Montana Millionaire Sale Starts at 5:30 AM, Drawing Criticism From Local Bar Owners
A technical glitch disrupted the launch, but the early start time is the main issue for retailers who receive a small commission on sales.
By Marco Ortega ·
Montana bar owners are challenging the 5:30 a.m. start time for the state's new lottery game, arguing that the schedule favors large convenience store chains over independent businesses. The criticism emerged after a technical outage delayed ticket sales on Sunday morning, leaving a queue of roughly 100 people waiting at a local casino.
Sean Graves, who owns several bars and restaurants in Montana, questioned the logic of the early hour. He noted that patrons cannot play casino machines before 8:00 a.m., so the 5:30 a.m. lottery start creates a mismatch. Graves argued that the timing funnels thousands of customers into big box stores like Town Pump rather than local retailers.
Graves proposed a specific alternative in a post online. He suggested moving the sale to 8:00 a.m. on the first Saturday of each November. This change, he argued, would allow the event to function as a promotion for independent bars and small shops instead of creating long lines at dawn.
The Cranny's Club Tavern and Casino in Dillon expressed similar concerns about the financial structure of the lottery program. The business is a licensed retailer for the Montana Lottery. They stated that they earn a 5% commission on lottery ticket sales and a 3% commission on Sports Bet Montana sales.
According to the Cranny's Club, retailers never receive a portion of the payout for winning tickets sold at their locations. They described this as the standard operation of the Montana Lottery. The owners said this structure makes the early morning sales difficult to justify for their bottom line.
The Sunday launch was further complicated by a system error. A customer who arrived at the casino after 6:45 a.m. reported that social media posts indicated the lottery machines were experiencing technical difficulties. The issue was expected to be resolved shortly. The machine functioned briefly twice during the wait.
Two customers in the queue managed to purchase tickets during those brief periods. Both turned out to be $500 Instant Winners. The customer waited approximately one hour before leaving. The incident has fueled the ongoing debate about whether the current 5:30 a.m. start time serves the interests of the state's smaller businesses.
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