CALIFORNIA JOINS MEGA MILLIONS

Comment #61

Maverick — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 04:22:14 GMT

CA will start it's Mega Millions draw some time by the end of the year.

Comment #60

CASH Only — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 22:07:08 GMT

It's definite, according to Buddy Roogow of the Maryland Lottery.

Comment #59

CASH Only — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 20:39:23 GMT

I expect a matrix change _when_ CA joins.

Comment #58

weshar75 — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 21:54:13 GMT

I would like to see a 300+ million jackpot before 05' is over and I think mega millions is going to be the to get to it first this year.

Comment #57

Bradly_60 — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 19:35:10 GMT

I dont think we can continue at the same matrix. It all depends on the number of people in California that acutally do play. I mean for having so many people and so few dollars in lotter ticket sales California might not be a threat just like Texas pretty much wasn't. But if Mega Millions is a hit in California we need to switch the matrices. I mean there are too many more people than combos now. We need to find a way to increase odds to a point where people will play but it will be still h... [ More ]

Comment #56

tg636 — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 04:00:07 GMT

I assume people on here actually want to win a lottery. Why would anyone who hasn't won a jackpot say Mega Millions (or any lottery) should increase already astronomical odds? Do you just want to donate money to the state or 1 or 2 $300 million winners a year? What about your self-interest in actually winning something? At the very least you should demand no changes for 2 years to see how it works out in reality.

Comment #55

dvdiva — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 07:29:55 GMT

Thanks Todd for the compliment.My idea new matrix would be 5/60 plus 1/33. Odds would be 1:5.4 million for the pick five and 1:180 million over all. I think most players could handle that change. 200 million to one just seems like a mental barrier. Its like something priced at $1.99 versus $2. Even though its just a penny there is a reason why its a penny less.

Comment #54

dvdiva — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 06:59:41 GMT

I compare it to powerball. Mega goes upto 100 but just can't break past the 300 mark. Their sales are also below powerball. And sales have been falling for jackpots at the 100 million mark. I also hope the new game doesn't break the 200 million to one mark. I think those odds would be too intimidating. I think most would handle a 1:160 - 1:185 million mark ok if the smaller prizes had better payouts.

Comment #53

Todd — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 00:45:56 GMT

This is getting weird. There is reality and there is make-believe. In the case of Texas, they joined Mega Millions, and suddenly jackpots started increasing their rollover size by 50% or so, and the jackpots started going over $100 million with greater frequency than ever.Dvdiva, I have no idea where you're coming up with this stuff. You're an awesome member here, and I always love your input, but this one has me shaking my head. Everyone should be saying a big thank you to Texas (and now Ca... [ More ]

Comment #52

CASH Only — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 23:54:22 GMT

I'm surprised MM is not more popular in TX, Megaplier or not.

Comment #51

fja — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 15:00:35 GMT

Your right about Texas and I'm pretty sure the average jackpot win went from 76 to 80+ million in the last year......This is pretty much the same conversations and concerns we discussed when Texas joined yet they only have 1 jackpot (101 million) and 91 second tier winners in 16 months seems pretty average to me

Comment #50

Bradly_60 — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:53:27 GMT

Actually it hasn't been to bad with the inclusion on Texas. I mean they have only had 1 jackpot winner. And the rate of the jackpots do get higher quicker. So it will be interesting. Yet with California's population we will finally have more people in the 12 states that play the game than combinations that are available for the game. They will change it. They need to change it.Brad

Comment #49

CASH Only — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:51:09 GMT

Diva:More players = faster growing jackpots = bigger rollovers = more rollover cycles.

Comment #48

dvdiva — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:48:16 GMT

Quote: Originally posted by kcman777 on February 9, 2005 Just a thought ... With California joining the Mega-Millions... there will more winning combinations played ... Do you really think jackpots will really get as hight as 100+ Million ? With the inclusion of California .. I think it would be a rare case if the jackpot now got as high as 70 Million.You are correct. With California joining we can look forward to even lower jackpots. Someone at Mega needs to retake math 101. The average pot w... [ More ]

Comment #47

Todd — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 12:36:47 GMT

Quote: Originally posted by DoctorEw220 on February 9, 2005also, i like the idea of CA making their lower pries pari-mutuel. that way, the prizes across the game don't become pari-mutuel and players in other states don't get screwed because a bunch of CA players also matched 5 white balls. it can work in their favor, or against them though. they could be getting higher than normal prizes, or they could be getting lower than normal prizes.any word on a matrix change and what it may be to?All th... [ More ]

Comment #46

mrmst — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 12:04:40 GMT

Now that California is on board, time to get Florida in on the national action. Hopefully the Powerball people will go and try to win them over. I live in Maryland but visit Florida often enough to be able to play a season ticket there in their Lotto. There is a lot of money wagered in Florida that would be a nice boost to Powerball.

Comment #45

Calscorp — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 02:14:37 GMT

Hosni... thanks for the thread on the article. Interesting.... Kind of sounds like it will be awhile until we actually get started playing. And thanks for the warm welcome for all of us in California.

Comment #44

nomoneybabe — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 01:11:06 GMT

Hi, congratulationss CA! They will be happy to have a chance for BIG money huh !!!It is fair, the jackpot of Mega is frequently large and having long running than that of Powerball! It will be balanced for the people and the process!!! Nice decisionnnnn!!!!Let's dream on! I am dreaming tooo!! heeheee

Comment #43

DoctorEw220 — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 00:40:08 GMT

also, i like the idea of CA making their lower pries pari-mutuel. that way, the prizes across the game don't become pari-mutuel and players in other states don't get screwed because a bunch of CA players also matched 5 white balls. it can work in their favor, or against them though. they could be getting higher than normal prizes, or they could be getting lower than normal prizes.any word on a matrix change and what it may be to

Comment #42

DoctorEw220 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 23:35:19 GMT

i think mega millions will need to change the matrix in order for the jackpots to roll. as i said in a previous thread, CA will kill the jackpots if the odds don't get harder.

Comment #41

hosni — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 23:28:00 GMT

Here is the article in todays San Diego Union-Tribune Newspaper concerning the Mega Millions Lottery http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050209-9999-1n9lottery.html Platinum John in Escondido, CA

Comment #40

Bradly_60 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 22:19:26 GMT

Well if the odds were one in 16 total that wouldn't be bad. The jackpot would be way out there but it would be more likely to get lower tier prizes which I think is a good trade off. But 5/71...that is 1 in 13,019,909. Second prize should be around 1.5 million then. That would be interesting.Brad

Comment #39

CASH Only — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 20:23:06 GMT

who:The 5/71 + 1/17 version might have a 2+0 prize, or 10 categories.

Comment #38

whodeani — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 20:08:26 GMT

The other matrix suggested is 5/71 + 1/17 which would be 1:221,338,450 odds. That is way too high in my opinion. The lower tier prizes would have to be very appealing to warrant odds like that.

Comment #37

Bradly_60 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 19:58:12 GMT

Here are some odds:5 X 63 and 1 X 24 = 1 in 168,692,328 Thats just an increase of about 30 million (Could work because you could match the mega ball more often)5 x 53 and 1 x 51 = 1 in 146,3539355 X 55 and 1 X 55 = 191,331,855I would prefer them to raise the 5 number matrix and lower the Mega Ball matrix.Brad

Comment #36

JimmySand9 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 19:30:05 GMT

I don't really think a change is necessary. The most I would suggest is add one white ball and subtract one MegaBall making it 5/53+1/51.

Comment #35

CASH Only — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 18:28:38 GMT

I have a scientific calculator (10-digit display) and will figure out the jackpot odds for both sets of matrices after I get home.BTW, Hot Lotto has only 19 Hot Balls (5/39+1/19).

Comment #34

tg636 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 18:15:21 GMT

What is the jackpot amount that starts a jackpot frenzy ? $200 million? If they increased the odds I would go from the MA season ticket I have now to only getting a ticket when the jackpot was $200 million or more.I would be happy if the minimum jackpot was won every drawing.

Comment #33

Todd — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 18:04:32 GMT

Quote: Originally posted by kcman777 on February 9, 2005Just a thought ... With California joining the Mega-Millions... there will more winning combinations played ... Do you really think jackpots will really get as hight as 100+ Million ? With the inclusion of California .. I think it would be a rare case if the jackpot now got as high as 70 Million.Don't worry, the jackpots will still frequently go over $100 million. In fact, they will most likely do it more often than they used to. The ja... [ More ]

Comment #32

bobby623 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 18:00:55 GMT

Don't know the source of her information, but Dawn Nettles of lottoreport.com says MM officials discussed a maxtrix change to 5/63 1/24 or 5/71 1/17 in order to get California on board.Don't think players in other states would go along with either one of those matrix changes!!Does anyone in California know what was agreed to

Comment #31

Calscorp — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 17:57:23 GMT

With the superlotto, a lot of people don't even play until a jackpot gets big. A new game... there will be a lot of interest in trying it. Big jackpots... it will be awesome. Huge ticket sales out here in Cali. I hope we see some winners from here. I do wish they would get rid of of the para-mutual somewhere down the line, so we would be where everyone else is with wins. I don't know when we will actually start the game... hope it will be soon. But I am excited about the idea of playing a new g... [ More ]

Comment #30

kcman777 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 17:35:59 GMT

Just a thought ... With California joining the Mega-Millions... there will more winning combinations played ... Do you really think jackpots will really get as hight as 100+ Million ? With the inclusion of California .. I think it would be a rare case if the jackpot now got as high as 70 Million.

Comment #29

whodeani — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 15:54:48 GMT

Of the big four, (California, Texas, Florida, and New York) Florida is now the only state that doesn't have a multi-state lottery game with large jackpots. I wonder when Florida will get in on the Powerball or Mega Millions bandwagon.

Comment #28

qutgnt — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 15:05:30 GMT

For every huge payday there are probably hundreds of times they dont pay out anywhere near what they should. When the mega has number drawn in 30's and 40's you see barely any 5 out of 5 payouts. Even last nite had a lot of low numbers and how many 5 out of 5 payout were there? When you only pay 50% out of sales you dont ever need to worry about parimutuel in the long run.

Comment #27

Todd — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:57:42 GMT

Brad: I agree with you. I am not a fan of pari-mutuel payouts on lottery wins.

Comment #26

Bradly_60 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:55:42 GMT

With the whole paramutual debate.....it is stated in the Mega Millions rules now that they will not pay our more than 300% of sales or more than $50,000,000 more than sales which ever is greater (or is it less) So yeah if those numbers did come up they would end up being para-mutual anyway. But I mean California even has there Pick 3 as para-mutual. What is up with that. They are the biggest state but only fifth overall. It must be not a lot of people play the lottery over on the west coast... [ More ]

Comment #25

Todd — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:51:02 GMT

My predictions are that MM will raise the minimum jackpot, the jackpots will grow much faster, the jackpots will definitely get into the $100 million range as often as they do today, and they will not be forced to make changes to the game's matrix.But I guess no one knows for sure until it happens

Comment #24

mrmst — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:14:22 GMT

I think we will see jackpots grow faster, but if California kicks in with big sales I also think it will mean the jackpot will not roll as often and we will not see the $100 million jackpots very often at all. If that continues for very long, I'm sure Mega Millions will change the matrix to make the odds longer. I guess that would be ok, I like the excitement that is generated by a big jackpot.

Comment #23

tg636 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 13:59:32 GMT

Either jackpots will be huge, or there will be so many tickets sold jackpots will be won before they can get huge. We will see.

Comment #22

st.germain — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 13:12:28 GMT

Quote: Originally posted by four4me on February 9, 2005Look Todd the last person I want to debate with is you about this, anything can happen at any time. There are literally thousands of people who fill out there play slips with numbers that could break the bank so to speak> Like 5 10 15 20 25 and any combination there of. Maybe it wouldn't cause it to go broke but the possibility exists for it to be pushed to it's limit. With millions of potential like numbers being bet and hitting. Just becau... [ More ]

Comment #21

visiondude — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 08:18:52 GMT

thanx diva. everytime i see your screename diva , i immediately get a visual of debra wilson on MAD TV doing an impersonation of witney huston where she throws up her arms and yells DIVAAAAAAAAAAA . makes me laugh everytime.washington would be a long drive for tix, but saving several million dead benjamins in tax on a big jackpot win just about makes sense.when i lived in georgia i used to drive to the south carolina border for powerball tix when the jack got juicy. but that was a 1 1

Comment #20

dvdiva — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 07:27:42 GMT

Hey welcome back to regular posting Vision. It will probably happen after mega finally goes up to 300. You could always drive up north to washington though, since there is no income tax yet (until the dead vote for it

Comment #19

visiondude — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 07:16:00 GMT

i feel a little bitter about moving back to california from georgia now (jk) how long before the first tix are sold do you think? vision

Comment #18

Calscorp — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 06:58:03 GMT

The article was very interesting. And the part about the pay-out was one of the first things that stood out for me. I don't care for that part but we are used to to it with all the other games. So, thanks Todd for the real info that we won't be seeing anywhere else.

Comment #17

dvdiva — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 06:48:24 GMT

They told us 400 million jackpots when WA state joined. What a load of you know what. It is neat that Lottery post is the first to get any real info on this.I really hope they change the game now or it will never get a decent jackpot.

Comment #16

four4me — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 06:04:33 GMT

Look Todd the last person I want to debate with is you about this, anything can happen at any time. There are literally thousands of people who fill out there play slips with numbers that could break the bank so to speak> Like 5 10 15 20 25 and any combination there of. Maybe it wouldn't cause it to go broke but the possibility exists for it to be pushed to it's limit. With millions of potential like numbers being bet and hitting. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. Congr... [ More ]

Comment #15

Todd — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 05:47:01 GMT

By the way, only Lottery Post offered the information about the prize payments in its news story. I have not seen one other news story anywhere that printed this information.

Comment #14

Todd — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 05:44:35 GMT

Quote: Originally posted by four4me on February 9, 2005because they have such a large population. Could you imagin like upwards of 2500 people match 5 balls and not the mega ball and 200,000 match 4 balls and 1.5mil match 3 balls and 2 mil match 1 ball plus the mega ball or any other high yeild max amount of people macth. The payout would overwhelm the take in and the mega mill in california would fall apart. Thats why they have a par mutual game structure.Hey, if you want to conduct business i... [ More ]

Comment #13

four4me — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 05:28:39 GMT

think so suppose the drew 10 20 30 40 50

Comment #12

qutgnt — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 05:26:50 GMT

They would have to have a population the size of China to have winners like that, seriously.

Comment #11

four4me — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 05:18:07 GMT

because they have such a large population. Could you imagin like upwards of 2500 people match 5 balls and not the mega ball and 200,000 match 4 balls and 1.5mil match 3 balls and 2 mil match 1 ball plus the mega ball or any other high yeild max amount of people macth. The payout would overwhelm the take in and the mega mill in california would fall apart. Thats why they have a par mutual game structure.

Comment #10

Bradly_60 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 05:06:52 GMT

Did you guys see what they are doing too. California will be the first state to join a multi-state game and have different payouts for lower tier prizes. By law California has to have para-mutual prizes. So they are not going to have the same amounts that we are so used to. Thats odd. I think California need to do some law changing. Brad

Comment #9

starchild_45 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 04:32:16 GMT

congratulations cali for joining the megamillion. just one more place to get the megamillion ticket on the west coast. look at it this way cali wants more people to come from oregon and arizonia to play megamillon (oregon and arizonia are powerball states.) my cali tickets are still good until march. he he he he.

Comment #8

smd173 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 03:54:05 GMT

Ah...it'll only be another 10 years or so until we are all playing Mega Powerball Millions anyway.

Comment #7

Calscorp — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 03:14:37 GMT

A new game, even though we didn't get Powerball. I look forward to playing. And I agree about Pick4; sure wish they would let us have that one.

Comment #6

DoctorEw220 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 01:52:35 GMT

now for CA to get out of the MUSL.

Comment #5

DoctorEw220 — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 01:52:23 GMT

i knew it. i told you Ca would be going with mega millions and not powerball.

Comment #4

Todd — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 23:14:51 GMT

Congratulations California

Comment #3

hosni — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 23:07:10 GMT

That certainly is good news. Now if only we could get them to start Pick-4 game. Platinum John in sunny Escondido, CA

Comment #2

lchoro — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 23:05:57 GMT

Wonder how this will impact Lotto South. I think they would find that they need to sign on additional states in order to maintain the interest.

Comment #1

MADDOG10 — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 23:04:32 GMT

welcome aboard california...

CALIFORNIA JOINS MEGA MILLIONS

Lottery Post — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 22:51:26 GMT

Updated: Feb.8, 2005, 6:11pmThe California Lottery Commission today approved the California Lottery joining the multi-state lottery game Mega Millions.The Commission voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve the move. We are excited to enter into this partnership and look forward to providing our players with what they have asked for, jackpots in the $200-$300 million range, says Chon Gutierrez, interim lottery director, in a written statement.California has been considering joining a multi-state lottery ga... [ More ]