Mega Millions Lottery
Mega Millions has the second-largest jackpot valuing 1.537 billion and is next to only Powerball's 1.586 billion jackpot. The current jackpot for the 15th January 2021 draw is set at $750 million and will be the second-largest in the game’s history. The minimum advertised Mega Millions Jackpot is $40 million available in annuity option and the value increases every time there is no winner.
It began under the name of The Big Game in 1996, Mega Millions Lottery is one of the most popular American lottery games with two draws a week. Played across 45 states, the draw takes place in Atlanta, Georgia. The game initially started from six states and gradually find its way across 45 states of the United States. The first Mega Millions draw was held on May 17, 2002, and the game astonishingly had a jackpot winner in its very first drawing.
In the last 18 years, there have been 192 jackpots with 20 jackpots valuing higher than $300 million. In Mega Millions, players pick 6 balls from two separate pools. Five white balls are picked from a pool of 70 balls while the gold mega ball is picked from a pool of 25 balls. Additionally, you can also choose the Quick Pick or Easy Pick option to have the numbers automatically drawn.
Check the Lottery news for winning numbers and winners.
How many ways to win Mega Millions?
You can win Mega Millions lottery in 9 ways with its overall structure resembling Powerball lottery game. The prize structure entails 8 prizes and a jackpot. The game is played with a total of six balls of which 5 are white and one is a gold mega ball. You can win the game by scoring one of the 9 combinations and the higher the number of matched balls means greater the prize. The lowest prize of $2 can be won by getting a gold mega ball match while the jackpot requires getting all five white balls and the gold mega ball match.
How many payouts in Mega Millions lottery?
There are nine payouts in Mega Millions lottery starting from $2 and soaring up to the jackpot amount. The largest jackpot ever recorded in the game’s history stands at $1.537 billion. This prize was won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018. This is also the second-largest payout in the history of the lottery as Powerball’s 1.586 billion jackpot leads the way.
In all the member states, Mega Millions lower-tier prizes from 2nd to 9th are fixed amount while California follows a pari-mutuel system of winning. In this system, the prize money varies as per the number of winners and total sales.
How to win Mega Millions?
It is merely impossible to find a way to predict the winning combination however there are certainly ways to increase your chances of success. Research goes a long way in helping you find the numbers whose chances of winning are better than the rest. Some numbers pop up frequently while others aren’t so recurring. So, it is best to analyze and find the numbers that are common and discard the ones that are not.
What are Mega Millions lottery drawing days and timing?
Every Tuesday and Friday Evening, Mega Millions lottery draw is held at the WSB-TV Studios at 11 P.M. Eastern Time in Atlanta Georgia. Drawn under the supervision of the Georgia Lottery, the event is hosted by Sabrina Cupit, Carol Blackmon, and John Crow.
What is Megaplier?
Megaplier is a special feature in Mega Millions to increase the value of non-jackpot prizes and increase your chances to earn big. Buying Megaplier costs an extra $1 and it multiplies the winning amount to 2, 3, 4, or 5 times. The Megaplier is drawn before the Mega Millions draw from a pool of 15 balls out of which one is marked with 5x, three with 4x, six with 3x, and five with 2x.
What is "Just the Jackpot"?
In some states, there’s another option available named “Just the Jackpot”. The Just the Jackpot game ticket is priced at $3 and gives the player two shots at the jackpot prize while the other lower-tier prizes are locked.
How much is Mega Millions ticket price?
A single ticket of Mega Millions lottery game costs $2 with the option to add in the Megaplier for an extra $1. The Megaplier feature activates a multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, and 5x on non-jackpot prizes.
What are the chances of winning in Mega Millions?
The odds of scoring a jackpot in the Mega Millions Lottery stand at 1 in 258,890,850 while the odds of winning the smallest prize is 1 in 21. In general, there’s a 1 in 14.71 chance of winning a prize in the Mega Millions.
What is the annuity option, and why choose it?
In the Mega Millions’ new revised annuity option, the winner gets the winning amount in 30 graduated annual payments. In this option, the annual payment gradually increases at a rate of 5%. The majority of the winners prefer the cash option over the annuity one as it gives them the complete winning all at once. However, the total winning amount in the cash option is significantly lower than the annuity option.
Besides a greater winning amount, there are several reasons why choosing an annuity option is a good idea. As described above, in the newly revised rules, the annual payment increases gradually at a rate of 5% in the annuity option. This adds greater value to the prize.
How to claim the winning prize?
It is often easy to claim the winning prize if you buy the ticket online as the winnings get directly transferred to your associated account. However, if you purchased the ticket from a retailer then you have to either issue a claim at the authorized retailer, district office, claim center, or lottery headquarter depending on the winning amount.
Prizes valuing $599 or under can be issued at an authorized retailer or claim center while prizes valuing $600 and above can only be claimed at the district office of lottery headquarter. On the other hand, Mega Millions’ jackpot winners must contact the lottery headquarters to claim their winning prize.