$290 million mega millions
Amoung the 42 states (and the U.S. Virgin Islands and D.C.) that sell the Mega Million lottery tickets, there were 68 tickets that matched all five white balls but not the Mega Ball. These tickets are worth $250,000.
There were winners in California(21), Idaho (1), Illinois(1), Indiana(2), Kentucky(3), Massachusetts(3), Maryland(1), Michigan(9), Missouri(2), New Jersey(5), New York(8), Ohio (2), Pennsylvania(2), South Carolina(1), Tennessee(1), Texas(4), Vermont(1) and Wisconsin The odds of matching all five numbers and the Mega number is 1 in 175,711,536. While the overall chances of winning a prize are 1 in 40.
Mega Millions holds the record for the largest payout by a lottery in the United States when two ticket winners hit on March 6, 2007 in New Jersey and Georgia and split the jackpot of $390 million.
The second highest ever of $240 million cash, Mega Millions, hit Jan. 4, 2011, by two tickets, in Idaho and Washington State with annuity of $380 million.From the Mega Millions website: “Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 10:00 p.m. Central Time, 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Drawings are held at WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia. You can buy tickets until 10:45 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:45 p.m. Central Time, 7:45 p.m. Pacific Time. (In Oregon, you can buy tickets until 7:00 p.m. on draw nights.) In Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont you may purchase tickets up until 9:50 p.m. on draw nights.)”
The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday night. The jackpot in that game is at $70 million
No single ticket hit all the numbers in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing, which is driving up the jackpot. Right now, the jackpot is at $290 million. If it were to stay there, it would go down in history as the eighth-largest haul since the game of chance began in 1996.
But you can expect the Mega Millions jackpot to rise over the next three days as the country flocks to bodegas, 7-11s, gas stations and supermarkets with dollar bills in hand, dreaming of hitting it big.
Mega Millions bills itself as the nation's biggest jackpot game. It's played in 42 states, including California, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The rules of engagement are fairly simple. Players pick six numbers from two different pools: The first five are chosen from numbers 1 to 56, and the sixth is chosen from numbers 1 to 46. You win by matching all six numbers.
Drawings are held twice weekly -- on Tuesdays and Fridays. Other, non-jackpot prizes are also available based on the number of sales, winners and numbers matched.
If you win Mega Millions on Friday, you have two options.
The first is the gimme-all-my-money-now option. Mega Millions pays a one-time, lump sum. So, for dreaming purposes, if you are the only winner in this $290-million jackpot scenario, you would get a payout of about $205 million, according to the lottery website.
The second option is to have your Mega Millions jackpot paid out over 26 years. For every $1 million in the jackpot, you will receive approximately $38,500 per year before taxes, according to the Mega Millions website. So if you are the only winner of a $290-million jackpot, you would get more than $11 million a year before taxes with this option.
Just so you know, your chances of hitting all six numbers in the Mega Millions lottery is 1 in 175,711,536.
It happens, you know. Just last week, a New Jersey jury found that construction worker Americo Lopes tried to scam his co-workers out of their share of a $38.5-million jackpot by slinking off with the winning ticket purchased as part of an office pool.
You could avoid a similar fate by purchasing your own Mega Millions lottery ticket before Friday's drawing. But do you really want to be the only guy or gal standing on the sidelines when your co-workers win the jackpot? Didn't think so.
So here are six tips to avoid getting ripped off in the lottery pool, courtesy of the New Jersey State Lottery and its executive director, Carole Hedinger:
Designate a leader: Ideally, this person is not Americo Lopes. Instead, it should be someone who is trustworthy, well-organized, has the patience of Job and the ability to rule with an iron fist. This person will be in charge of collecting the money, buying the tickets and keeping the games running smoothly and fairly. In order to avoid any conflicts, the leader must also promise not to buy any personal lottery tickets apart from the pool -- or else let everyone know about any such purchases upfront, before the drawing.
Know the rules: Take the time upfront to decide how the pool will be run, and then put it in writing and distribute copies to everyone. This doesn't have to be overly complicated. Some basics to consider: What's the deadline for collecting cash? Who will hold the tickets? Will play be limited to certain people? What if Bill in accounting is out sick, and has Sara in sales cover for him when the money is being collected? Will they each receive their own share? Or will they have to split a single share? Some of these questions might seem nit-picky, but they could help fend off office drama, hard feelings and lawsuits if the pool strikes it rich.
Know when to break the rules: "If a person is not in the office on the day the lottery ticket money is collected, will that person be excluded from the potential win or will they be considered 'in' because they typically play?" Hedinger said. Anticipating these scenarios in advance -- and how to respond to them -- limits the drama.
Get copies of your tickets: The person in charge should make copies of all lottery tickets purchased with pool money prior to the drawing. Just line up the tickets face down on the copy machine and hit print. And then do the same with the backs of the tickets, which contain the serial numbers. Finally, make copies for everyone in the pool. Yes, this is annoying. But it's essential to avoiding controversy.
Know whom you're playing with: Get the names and phone numbers of everyone involved in the pool, the New Jersey State Lottery suggests. "In particular, you should get this information for the individuals who are in charge of purchasing the tickets and the person who will hold the tickets."
Know where and when your tickets are being purchased: Get this info before the drawing. "Find out the name and address of the retailer that the ticket buyer plans to visit as well as the approximate time of purchase," the New Jersey state lottery suggests.
It's true that many of these suggestions may seem overly time-consuming. But they sure beat shelling out for attorney's fees.
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