Mega Millions in Trouble?

It seems that the jackpots are growing much more slowly.....

1st Annuity   $12 Million

2 nd Annuity   $13 Million

3rd  Annuity    $21 million

Didn't it used to be like $12 million   $20 million   $28 million?

As RJ commented on another thread, just a sign of the troubled financial times. What comes around goes around.

Neither game is in trouble.

Somehow (through randomness)  the lottery gods have configured that both games cant be equally successful at the same time.  MUSL probably has teams...

the MM team

and the

PB team

The PB team is obviously trying to grow the jackpot bigger by enticing suckers into buying more tickets with that lousy New York promotion.

There is nothing at this time that the MM team can do to emolirate(lessen) the situation, the  MM team will have to wait and suck it up.  The MM super duper opportunity Jackpot should occur around Hallows Eve/Turkey Day.

It's still alot of money, even if the increase is smaller... we're talking multi millions either way

Its not a lot of money for the lottery gods...although it may be a lot of money for you.

Earlier this year, Mega Millions set a record advertised jackpot (and record cash jackpot for that matter).  Now, it is trying to set a record for how long the advertised jackpot can stay under $100 million.

It usually went from 12 to 15 or 16, then low 20s.

This past April 3rd and 7th it went from 12 to 20 though. Haven't seen that for awhile, but that was after that 600M + jackpot.

Maybe they'll have to make it harder to win so the Jackpot gets bigger and stays that way from being won less often and then people will be happy.

mega millions is not in trouble at all. The low increases in the annuity is due for the most part, to historically low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve. Remember when you could go to the bank and get a one year CD (certificate of deposit) with a 5 percent yield? That's a thing of the past and they're not coming back anytime soon. Annuities with high yields are becoming harder and harder to find. You can thank Ben Bernanke for that.

What difference does it make to the losers?  The lower tier prizes pay the same regardless of jackpot size and the winner is going to be happy too.

The PB team is obviously trying to grow the jackpot bigger by enticing suckers into buying more tickets with that lousy New York promotion.

If it's not working in New York, maybe they should try it in Ohio.

Good point mcginnin56, as the Socialist States of America "progress" down its chosen path things like the lottery and malls can expect to go by the way side.

Dont worry though, there will be plenty of midnight basketball courts to keep the peasantry busy with wasted time doing nothing but hobbies and drugs.

Just as it is with PB, sales for MM never generate enough cash to fully fund the jackpot until at least the 2nd drawing.  The time around the early sales were apparently a bit lower, but that's while competing against a PB jackpot of $139 million.  At the current $21 million for the annuity jackpot  MM is in the same territory it's usually at after 2 rolls. Over the past few months the 3rd jackpot has been advertised at  $21 to $25 million (not counting the anomalous roll after the record jackpot).

The $16.1 million cash value is nearly 76% of the annuity value, which is close to a record if it's not a record. That same cash would have been advertised as a $25 million annuity with the interest rates we had 8 to 12 months ago. That means that total sales through the 3rd drawing are expected to be about what they usually are for the first 3 drawings.

Unless th PB jackpot is over $100 million, I've been buying two MM instead of just one PB. I guess I'd rather get two tickets for the price of one.

Heck, I'd be pretty happy with even the lowend of the MM jackpot.

This.

MM is at the same cash value on 3rd draw as usual, $16m. I do agree the first roll was.... mmm... odd.

What I find more odd is that PB is less cash value after 12 draws with the $2 price than after 12 draws at $1 the last time draws were $1. Yes, possibly the economy has something to do with it, but from February to now, not so much. Remember that the first time PB was $2 was in the middle of the last of the $1 rollovers.

Feb 8th, after 12 rolls, cash value at $156m ($250m annuity)

Aug 8th, after 12 rolls, cash value at $142.9m ($212m annuity)

Also, rollovers at the $1 price were usually 23% + range for cash value. With the $2 price, the average rollover is closer to 15%. 

Of course the annuity are down because of the interest rates. And probably because of the new price. The cash value will determine the future annuity value, so it is more accurate to check the cash value rather than the annuity.  Ticket sales may be up, but volume sales are down.