By Todd Northrop
Starting Saturday, October 19, lottery players from around the United States will be able to buy tickets for the newly-refreshed Mega Millions game, with a ticket price that is remaining just $1 per play.
Mega Millions drawings will have larger, faster growing jackpots, million-dollar second prizes and better odds of winning any prize.
"We think that players will respond favorably to the new Mega Millions changes and expect even greater sales for the game," said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery.
The first drawing to incorporate the changes will be on October 22.
Minimum jackpots will increase from $12 million to $15 million, and jackpots will grow by at least $5 million after each drawing when the jackpot rolls.
The enhancements also will feature second-tier jackpot prizes of $1 million, increasing from $250,000.
The Megaplier still is an additional $1 per play, but it has been expanded so that a Mega Millions ticket can win up to $5 million without matching all six numbers.
Mega Millions drawings still will consist of five white balls and one gold Mega Ball, for a total of six winning numbers. The number of white balls will increase to 75, and the Mega Ball will decrease to 15.
Th result of the number pools changing is that overall odds to win any prize have improved greatly to 1 in 15, and the overall odds of winning the jackpot playing Mega Millions are approximately 1 in 259 million.
"New Jersey loves to hand out winnings to its players and the Mega Millions game change will allow us to do even more of that," said Carole Hedinger, New Jersey Lottery Executive Director. "The game enhancements will allow the jackpots to climb higher, heightening public excitement, while more New Jersey millionaires are created with each game roll. The updated Mega Millions game offers all of these benefits while keeping the ticket price at just a $1."
Under the revamped game, the prizes and odds for matching numbers will be as follows.
- Match 5 numbers + the Mega Ball: Jackpot (odds are 1 in 258,890,850)
- Match 5 numbers: $1 million (odds are 1 in 18,492,204)
- Match 4 numbers + the Mega Ball: $5,000 (odds are 1 in 739,688)
- Match 4 numbers: $500 (odds are 1 in 52,835)
- Match 3 numbers + the Mega Ball: $50 (odds are 1 in 10,720)
- Match 3 numbers: $5 (odds are 1 in 766)
- Match 2 numbers + the Mega Ball: $5 (odds are 1 in 473)
- Match 1 number + the Mega Ball: $2 (odds are 1 in 56)
- Match only the Mega Ball: $1 (odds are 1 in 21)
The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 14.7.
If a player adds the $1 Megaplier feature, matching just five white balls could increase the winnings to $2 million, $3 million, $4 million or even $5 million, depending on the Megaplier number drawn that evening. The Megaplier feature is available in all Mega Millions states except California. The fixed nature of the Megaplier prizes is not compatible with California regulations that require all prizes to be paid using a pari-mutuel formula.
In recent weeks, state lotteries have been limiting the number of future drawings that can be purchased on a multi-draw Mega Millions ticket, as new betslips are needed after the changes go into effect. Saturday that restriction will be lifted.
It has been more than 8 years since Mega Millions was last changed. (See Mega Millions to change lottery game's game and prize structure, Lottery Post, Apr. 29, 2005.)
Mega Millions currently is played in 43 states plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held Tuesday and Friday evenings at 11 p.m.
The Mega Millions winning numbers are published minutes after the drawing takes place at USA Mega (www.usamega.com), a Web site devoted to the two biggest United States lotteries, Powerball and Mega Millions.
l love this changes to mega millions and i think both powerball and mega millions combined will definitly keep america excited two thumps up for mega millions.
I was originally bummed about the changes and was planning to stop buying tickets until I realized the 2nd prize could be multiplied up to $5 million with the megaplier. 1 in 18.5 million odds for a 2-5 million dollar payout on a two dollar bet is not great but not bad either. I probably won't give them as much play as I did before but I will probably buy at least 1 ticket per draw.
Ohio"s web site says you can't buy tickets until Sunday
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When do the new changes to Mega Millions take effect?
Beginning October 20, 2013, players can select five Mega Millions numbers from 1 to 75 and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 15. The first drawing will be held on October 22, 2013.
Will the ticket cost more?
No, a Mega Millions ticket still cost just a $1. Add another $1 for Megaplier.
When was the last date to place a 10 wager multi-draw wager?
The last multi-draw wager for a 10 wager bet was September 17, 2013. If you purchase a multi-draw ticket between September 18 and October 18, 2013 the number of available draws will decrease.
When is the last Mega Million’s drawing before the changes take place?
The last Mega Million’s drawing will be Friday October 18, 2013. Sales for the new matrix will begin on Sunday October 20, 2013.
Can I cancel a Mega Millions wager?
No, Mega Millions wagers cannot be cancelled.
Will there be new bet cards available?
Yes, look for the new, easy to read bet cards at your local Lottery retailer after October 20, 2013.
I doubt Ohio will refuse to sell you Mega Millions tickets on Saturday -- unless they need to take an extra day to update their lottery terminals. They probably just posted the wrong date.
Prior to this it was said the 5 + 1 games paid 12 to 15 jackpots a year.
I don't think that will happen wirh MM anymore with a 75 number upper matrix.
Going for 5 + 0 might be the best shot, if your state lotery jackpot in less than $5,000,000.
MM 5 + 0 1 in 18,492,204
IL Lotto JP 1 in 20, 358, 520. 6/52 game.
Of course with MM you might catch 5 + 1, but for the millions who never did it with a 56 number grid what makes them think they'll do it with a 75 number grid.
The lotteries are just as greedy as the players.
Someboy make an Over / Under on the number of MM jackpots per year once the new matrix starts.
Mega millions will hit 1 billion by Dec no one will hit for a longtime !!!
They just lost me as a customer.I only play powerball when it reaches $100 million and above.
They put the new playslips out today.
We shouldn't play Mega Million starting Tuesday to make them change the game for the people.
I love it when people say they won't play till the jackpot is over 100 million, I definately need a new career. Though I do play a limited amount, I just do better, no matter what the jackpot is. I've been foutunate to break even and did get 4 in the mega millions once. Though I'll probably pull from the mega millions two picks and put them towards the NY Take 5 of which I do better and had to take away from when the Powerball increased to two dollars. And watch how the numbers start rolling in. That is probably the only thing so far I like, that it stayed at one dollar.
I won't play this now>> until it gets to>> One Billion>> Smack-a-Roos
I will play both MM and PB because I'm so bloody desperate.
I love how the lotteries when making the game much, much, much, much worse always announce that they're making it better.
If they weren't the government, we could sue them for fraud.
I noticed the cash value of Megamillions is significantly lower than it used to be (from about 68 percent down to 55!), matching similarly with Powerball's cash value, after this night's draw. Is that because Megamillions has switched to a 30 year annuity? Is USAMega going to reflect these changes in due time?