Later this week, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game will undergo changes — including a price hike — designed to increase jackpots and make them grow faster.
The cost of a Mega Millions ticket will climb from $1 to $2 starting with the Oct. 31 drawing. Tickets for that drawing go on sale Saturday, Oct. 28.
Starting jackpots will increase from $15 million to $40 million. Both changes will put Mega Millions on equal footing with Powerball, which usually offers more lucrative jackpots.
Of the 15 largest jackpots won in the U.S., 12 are Powerball and three are Mega Millions.
The upcoming tweaks will mark the sixth time in the game's 21-year history where the matrix of numbers has been shuffled. A closer look at the changes follows:
Mega Millions tickets climbing to $2
The cost of a Mega Millions ticket will climb from $1 to $2 starting with the Oct. 31 drawing. That last drawing with the current ticket price will be on Friday, Oct. 27.
Starting jackpots will increase from $15 million to $40 million. Both changes will put Mega Millions on equal footing with Powerball, which usually offers more lucrative jackpots.
Of the 15 largest jackpots won in the U.S., 12 are Powerball and three are Mega Millions.
The upcoming changes will mark the sixth time in the game's 21-year history where the matrix of numbers has been shuffled. Here's what you need to know:
Bad news: It'll be harder to win the jackpot
The matrix of balls will change as well. The first set of balls will include 70 numbers, a decrease from the current 75. But the number of Mega Ball numbers available to be drawn will climb 15 from 25.
"We have a demand for innovation to keep fresh, entertaining lottery games and to deliver the attention-grabbing jackpots," Mega Millions president Debbie D. Alford said in a statement. "We're excited to deliver the opportunity to create more millionaires and also provide more opportunities to raise additional revenues for the respected causes lotteries benefit."
The already astronomical odds of hitting the jackpot will become even more challenging. While it's now a 258,890,850 to 1 shot, the changes in number of balls will make it more than 302 million to 1.
The overall odds of winning any prize will also decrease to 1 in 24. Right now, players have about a 1 in 14.7 shot to win money.
Powerball jackpot odds are 292,201,338 to 1.
Good news: It'll be easier to win $1 million prize
The odds of matching five numbers and winning at least $1 million will improve from the current 18.5 million to 1 to about 12.5 million to 1.
Other secondary prizes are being increased with the revamped game. Players will win:
- $10,000 for matching four white balls and the Mega Ball, an increase of $5,000.
- $200 for matching three white balls and the Mega Ball, an increase of $150
- $10 for matching either three white balls or two white balls and the Mega Ball, an
increase of $5 - $4 for matching one white ball and the Mega Ball, and increase of $2
- $2 for matching the Mega Ball, and increase of $1
'Just the Jackpot' option
Mega Millions players will have an extra ticket option called "Just the Jackpot." For $3 players will get two chances instead of one to win the top prize. The catch is that the player is ineligible to win any of the many smaller prizes.
First changes to the game in four years
The upcoming adjustments to Mega Millions will be the first to the game in four years.
On Oct. 22, 2013, the number of white balls increased from 56 to 75 and the number of gold Mega balls decreased from 46 to 15.
The changes also bumped the minimum prize for matching five numbers from $250,000 to $1 million.
In addition, the minimum jackpot jumped from $12 million to $15 million.
The Megaplier option, an additional $1, also expanded to include a five meaning a player could win up to $5 million without hitting the jackpot.
June 2005 changes
The June 24, 2005 drawing was the first with 56 numbers in the first set of balls, an increase from the previous 52, according to USAMega.com, a website that tracks Powerball and Mega Millions lottery statistics.
The number of Mega Balls dropped from 52 to 46.
Big Game becomes Mega Millions in 2002
The six-year-old Big Game changed its name to Mega Millions in May 2002.
The change in name also brought some alterations to the drawing.
The number of balls in the first set inched from 50 to 52, while the number of Mega Balls available to be drawn jumped to 52. Previously, there were 36 Big Money balls from which a player could choose.
The first drawing under the Mega Millions name took place on May 17, 2002. Samuel Rice of Chatham, Ill. won the $28 million jackpot that evening.
Origins of the game
Six states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia) were part of the Big Game when the first drawing was held on Sept. 6, 1996.
The original matrix included a set of balls from 1 to 50 and Big Money balls numbered from 1 to 25. New Jersey became the seventh state to join in May 1999.
Mega Millions has grown substantially in 21 years. It's now played in 44 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The largest Mega Millions jackpot won came on March 30, 2012 when the holders of three tickets split a $656 million prize. One ticket was bought in Maryland, another in Illinois and a third in Kansas.
Just the JP is just to risky, especially when they improve the odds for 2nd prize somewhat.
I mean can you imagine...?
No way would I do that $3 option; $3 with MP sure.
They could have had a short article just stating 100% price increase effective 28 OCT 17 and been done with it.
Someone out there enlighten me. Are MM & PB both owned by MUSL? I believe MM is in GA where drawings take place and PB headquartered in IA with drawings in FL???
The Lottery will grab all the attention in the media when there are $1,000,000,000.00 jackpots in both Mega Millions and Power Ball at the same time.
Can you imagine the frenzy? This will be worldwide news.
Multiple LP members winning will definitely be good news for Lottery Post and USAMega.
Good Luck to all LP Members and Staff!!!
This price hike is totally unnecessary.Notice how the powers that be NEVER ever run the idea past the playing public first? Perhaps they are inclined to know the reaction. Its no different than the Dumbarton bridge Toll rates in this neck of the woods.. says a driver friend. Oh well!
2Axles = $5.00 3 Axles= $15.00 4Axles = $20.00 5Axles= $25.00
you're
funny. lol
but yet so true.
my father was saying analogous today. maybe if LESS cease from playing it so much then the price would NOT be invoked, but too late now.It's raised, so that's that lol
That is why i only play MM PW sporatically,and usually when real high. Outlandish to raise it to 2 buck smh But, maybe then give more a chance to win if over 50 to 100 million. More than 1 or 2 people should be winning, to share the golden-$$$ pot with more than just 1 winner( when it gets that high) No need for 1 winner when it's excessively high.THAT is when my dad feel it is a rigged/rip off et.al.,
Time will tell."
Some things are not as they seem. Adjusting for doubled price, 2nd place is roughly 30% more difficult to win.
Also, in the current matrix, 5X is statistically weighted to come up most of the time. Sadly, seemingly most players don't realize that, and hence it's a no brainer for the lottery to make it more difficult with few noticing. With the change, 2X and 3X will come up most of the time similar to Powerball.
As for Just the Jackpot, that the main concern I have with it too. The negative PR will be intense, if and when, someone matches all 5 and yet wins zero. I can already envision the headlines: "Player Matches All 5 in Mega Millions and Wins Nothing!"; "Lottery Refuses to Pay Player $1 Million for Matching 5."; "Mega Millions Player Cheated Out of $1 Million." One gets the idea.
There are already many players who have doubts about Mega Milions and Powerball games; believe the games are rigged and don't always pay out. With Just The Jackpot, the lottery really won't payout on what would otherwise be winning combinations.
Furthermore, JTJ is quick-pick only further raising questions about how those QPs are generated. A perception may develop that JTJ QPs are skewed (which could be true in many instances, since lottery terminals generate the numbers) to intentionally deprive players the jackpot. I can already foresee a JTJ Match-5 loser making the case publicly and/or in court the lottery QP is faulty in some way, and they were cheated out of the jackpot.
All in all, JTJ seems risky, but maybe it will work out great. Personally, I believe all prize tiers should be available to all MM players; no JTJ option.
Why don't they just hold Powerball drawings four times a week instead. They are basically the same game now.
Between jacking up the price of ball-drawn games and making them even MORE impossible to win, and RNG games cloaked in secrecy, I think I'll just keep my platinum membership up to date here at Lottery Post. That way I can post predictions with imaginary money and win or lose imaginary riches.
302 Million to one?
You gotta be kidding me. This is ridiculous!!!
Put it in perspective.
Every single legal age person in the U.S. could buy one ticket with a different combination, and there would still be 45-50 million unsold combinations. That's every single drawing.
Good Luck!!! You're gonna need it.
l am all for MM going to $2.00 a ticket, but....only after l win it.
MM won't get any more of my money.
Right! The only way we could be sure you true to yourself, is if you hooked up with a Police Ankle bracelet. Other than that, it's all oatmeal.