$355 MILLION: Mega Millions lottery jackpot increased
Posted: 3/5/2007 1:32:14 PM
Historic drawing to be held in Times Square, New York City
The estimated jackpot of the March 6, 2007 Mega Millions drawing was raised from $340 million to $355 million on Monday because of heavier than expected sales in all Mega Millions states.
New York City's Times Square will provide the setting for the historic Mega Millions lottery drawing on Tuesday night.
The massive $355 million estimated jackpot for Tuesday's drawing is the largest in the game's history.
Lottery officials in all 12 Mega Millions states agreed to move the drawing from it's traditional home in Atlanta because of the historic nature of the drawing. New York Lottery icon Yolanda Vega will draw the winning numbers at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 10:00 p.m. Central Time and 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1 in 176 million. The odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are approximately 1 in 40.
Mega Millions features nine different prize levels, ranging from $2 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Mega Ball number.
Lottery Officials said in a press release that Times Square was the only place that could capture the excitement of such a monumental drawing.
Results will be available immediately after the drawing at www.usamega.com. The number of winners and new jackpot will be announced after all participating Mega Millions states have reported their data, which normally occurs within a couple of hours after the drawing.
Tickets will remain on sale until 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
If no winning ticket is sold for Tuesday's $355 million jackpot, the jackpot will roll once again to a pre-determined amount based on anticipated sales throughout California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The $355 million Mega Millions jackpot is the third-largest ever for a lottery game.
If the jackpot is not won on Tuesday, the Friday jackpot will be the largest lottery jackpot in history, by a wide margin.
Source: Lottery Post Staff
