Mega Millions. American people are blessed with many types of lotteries and a large number of people participate in them on a daily basis. Mega Millions lottery is one of them that is considered to be the most well-known and The Big Game around America till 1996. After six years it gained the level of The Big Game Mega Millions. It is an intergovernmental lottery game that is being played in 45 states including Columbia, US Virginia Islands. The first draw of The Big Game was held in 2002. Currently, people in six states are able to play this game. The logo of the game is still the same as it follows the prior The Big Game feature. It is a gold-colored ball with six stars that presents the game’s initial membership. Moreover, some lotteries have been added to the balls.
Draw Timings
Mega million draw is held at 11 PM ET on Tuesday and Friday evenings including holidays. The Mega Million lottery drawing is supervised by the Georgia lottery and is held at the studios of WSB-Atlanta Georgia.
Formate
The minimum jackpot prize is $20 million which is paid in 20 installments in a year that increases by 5% yearly if a player chooses to get his prize in an annuity. Mega Millions’ first formate began on October 19 2013 and the draw was three days later. There is a change in the current version of Mega Million as five white balls are drawn from the 70 balls and one gold-coloured “ Mega Ball “ is drawn from the pool of another 25 balls. If all of these are matched, the bettor will win the jackpot.
Just like other lottery games, Mega Millions needs $2 of the 47 Mega Millions jurisdiction. Although, California has a different option called “ Megaplier ” that costs $3 megaplier each. On the other hand, non jackpot prizes are multiplied by 2, 3, 4, or 5. In January 2011, the mega plier was made accessible for the mega million authority
Expansion Of Mega Million & Powerball
On October 13, 2009, a contract was signed between the Mega Million consortium and multistate association that they both would cross-sell Mega Million and Powerball in the American lottery system. The expansion took place on 31 January 2010 and right after this almost 23 members of Powerball started selling tickets for the mega million next draw on February 2, 2010. Equally, 10 mega million players also sell tickets for Powerball for their first drawing the next day. After the cross-sell expansion, many of the places have joined it including Montana, Arizona, South Dakota, Oregon, Nebraska, Maine, and Colorado.
It proved to be a successful cross-sell expansion as of January 2020 almost 47 lotteries offered mega millions and Powerball. Florida also became a part of Mega Millions in May 2013 mississippi began this system in 2019 and joined it on January 30, 2020. Whereas, Puerto Rico, where the lottery started in the 1930s, is not yet a part of it.
The Big Game: History
Mega Millions game is one of the oldest lottery games in America as its tickets start selling in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia on August 31. 1996. The creation of this game was the result of the discussion between the creator and designer ( Bill Martin) Michigan lottery commissioner & ( Desiree Rogers ) Illinois lottery director with ( Rebecca Paul) Georgia lottery and Penelope W. Kyle of the Virginia lottery as they discussed the multi-state lottery.
In the beginning, the lottery game was drawn on Friday. Earlier, the Georgia lottery joined MUSL and desired to sell both games for the remainder of 1996. But. due to some conditions, Georgia was removed from the MUSL forcefully, returning to 2010 cross-sell expansion.
May 15, 2002, saw an increase in membership of New York and Ohio when The Big Game joined the consortium. “ The Big Game Mega Million “ was the temporary name, retaining the old name and “ Gold Ball “ logo. “ The big Moneyball “ was converted to the “ Mega ball “ but the game’s name was changed. A yellow ball in the new mega million logo stayed the same and followed the Big Game until February 2003. After some time it was replaced with the six stars appears to be the original member of the consortium. Illinois lottery has all the control over the Mega Million trademark and the first draw is held two days later on May 17. Washington, Texas, and California were the first three lotteries that joined the mega millions. Before the cross-sell expansion of Powerball & Mega Millions, California was the last one to join. On March 1, 2010, Montana joined this game. When in 2003, Texas became a part of Mega Millions, it offered an option that was initially offered to the Texas lottery people that is known as Megaplier which was much like Powerball’s power play. On November 6, 2005, a drawing group named “ The Lucky 7 “ arranged only a “ Jackpot Winning ticket “ bought in Anaheim, California with the winning amount of $315 million. Later on March 6, 2007, the mega million jackpot reached to the prize money of $390 million. That was the third-largest jackpot in US history. Two of the players won the jackpot and shared the prize amount of $116, 557,083 before withholding tax, as they both have matching numbers of 16, 22, 29, 39, 42, and the mega ball 20.
What is a Megaplier?
Megaplier is an additional advantage to the Mega Million players as they can activate this amount multiplier ( megaplier ) anytime. It works almost similarly to the Powerball’s power play. Except for the second prize multiplier which is 2x. ( Both powerplay and megaplier are not allowed in California because of its pari mutuel prize structure as the multiplier is not accepted in California law ). Megaplier is an amazing chance to multiply the non-jackpot prize to 2, 3, 4, or 5 just by adding $1 to the basic Mega millions game to $3. Well, before the cross-sell expansion in 2010, the Texas lottery was the first one to act on megapliers.
How To Play the Mega Million Lottery?
- The player must have at least $2 for each play.
- The gamer has to choose six numbers from 2 separate pools. The player will choose five numbers from a pool of 1 to 70 white balls and a single number from the gold mega ball of 1 to 25.
- In the next step, select easy pick/quick pick.
- The one whose all those numbers get matched will be the winner.
- The jackpot prize varies on the sales and will be declared before each drawing.
Detailed Prize Money
| Match | Prize | Odds |
| 5 White Balls + 1 Yellow Ball | Jackpot | 1 in 302,575,350 |
| 5 White Balls | $1,000,000 | 1 in 12,607,306 |
| 4 white balls + 1 Yellow Ball | $10,000 | 1 in 931,001 |
| 4 White Balls | $500 | 1 in 38,792 |
| 3 White Balls + 1 Yellow Ball | $200 | 1 in 14,547 |
| 3 White Balls | $10 | 1 in 606 |
| 2 White Ball + 1 Yellow Ball | $10 | 1 in 693 |
| 1 White Ball + 1 Yellow Ball | $4 | 1 in 89 |
| 1 Yellow Ball | $2 | 1 in 37 |
1 in 24 chances of winning any prize amount.
What If you win the jackpot?
The players have two options after winning the jackpot prize.
Annuity Option
If any player wins the jackpot prize he can get paid in an annuity which means an immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments. The payments would be 5% bigger than the previous one. It is a good source to help the winners to manage their financial conditions in the time of inflation.
Cash Option
A cash option is a one-time lump sum payment that is equal to all the amount in the mega million jackpot prize.
Mega Million Winning Numbers
5, 13, 29, 50,, and 53 were Tuesday night’s drawing winning numbers. While the powerball was 25 and the megaplier was 3x.
Create an Account To Play
Creating an account would be a great strategy to win The Big Game so go ahead and open an account of the Virginia lottery to play Mega Millions online.
To do this, you have to set up a MyGameRoom account and try your luck today! Even if you are not lucky enough to win this time. You can still help the students in Virginia because 100 percent of the Virginia lottery’s profits have been used to support K-12 public education since 1999.
Things to keep in mind:
- The management of the Mega Millions lottery stops selling tickets at 10:45 P.m. on draw nights so get your tickets earlier.
- According to Virginia’s lottery management, they don’t cancel sales, online tickets,, and plays.
- The user must use playslips to make sure that the numbers are correct.
- If you are going for optional plays, must tell your clerk about the option you are going for, whether it is a multi-draw, future, or repeat.
- The ticket bought in the state will be redeemed in the same state.
Conclusion
The Megamillion lottery is famous around 45 states in America. So we can not doubt its popularity. It’s interesting prizes and rewards are enough to attract people. It takes place two days a week so a large number of participants take part in it. So don’t get late and join the mega million lottery and be a millionaire overnight.
FAQS
How much does a Mega Million lottery cost?
Anyone can take part, if he has $2 to buy a ticket.
When will the management of mega millions stop selling tickets?
The player can not purchase the tickets after 10:45 PM.
What is the difference between cash payments & annuity payments?
Cash payment means one-time payment and annuity payments bring an increase of 5% in payments annually.
How much prize money do you get if you have 4 white balls and 1 yellow ball?
You will get $10,000.
