A favorite pizzeria. A pie shared with friends. A spirited debate over who makes it best. Connecticut’s apizza culture inspires loyalty, brings people together, and gives the state something to celebrate.
This October, for National Pizza Month, the CT Lottery is giving adult fans a new way to celebrate that tradition with “Connecticut Apizza,” a limited-run scratch game showcasing pies from Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Sally’s Apizza, and Modern Apizza. The ticket brings three iconic pizzerias together in one uniquely Connecticut experience, with a top prize of $50,000.
An exclusive New Haven preview on Friday, October 2, gave fans their first chance to play ahead of the ticket’s full statewide launch Tuesday, October 6.
Apizza has grown from its roots in New Haven’s Italian-American community into a defining part of Connecticut’s identity. The new ticket honors that heritage through three institutions whose craftsmanship and devoted fans have helped make New Haven a destination for pizza lovers.
The CT Lottery worked directly with each restaurant on the design, incorporating photographs of the actual pies into the ticket. The play area features Sally’s apizzas in the top row, Modern’s apizzas in the middle row, and Pepe’s apizzas in the bottom row. Additional images of Sally’s and Pepe’s pies appear above the play area, bringing some of Connecticut’s most beloved apizzas together in a first-of-its-kind design.
“We are amazed and grateful to see what apizza has come to mean for the people of Connecticut these past 100-plus years,” said Jennifer Kelly-Bimonte, granddaughter of Frank Pepe and co-owner of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. “The pride Grandpop had in making every pie is something that we now see being honored outside of New Haven, stretching all across Connecticut and beyond.”
She added that CT Lottery’s recognition of apizza as a revered state-wide cuisine is “a new and honestly humbling experience for us, and we are flattered to be a part of it.”
It’s an honor for Sally’s, too, said Christian Bonaventura, brand advisor for Sally’s Apizza. “For generations, ‘ah-beetz’ has been about bringing people together around the table, and we’re excited to share that tradition in a different way.”
Over at Modern Apizza, owner Bill Pustari chimed in: “This is bigger than pizza—it’s about the pride, tradition, and community that make Connecticut the Pizza Capital of America.”
Modern Apizza, it should be noted, received the most votes in CTVisit’s 2025 public poll to help select pizzerias for the Connecticut Pizza Trail.
Connecticut Apizza is now fully available at CT Lottery Retailers statewide as part of the Lottery’s First Tuesday scratch game launch.
“Few things inspire as much pride, and as much friendly debate, in Connecticut as apizza,” said Frank Suarez, president and CEO of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. “We’re proud to partner with Pepe’s, Sally’s and Modern to celebrate this uniquely Connecticut tradition in a fun new way, while generating revenue for the public programs and services that benefit communities across our state.”
