Ohio Vaccine Lottery -- Five Vaccinated Residents Will Win $1 Million The state will run a weekly drawing of $1 million to give to adult residents who have received at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Luis Alvarez | Getty Images

The benefits of being vaccinated just increased by a million for Ohio residents.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that for five weeks, the state will run a weekly drawing of $1 million to give to adult residents who have received at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.

DeWine is dubbing the drawings "Ohio Vax-a-Million", which will run for five Wednesdays starting on May 26.

"The pool of names for the drawing will be derived from the Ohio Secretary of State's publicly available voter registration database," DeWine tweeted. "Further, we will make available a webpage for people to sign up for the drawings if they are not in a database we are using."

Non-adults from ages 12-17 will be entered in a different drawing to win scholarships following the same time frame as the lottery drawing.

"The winner will receive a full, four-year scholarship to our State of Ohio universities," DeWine said. "This will include tuition, room and board, and books."

DeWine said that the money will come from existing Coronavirus Relief Funds.

"I know that some may say, 'DeWine, you're crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money,'" he wrote. "But truly, the real waste at this point in the pandemic — when the vaccine is readily available to anyone who wants it -- is a life lost to COVID-19."

Eligible residents must be vaccinated before the time of the drawing and the pool of names of those eligible will be derived from the state's voter registration database.

Ohio reached over 1 million coronavirus cases as of Thursday afternoon.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Leadership

7 Telltale Signs of a Weak Leader

Whether a bully or a people pleaser who can't tell hard truths, poor leadership takes many forms.

Business News

'Everyone Can Profit From It': What Is DeepSeek? China's 'Cheap' to Make AI Chatbot Climbs to the Top of Apple, Google U.S. App Stores

DeepSeek researchers claim it was developed for less than $6 million, a contrast to the $100 million it takes U.S. tech startups to create AI.

Business News

Uber's CEO Says Drivers Have About 10 Years Left Before They Will Be Replaced

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the jobs of human drivers are safe for the next decade, but after that, another type of driver will take over.

Business News

Elon Musk's DOGE Is Hiring People Eager to 'Work Long Hours' to Eliminate 'Waste, Fraud and Abuse' in the Government. Here's How to Apply.

The Department of Government Efficiency is hiring U.S. citizens to help cut spending and headcounts in the federal government.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

'I Love Doing Product Reviews': Bill Gates Stepped Down from Microsoft in 2020, But Admits He Still Spends 15% of His Time Working at the Company

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates also said he is still close with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella.