If you’re looking for a good way to invest in a lottery, you might want to consider the Mega Millions. Not only has it become the largest lottery in the country, but it has also hit the billion-dollar mark in 29 rolls.
It keeps getting larger
The Mega Millions jackpot has grown by about a billion dollars. This is largely because of a rule change that occurred in October of 2017. Since this change, the jackpot has gotten larger in proportion to the number of tickets sold. As a result, more people are buying tickets.
In addition to the increase in the jackpot, the amount of numbers has also increased. The game is played in 45 states, including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington D.C., with California and Montana joining the game later. Before the cross-sell expansion of 2010, California and Montana were the only states to sell tickets for the game.
The Mega Millions has been around for more than 15 years. It first started with Florida, which bought tickets in the lottery’s first drawing. Since then, Texas and Louisiana have joined the game as well. However, the game’s biggest growth has occurred in recent years, despite no one having won the entire jackpot since April.
It has rolled over 29 times to break the billion-dollar barrier
The Mega Millions jackpot has been rolling over since April and is now at a staggering $1.025 billion. This is not the first time that the jackpot has reached this high but it is the first time that it has hit a record-breaking amount. A total of 29 prize draws have been held without a winner and the resulting estimated payout of $43 million has been split among eight lucky tickets. One of these tickets landed the prize for $3 million.
The Mega Millions jackpot may not be the biggest in the world but it certainly is one of the largest. It is estimated to hit the six figure mark before the end of the year, and if the lucky winner chooses to take the lump sum payment of $602.5 million, that will be the second-largest lottery jackpot prize in history.
It is for an annuity option
The Mega Millions jackpot has been increasing by about 5% each year. However, it has been adjusted due to slow sales. For this reason, the starting jackpot will be less than it is advertised, but the winner has the option to pick either cash or annuity. If the winner opts for the annuity, he or she will receive 30 payments over 29 years. This helps to protect the value of the prize during inflation.
The first Mega Millions payment will be made within two weeks after the jackpot winner lands the ticket. Afterwards, the player has sixty days to choose between cash and annuity. After choosing one, the player will be able to change the annuity ticket to a cash ticket in New Jersey or Texas.
It has rolled over to over $290 million
There is no denying that the Mega Millions jackpot has been on the rise over the last several months. Currently the grand prize is worth an estimated $290 million, a sum which can be divvied up amongst the lucky few. This number has grown in size by about a quarter of a billion dollars in the past couple of years.
The big question is: when will the Mega Millions jackpot finally roll over? If you believe the statistics, the last time a single ticket matched all five balls was on January 28 in California. On the other hand, there have been numerous jackpots in Texas and Florida in recent years. In fact, a Mega Millions prize of $502 million was awarded to two winners in California and Florida on March 8.
The Mega Millions is one of the most popular and widely distributed lottery games in the country. Since the game’s inception in May 2002, more than two and a half million winners have pocketed a combined total of more than $1.5 billion. With an average jackpot prize of $19 million, the average odds of winning the game are a respectable 1 in 4.6 million.
It was worth $1.537 billion in 2018
During its first twenty years, the Mega Millions jackpot has been won by players all over the country. The last time a jackpot reached over a billion dollars was in July 2018. However, the odds are still one in 302.5 million.
Since that record-breaking jackpot, 11 other jackpots have hit the $500 million mark. This year’s jackpot is estimated to be over $1 billion. It’s the third largest prize in the game’s history, after the $1.5 billion prize in 2016.
Mega Millions is a lottery that is played twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are sold online, or at retailers in every state and the District of Columbia. There are two options for claiming a prize, the annuity option or the cash option. For the annuity option, the prize pool is paid over 29 years. If a winner chooses the annuity option, they will receive a lump-sum payment that is equal to the Mega Millions prize pool.