - It's been a lucrative week for some extra lucky Arizona Lottery players, with drawings producing an odds-defying three jackpot winners in two days.
Two of the winners became instant millionaires (before taxes), and the third hit for a six-figure prize.
The biggest of the three payouts came in The Pick, an Arizona Lottery game of chance with three drawings per week.
The Circle K at 40th Street and Greenway Road in Phoenix sold a ticket that matched all six numbers in Monday's drawing - 3, 11, 21, 25, 40 and 41 - to hit a $1.6 million jackpot.
The jackpot had been growing since Sept. 7, when a ticket purchased at a Mesa Bashas' grocery store hit for $7.8 million.
The Pick drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Each entry costs $1, and the odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in over 7 million. The top prize resets to $1 million after a win.
The odds of winning the top prize in Triple Twist, a nightly Arizona Lottery draw game, are a bit better but still long at 1 in about 5.2 million.
But despite those slim chances, players hit the Triple Twist jackpot on consecutive days this week.
The top prize was up to $1.04 million on Monday when a $2 Triple Twist entry from a Gilbert QuikTrip hit all six numbers: 10, 13, 14, 16, 22 and 33. The gas station is located at 3720 S. Val Vista Drive, between the Loop 202 San Tan Freeway and Germann Road.
The game's jackpot resets to $200,000 after a win. As a result, that was the payout the next day when, against all odds, a ticket purchased at a Phoenix gas station hit the jackpot. The Circle K at 44th Street and Osborn Road sold this entry, which matched the winning numbers of 8, 16, 18, 22, 25 and 29.
Arizona Lottery tickets can be purchased from more than 3,000 retailers statewide.
Winners have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.