$290 MILLION:" Mega Millions lottery jackpot increased

Jul 1, 2004, 12:45 pm (25 comments)

Mega Millions

Huge demand for tickets spurs mid-week jackpot increase

The Mega Millions lottery group decided to raise the jackpot again prior to the Friday drawing due to a ticket sales frenzy.

The largest jackpot in the two-year Mega Millions history has caused record sales in all eleven states that participate.

The $10 million increase pushed the Friday jackpot from $280 million to $290 million, and expanded the lump-sum cash option to $164 million.

It is widely anticipated that if no ticket wins the jackpot Friday evening, the new Mega Millions jackpot would be the largest lottery jackpot for any game in history.

Lottery Post Staff

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RJOh's avatarRJOh

If no winners this Friday, could a half $Billion jackpot be next?  Or maybe an increase in the 2nd prize amounts?

RJOh

whodeani's avatarwhodeani

"It is widely anticipated t

weshar75's avatarweshar75

We'll probably see a 300+ jackpot for Friday since they have raised it today and one day left to drawing.  I would like to see a new record set if it does roll over to Tuesday past 363. 

fxdwg's avatarfxdwg

I am not sure that I will play the notoriety of winning would be overwhelming and I would rather be flying under the radar. On the other hand it is hard to resist 290 million or 164 million cash option

mrmst's avatarmrmst

Lottery fever has hit at the office where I work.  I run a pool which plays every drawing of Mega Millions.  We usually have 16 players, each pitching in $3.  Today, we have 49 members!!!!  We will have around 150 tickets and chances at the big prize.  If we do win the jackpot, and have the only winning tickets, each of the members would take home around $2 million after taxes.  It might force our company out of business as nearly everyone is playing (including upper management) and there would be nobody left to run things.  Now that would be interesting!!!!

Good luck to all!!!!!

whodeani's avatarwhodeani

If there is a rollover on Friday night, I wonder with this being a holiday weekend that people may be out of their normal routine and forget about current dvents around them and there may not be as many tickets being bought as normally would be. Nobody will be working on Monday and when they get to work on Tuesday the water cooler talk will be about the big lottery jackpot and realize they haven't bought a lottery ticket yet. By the time they get off of work on Tuesday, there will be long lines of people who also forgot to buy their tickets and people may not want to wait in line and say the heck with it and not buy any. I think chances are better than it usually would be to have another rollover for a jackpot of this level. I think it is definitely safe to say the jackpot would be a half-billion dollars after Tuesday if there still is no winner. Good luck all.

tg636

A tremendous amount of money for one person, no matter what.  If you took the annuity for $290,000,000, you could spent $150,147 a week *after taxes* every single week for 26 years.  If you could get by on just $50,000 a week and save the other $100,000, that would be $5,200,000 a year in the bank. If that $5,200,000 were earning a lousy 1.35% interest, you would make $70,109 interest in the first year alone. And that's just from the first year, with 25 more checks and 25 more years of compounding interest and investments to follow. 

If those amounts don't blow you away enough, imagine a $500 million jackpot and bigger returns that 1.35% on your investment.  I can see why the rich stay rich.

CASH Only

tg:

Not if they won an annuity.

Any news yet on a new version of Megabucks?

CASH Only

nita:

If you win, take the LUMP SUM.

fxdwg's avatarfxdwg

LOL@nitabug

 Tg:

 Try this one on for size say you live in the high tax state of Maryland you take the cash option after taxes 110,700,000. you try to spend million 700 thousand dollars put the rest in tax free municipal bonds yielding 4% that is 4 million per year or 330 thousand and change  a month the only thing I am fuzzy on is FICA which would be another 8% off the top.

and yes cash only that is the only option I would take

nitabug's avatarnitabug

Ya'll I am not kidding!  I can't fathom the thought of having so much money!  No wonder some winners go crazy and give it away.  Lump sum would be the best in my case.  I have had nightmares about what to do with all of that money.  How to invest, how to spend, gosh I would go nuts.  I have tried all evening to get someone to ride to Illinois with me to buy a few tickets It's about 86 miles from here.  I don't trust the online thing.  Oh well.  Maybe I can sneak off this weekend if the pot keeps growing.  Good luck All!  NIta

Bradly_60's avatarBradly_60

In the last drawing almost 60% of all the combos were bought.  With they hype this huge jackpot is getting (which by the way makes the game more fun) I say 70-80% will be bought for this Friday's drawing.  Slim chance that their will be a rollover.  But just one more rollover means the highest lottery jackpot ever.  Just one more.  It took over two years to get even close to the $500 million that they once projected.  Very unlikely it will happen again soon.  SO JUST ONE MORE ROLLOVER...haha.  Expected the odds to increase in the next couple months.  If they do then we will see the jackpots they once projected.  BUT FOR NOW JUST ONE MORE ROLLOVER!  LETS BEAT THAT BIG GAME RECORD!  haha

Brad

golotto

i wonde

Tx_Mega_Player's avatarTx_Mega_Player
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