Current Jackpot: $453,000,000
Winning the Mega Millions Lottery probably brings to mind a vision of you with a big fat check and the happy expectation of a grand shopping spree. You probably see yourself buying your dream home, purchasing that sleek new car you have always wanted. Maybe you want to buy extravagant gifts for loved ones and family, possibly found a charity for a cause that is close to your heart.
Whatever dreams motivate you, if you play or ever plan to play the Mega Millions Lottery, there are a few things that you should probably know.
Top Ten Insights of Mega Millions Lottery
- The Mega Millions lottery is an American lottery game. It is multi-jurisdictional and is offered in 44 states as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.
- State law prohibits Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah from all lotteries.
- Mega Millions uses a 5/75 ratio for its white balls and a 1/15 for its Mega Ball.
- Each ticket costs $1.
- To purchase a ticket, the buyer must be at least 18. The exceptions are Arizona, Iowa and Nevada, where purchasers much be 21, and in Nevada, where the purchaser must be 19.
- Mega Millions is drawn at 11pm eastern on Tuesdays and Fridays, and is hosted in Atlanta, Georgia by an ABC affiliate station.
- The minimum prize is a $15 million dollar pay out with 30 installments, which increase by 5% each year. Lump sum recipients opt out of this option and typically pay higher taxes.
- Winners typically have 180 days to claim a ticket and, in some cases, 1 whole year, depending on the prize.
- The highest Mega Millions jackpot occurred in 2012 and had a cash value of $474 million dollars for a lump sum, and a whopping $656 million in annuity payments.
- Mega Millions is the only nationally televised drawing in the United States.
Odds of Winning the Mega Millions Lottery
So all of the above information is good, but it does not tell you what you really, really want to know.
What are my chances at winning the Mega Millions Lottery? What are the odds?
Your chances of winning the jackpot prize is 1 in 258,890,850.
Those might be long odds, but most people are willing to invest a buck for the chance of winning the Mega Millions Lottery.