$330 MILLION: Mega Millions lottery jackpot nears record high

Comment #125

Coin Toss — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:14:23 GMT

I just hope everybody who bet heavier than usual because of this odds reduction theory learned something.

Good Luck everybody next time around.

Comment #124

Coin Toss — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 06:23:22 GMT

Nice attempted slur, obviously you don't know the difference.

Speaks volumes.

Comment #123

Mario38 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 06:03:47 GMT

That would be something if a Canadian lottery group won the jackpot.

Comment #122

Mario38 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:59:01 GMT

visiondude, I will try to prove you wrong. My group bought 145 tickets.

Good luck all.

Comment #121

KY Floyd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:51:51 GMT

I think you've completely missed the point. 1, 5 or 100 tickets is very much like the QP vs self-pick argument. QP's account for the majority of winners not because any individual QP ticket is more likely to win, but because they account for the majority of tickets being played.

If player A plays 100 tickets and player B plays 5 tickets then player A is definitely 20 times more likely to win than player B. At the same time, if 99 people play 5 tickets for every person who plays 100 tickets th... [ More ]

Comment #120

visiondude — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:09:31 GMT

a most excellant point. i hadn't thought about that

however, proportionally speaking, that still has hardly ever happened in comparison to the length of history of the game, vs how many kinds of winners have won.

i.e. single winners who have won, and spilled the beans about how much they played, very rarely ever saying they spent more than $5.

without checking, i 'think' there are way more jackpots won by a single person, or two seperate winners splitting the jackpot, rather than grou... [ More ]

Comment #119

Mario38 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 01:53:36 GMT

I lot of jackpots are won by groups. Do you think those groups only bought 5 tickets

Comment #118

visiondude — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 01:31:10 GMT

i am well aware of jack , but my case against buying more tickets to increase one's odds are easily backed up....

when was the last time you heard of anyone (besides one person) stating during their acceptance speech that they played anything much beyond even $5 ?

the lottery has been around a long time, and the news stories are archived at LP.

you would be hard pressed to find very many at all that won after buying more than $5 in tickets.

if this multiple ticket approach actually... [ More ]

Comment #117

KY Floyd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:37:07 GMT

Maybe you know the differmce between a fairy tale and a war story.

Let me guess. Cinderella lived happily ever after and you suffered a traumatic brain injury

Comment #116

Coin Toss — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:07:27 GMT

KY Floyd

Some things never change. I've spent years trying to eductate you about this, but maybe that's just not possible .

And in all those years this board has grown to over 100,000, which means an awful lot of tickets played, an awful lot of odds reductions , and how many jackpots hit?

Maybe you know the differmce between a fairy tale and a war story.

Comment #115

Coin Toss — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:37:49 GMT

KY Floyd

Let's imagine the lotery sells 1 ticket for each of the 175,711,536 possible combinations. If 17,571 people buy 100 tickets each they'll cover 1,757,100, or a hair under 1% of the possible combinations...

You are assuming that of those 17,571 people buying 100 tickets each there are no duplicates. You can't assume anything in lotto.

____________________________________

Any + game (i.e., 5 + 1) is actually two lotteries in one. First you have to have the 5 numbers drawn on... [ More ]

Comment #114

Long Odds — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:42:57 GMT

Todd- Thank you for your very detailed and clear explanation; I stand corrected. As much as I can work through the logic, it surprises me that one ticket has a 1:176+ million chance while 13 ticket purchase results in a 1:13.5+ million chance. Otherwise, agree with all: odds are astronomical but there have been a number of winners over the years and we most likely will see multiple winners of the overall jackpot tonight. KY Floyd's explanation is also clearly stated and helpful. Thank you, both.... [ More ]

Comment #113

alsports2000 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:55:46 GMT

I JUST WISHED EVERYONE WOULD POST THE NUMBERS THEY ARE PLAYING FOR TONIGHT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. HERE ARE MINE: 9 13 31 48 49 (10). I KNOW THIS IS NOT THE PREDICTIONS PAGE BUT HERE WE GO.....P.S. THOSE MILLIONS ARE STAYING IN TEXAS THIS TIME.

Comment #112

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:16:32 GMT

I got my powerball tickets for tomorrow!! who knows, $34millions aint bad even though it is harder to win the powerball than mega millions. I noticed a nice amount of powerball jackpot wins last year in the $30 to $60 millions range.

Comment #111

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:56:42 GMT

I just came back from the store and it was a long line of people buying mega millions tickets!!! i think its going to be a winner tonite

Comment #110

KY Floyd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:16:53 GMT

(1) you don't see anyone who bought over $100 worth of tickets (to increase their odds) ........ever winning.

You've heard of Jack Whittaker? He won PB playing $100 worth of tickets. It's possible that some other winers also played very large numbers of tickets, but just as the discussion about the odds when you buy 2, 3 or 5 tickets, the chances of a winner being somebody who spent $100 depend son what percentage of tickets were bought by those people vs the percentage bought by those who b... [ More ]

Comment #109

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:11:58 GMT

RE: That should be clear and simple enough for anybody who understands odd and even numbers and isn't overwhelmed by numbers up to 46.

Comment #108

Riverdome — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:06:49 GMT

Todd, thanks for your post, very interesting indeed.

BUT before anyone goes out and spends more than what they normally do take a look the math. The odds of winning are long, VERY LONG. For us to win we have to be very lucky and there's very little we can do about it. The difference between buying 1 ticket or 10 is basicly zero. Yes your odds increase 0.000005122% but I'm sorry that's zero -0-. Heck go ahead and buy 100 tickets and compared to buying 1 ticket your odds are only 0.000056... [ More ]

Comment #107

KY Floyd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:01:46 GMT

Some things never change. I've spent years trying to eductate you about this, but maybe that's just not possible. Still, I'll give it another go since the concept is really very simple. If nothing else the other people will understand it when it's explained.

Since you're playing 2 of the 46 mega ball numbers, play one odd number and one even number. There are 23 odd numbers to choose from and 23 even numbers to choose from. That means that if the winning number is odd you'll have a 1 in 23 ch... [ More ]

Comment #106

breakaway — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:29:31 GMT

Alright... I am not sure where everyone's confusion is coming from with the odds...

Let's take the MegaNumber....

You have a 1 in 46 chance... So, 1/46, 45 numbers can beat you.

If you pick 2 numbers, yes there are still 44 numbers that can beat you, but 44 that can beat you compared to 45 that can beat you is better odds. Not that much better odds, but it IS better odds.

Let's say you buy 6 tickets. Yes, 40 can still beat you, but 40 beating you is better than 44 beat... [ More ]

Comment #105

visiondude — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:25:38 GMT

regardless, common sense still rules the debate, because like i said .......

(1) you don't see anyone who bought over $100 worth of tickets (to increase their odds) ........ever winning.

that fact alone ought to tell anyone it still won't help you odds wise in a game of 176:1

(2) and the other fact (that makes me probably the least popular guy at LP), that no one can hardly make a profit at pick3, a game with much less odds/matrix, and a game that players saturate the playing field.... [ More ]

Comment #104

Rick G — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:20:05 GMT

Pretty cool. Maybe we'll finally see the half-billion$ jackpot they promised when they increased the matrix.

Good luck to all LP Mega players tonight

Comment #103

THRIFTY — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:05:33 GMT

HERE is my reply https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/214432/1903992 about this odds thing

Comment #102

Tinker — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:23:54 GMT

Todd,

Very good post. Odds are just hype. What kind of percent you have to win is all that matters.

Comment #101

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:19:48 GMT

YES, Crown me the WINNER

Comment #100

BazookaJoe — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:14:44 GMT

Almost the same as being struck by lightning or mauled by a bear twice on the same day.! Clear enough

Comment #99

B$Rizzle — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:12:54 GMT

Comment #98

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:01:48 GMT

Your logic is poor, and once again, despite the fact that I took great pains to explain things clearly, you have completely ignored -- or misstated -- what I said.

Where do you see that the Mega Ball would have only 23 number to beat?

Buying the second one would give you 2 chances in 46, or 1 chance in 23. It means out of every 23 draws, one of your two numbers should hit. It does not mean you've eliminated 23 possible numbers.

You are confused.

Comment #97

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:01:10 GMT

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW there is still 9 more hours to purchase tickets!!! Before its all said and done it might hit $400 millions!!!!! Either i win or i dont!!!!!! I have never seen the mega millions being bumped up this many times, the winners might be some large group of co workers or lucky young me. Im just happy to be here and have this chance to win!!!!!!! I would not mind winning $250,000 2nd place

Comment #96

Guru101 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:59:43 GMT

No, because if you want to simplify a fraction, you have to change both the numerator and denominator. 2/46 = 1/23. To simplify the fraction, I had to divide both the numerator and denominator by 2.

Comment #95

Coin Toss — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:53:23 GMT

Forget the top matrix for right now, let's look at the Mega ball number.

You choose one of forty -six. That leaves 45 that can beat you. So you say, OK, I'll play another Mega number and reduce that by half (2/46), now there are only 23 numbers that can beat me .

Wrong. There are 44.

Now go back to the top matrix and apply the same thing.

Comment #94

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:31:02 GMT

Please bear with me; I am going to post a lengthy description of odds calculations for multiple ticket purchases. Please follow the logic, and don't get frustrated.

Some folks here are having a difficult time with the mathematics of odds calculations. My guess is that dealing with huge numbers is causing a problem for them.

Maybe if we talk about small numbers, things will become clear.

After all, the subject of mathematics works the same way no matter how big or small the numbers are.... [ More ]

Comment #93

Long Odds — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:26:43 GMT

Having only registered today as a result of this discussion I apologize for taking a counter position to Todd, who truly has developed a meaningful website for lottery game players. The correct phrasing of the 1 purchased ticket out of 175+ million argument presented to counter CoinToss versus 13 purchased tickets is not from 1 in 175 million to 1 in ____________, rather it is from 1 in 175+ million to 13 in 175+ million. Makes sense in my mind- not sure it has translated well in written form.

Comment #92

Guru101 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:22:09 GMT

Actually the jackpot is $12 million. There was one winner in Indiana who won the $355 million.

Comment #91

Starr920 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:18:24 GMT

******Breaking News*******

Channel 7 News in New York is reporting the jackpot amount is now $355 Million

Comment #90

Long Odds — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:14:31 GMT

I am fascinated by the reduction of odds discussion. Each purchased single ticket has the same odds- 1 in 175+ million. If 13 tickets are purchased, the odds of winning are 13 in 175+ million. The reduction of this relationship on a fraction basis is 13 divided by 175 million, not 175 million divided by 13. Expressed as a percentage, 13 tickets have a 0.000007% chance of winning versus the odds of 0.000006% (decimal point moved one more space to the left) on a single ticket.

Comment #89

THRIFTY — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:04:57 GMT

You are right, whenever someone buys $5 worth of mega millions this does not change the equation to win 1 in 175,711,536. I feel that we are confusing odds and chances. You can increase your chances to win like TODD stated, but you are right COIN TOSS the odds to win never change no matter how many lines we purchase. Each line you play whether 1 or 100 tickets faces the odds of 1 in 175,711,536 to win.Athough the lottery makes you believe otherwise by dividing it 175,711,536/2=87,855,768 . The f... [ More ]

Comment #88

LotteryPlayer — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:37:57 GMT

2/46 = 4.3%

1/23 = 4.3%

2/46 = 1/23

If you buy 2 numbers in a 46-number game, you have a 4.3% chance of winning.

Comment #87

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:13:46 GMT

I understand what you are saying, but you have completely ignored everything I have said. Not worth having a discussion if you can't try to re-phrase the discussion in order to gain consensus. I tried taking your examples and pointing out the flaws, whereas you have ignored what I said. Too bad.

Comment #86

B$Rizzle — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:07:24 GMT

coinstoss -

Another way to look at this is to establish the odds if a person spent $46 bux to cover every Mega Ball #.

If that same person played the same 5 set of #'s 46 times with a different MegaBall number (1-46) each time, that persons chances of winning would be 1 in 3,819,816. That would garauntee he/she's chances of winning was 1 in 3,819,816 (on each of those 46 tickets) since they already got the megaball right (they covered all of the possible Megaballs).

Its all math ju... [ More ]

Comment #85

Coin Toss — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:55:18 GMT

Each ticklet is facing odds of 175,711, 536 :1.

You have those odds against you 13 times over. You've reduced the odds by 13 combinations and that's as good as it gets, you havent's divided those original odds by 13. 13/175,711,536 is hype, that's all.

Thinko of it ie thsi, there are 46 Mega numbers (bottom matrix). The odds against one number hitting are 46:1 (46 to one, or 1 in 45).

So you play two Mega numbers. If you say you've just cut those odds to 23:1, you are implying that the... [ More ]

Comment #84

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:48:24 GMT

OK, you are reluctant to have a discussion that expresses odds in a mathematical format, so let's try this a different way.

I would assume that you know that all odds can be expressed as 1 chance in _____ . If we can't agree on that, then I'm not sure we can have any discussion at all. So please just validate that you agree with this statement.

Then, as step two, please fill in the blank: After I buy 13 tickets, my odds of winning tonight are 1 in ______.

Comment #83

Coin Toss — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:43:31 GMT

The number of possible combinations is how the odds are established to begin with. Every line of numbers played (one combination) reduces those odds by one combination. There are no fractions that magically take one more combination and reduce the odds by millions.

The belief that there is sure sells a lot of tickets and systems though!

But I do think I might use numbers extracted from 13, 516, 272 tonight!

13 51 6 27 2 .....

1 35 16 27 2 .... darn still need a Mega number

Comment #82

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:34:03 GMT

OMG, odds calculations do no express the NUMBER of combinations you've covered. The express the FRACTION of the combinations you've covered

Comment #81

B$Rizzle — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:34:01 GMT

Yea man Im glad I live so close to GA I went twice last week over my vacation. Gave me and my family something to do while we were off ....Less than an hour drive. Went up and bought some lotto tix, got lunch and headed back.

Over and done in 2 hours tops.

If you are coming from South FL get off at exit 3 approximately 2 miles past the border...there are 3 gas stations that sell tix right there. You would be amazed at how many scratchoff books these dudes have. Like 8-10 of each one a... [ More ]

Comment #80

Fla386 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:29:08 GMT

i have 330 million reasons for a road trip to Ga !!!! Good Luck Everyone

Comment #79

Coin Toss — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:25:25 GMT

Todd,

With 13 tickets you have covered 13 sets of a posssible 175,711,536 sets of numbers, leaving 175,711, 523 sets not covered.

From GURU101,

if you buy a $5 quick pick, your odds are 1 in 35,142,307(175,711,536 / 5). I happen to have $13 worth of tickets, so my odds would be 1 in 13,516,272, which is about the same as a single line in a Pick 6/49 Lotto game.

If the magic fraction odd reduction worked, those 13 tickets would have covered some 40,000,000 + combinations. They don't... [ More ]

Comment #78

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:52:56 GMT

If i do not win the jackpot tonite i will be very happy when i collect $250,000 wednesday

Comment #77

dpoly1 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:36:20 GMT

I have gone over the top with my wagering ........... $6 .........

......... probably the most that I have ever spent on one drawing !

I will be smiling on Wednesday!

Celebrating Pensylvania's first Mega Millions Jackpot Rendell leaving

Comment #76

B$Rizzle — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:06:48 GMT

barbos - that will give you a 50/50 chance persay...That is exactly what it does. Increases your odds if you bought half of the amount of possible combinations.

Problem with doing that: if someone else wins also, then you just spent87,855,768 and wont come out ahead because you would be splitting itwith someone else.

** With your logic you are basically saying that if a person buys every combination available, then they still only have a 1 in 175,711,536 chance. Which is not true... [ More ]

Comment #75

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:29:53 GMT

That would only be true if a different person holds each ticket. We are talking about one person holding all the tickets, so COLLECTIVELY the odds of 13 tickets are 13 in 175,711,536. There is really no way you can argue with that. You have covered 13 of the 175,711,536 possible combinations.

So reduce the fraction. You do know that odds are simply a fraction, right

Comment #74

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:27:31 GMT

Actually, that's exactly what it does.

After purchasing your stated quantity of tickets, your odds would be 87,855,768 in 175,711,536.

Simplifying the fraction yields 1 in 2.

You seem to be caught up in the wow, it's hard to win syndrome. Yes, it is hard to win indeed. Buying several tickets does not make it easy to win. However, it is important not to confuse the mathematics about it with the reality that any way you express it, it is still very hard and rare to win.

Comment #73

Coin Toss — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:04:35 GMT

Nope.

Every line of numbers you play is up against the same odds, there is only one set of winning numbers drawn.

barbos is right.

If the fractionalizing theory worked people would just form pools and bet enough to make sure they won. Ha ha ha, the lottery loves that. They have this all figured out.

Take a pick 5 game where the odds are 575,757 to one. $5000 in tickets, according to your thoey, would bring the odds down to 115 to one. $20,000 would make the odds 28 to one. If it work... [ More ]

Comment #72

butterflykt — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:30:09 GMT

As long as you are sharing it wth me

Comment #71

savagegoose — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:17:50 GMT

so 2 tickets dont double your chances? o man i knew i should have got a pick 3 instead

Comment #70

NEXT — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 05:40:53 GMT

I will be there in Olympia sharing the manmoth spoil. Joint Winners

Comment #69

spaconbe2 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 05:09:26 GMT

go for it buddy..

Comment #68

BlindTrustMe — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:23:36 GMT

I like the math. I now have a 1 in 351,423 chance. Going out to get more tomorrow to reduce that even further.

Comment #67

barbos — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:03:18 GMT

You might be right but buying 87,855,768 tickets does not reduce the odds to 1 in 2 - there are still almost 88 millions possible combinations left over.

Comment #66

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:00:39 GMT

Ok now i understand

Comment #65

visiondude — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:52:01 GMT

or, you could look at it this way from an additional common sense perspective......

even if one did buy $100 worth in a game that has 176 milllion to 1 odds, you realistically are still not giving yourself better odds of winning anything........ in light of the fact that people cannot even win the pick3 with any consistentcy, and that after supposedly effectively covering the matrix field with more saturation vs dollar(s) spent.

since we are discussing increasing one's odds/probability by... [ More ]

Comment #64

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:51:16 GMT

Please read my post, Guru101 is correct.

You are both stating the same thing, in fact.

Stating the odds as 13 in 175,711,536 is the same exact thing as saying 1 in 13,516,272 .

Comment #63

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:48:26 GMT

Sorry Guru101 the odds do not work that way, example if you spent $13 your odds will be 13 in 175,711,536. Play to win

Comment #62

Todd — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:41:17 GMT

No, no, no.

The odds for 1 ticket is 1 in 175,711,536. The 1 is the 1 ticket and the 175,711,536 are the number of possibilities.

The odds for 5 tickets is 5 in 175,711,536. Note the 5 is the 5 tickets, but the number of chances does not change, only the number of tickets purchased.

Now then, odds are essentially fractions. The 1 in 175,711,536 can be written as 1 over 175,711,536, or 1 divided by 175,711,536.

So the 5-ticket purchase is 5 over (or divided by ) 175,711,536. To get th... [ More ]

Comment #61

barbos — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:34:14 GMT

As a matter of fact, the odds on 5 wagers are 1 in 175,711,531 but I won't argue just wish everyone good luck and many big jackpots this year.

Comment #60

Guru101 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:25:36 GMT

If you buy a $1 ticket, your odds are 1 in 175,711,536. However, you can increase your odds by purchasing multiple lines. So if you buy a $5 quick pick, your odds are 1 in 35,142,307(175,711,536 / 5). I happen to have $13 worth of tickets, so my odds would be 1 in 13,516,272, which is about the same as a single line in a Pick 6/49 Lotto game.

Comment #59

dk1421 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:25:04 GMT

You know, I never thought of it like that. Thanks for the new perspective

Comment #58

savagegoose — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:18:12 GMT

well its doing good for imports over there, cuz i sent money over from australia to buy 5 tickets.

i may not get out of the states alive if i won, but its a risk im willing to take.

Comment #57

B$Rizzle — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:17:53 GMT

I'm pretty sure the majority of the jackpots were won mostly on $5 - $10 playslips, considering $10 is the highest they go... Even is you tell the clerk you want $10 bux worth, many of times they hand you 2 $5 slips.

So your assumption is correct

Comment #56

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:16:34 GMT

Wooo Hooo, i thought my $32 was something

Comment #55

BlindTrustMe — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:13:08 GMT

For all of you $1 spenders out there, I'm $500 poorer and will probably still be $500 poorer tomororrow night, but it will be fun checking them all.

Comment #54

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:01:01 GMT

whatever amount someone wants to spend is their decision, The odd will still remain at 176 million to 1. Your chances of getting eaten alive by a shark in the desert with no water is better!!! Just joking.

Comment #53

visiondude — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:52:37 GMT

(1) you are right, the jackpot would take f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to reach this level at $1 a player. a factual statement

(2) i don't have a problem with anyone throwing any amount of money at it, as it's their personal choice.

i just happen to know you cannot (realistically) increase your chances of winning with a 176:1 odds, so why bother wasting more money than that.

(3) the whole point i was making is addressing the desperation quotient, which greatly increases once the jackpots reach this l... [ More ]

Comment #52

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:46:04 GMT

There are those who play hard for a big win to help others,then there are those who play hard to win so that they can crawl in their shell and do not give no one a dime!! and live off the fruits of their big win. People will remember you for what you have done not what you had

Comment #51

freeobama — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:30:59 GMT

could not have been written better!! I am a big spender when i have extra cash. If everyone only played $1 then the pot will not be enormous as it is now.This jackpot is bringing everyone out the wood works, this New Year people who never play is playing

Comment #50

Justwinbaby — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:24:18 GMT

Hmm, I think it depends on your perspective. While I am not a person who spends $100 on a given draw, I am not going to knock those who do. Spending $100 does not work for me. I only think it is egregious/unfortunate if a person is spending money he or she does not have just to play. In that regard, it would not matter if he or she is spending $1, $10 or $100 if is not affordable.

But another way to see it is this: you are quite excited that the jackpot is $330 million after the latest $40 mi... [ More ]

Comment #49

luisM — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:20:35 GMT

Florida Lotto took FOREVER to join Powerball. They were concerned that they would lose money in Florida Lotto. Which they have. Florida Lotto is no longer advertised on the Interstate Billboards and the Jackpot now starts at $2 million and slowly creeps upward from there.

Comment #48

joshuacloak — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:16:55 GMT

the current state lottery's are swimming in money like scrooge mcduck!

but their 2 main holdouts, who are stubborn not to join mega millions

they are the Louisiana lottery and Florida lottery , they both have powerball, but don't have the brains to join MM ,

their ceo's are arrogant and should be fired for costing their state lotto's money, when jackpots get high, this is when states make out like bandits in a bank

mega millions just like powerball, just under 50% of the money g... [ More ]

Comment #47

RJOh — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:06:20 GMT

There's more than a hundred thousands members, how do you decide which ones are active

Comment #46

KSplayer — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:00:03 GMT

Well i went threw every pair of pants, looked under every couch cushion, went threw my vehicle and looked around the the washer and drier and finallt found enough chsnge to go buy a $3 QP. Hope it pays off.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE

Comment #45

visiondude — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:40:46 GMT

nothing speaks LOUDER than 1QP in a fate based if i am meant to approach.

afterall, based solely in common sense, no one is really helping their odds of winning in throwing a $100 bill at a game with a matrix field of balls that large, and odds of 176million to 1

common sense recognizes this - desperation disregards it.

there is nothing i can ever do to make it happen, and $1 gives fate it's invitation.

i like that.

no, i REALLLLLLLY like that

Comment #44

larry3100 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:33:35 GMT

If you think this is a wow, just imagine when it turns over again. If I win this Mega Millions grand prize tomorrow night,I'm going to share some of it with all active Lottery Post members!!!.True believers in the lottery!!!.

Comment #43

luisM — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:29:37 GMT

Yeah, I'm sure that folks in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming are crossing the borders to buy tickets. Folks from Alabama cross the border into Florida and WIN

Comment #42

ttech10 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:21:56 GMT

I remember reading here somewhere, I guess maybe they read something wrong. Oh well I'm not gonna worry about where that extra money comes from.

And ya I can see people not buying PB in favor of driving across the border for MM. I haven't bought PB in a while because of this jackpot.

Comment #41

luisM — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:13:43 GMT

Sorry, no. No Mega Millions in Florida. So I guess no one is buying Powerball tickets. The advertised jackpot is 1 million less than its usual $35 million.

Comment #40

ttech10 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:48:30 GMT

I thought only 1-2 picked it up, all I remember reading on here was the addition of Florida.

Comment #39

NightTrain1234 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:12:14 GMT

I think one of the reasons the jackpot jumped so much is because many more states offer the Mega Millions game. Not that many people would drive to another state as before but now, if you just have to drive a few miles and know about this big jackpot, it means the jackpots will increase much greater now.

Comment #38

myturn08 — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 23:35:43 GMT

im playing a few quick picks and my own numbers and a few numbers that i got from fortune cookies, u never know

Comment #37

Hermanus104 — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:52:13 GMT

I might just break my rule of playing non-daily-numbers games this one time to have a shot at winning $330 million on my 25th birthday

Comment #36

petergrfn — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:20:31 GMT

YOWZA! In the words of Stephan Furst of Animal House.... OH BOY...This is going to be Great

Comment #35

freeobama — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:18:25 GMT

I HAVE A STRONG FEELING THE WINNING TICKET WILL BE SOLD IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Comment #34

freeobama — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:11:29 GMT

I have some old tickets from PA and KY, they both are $1 QP, im thinking about replaying those QP numbers

Comment #33

freeobama — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:07:54 GMT

Most jackpot winners have them all on one slip, good luck

Comment #32

butterflykt — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:58:19 GMT

I'll probably grab a $4 QP. Anybody think it's better to have them all on 1 slip or each individually? I can't wait to drive to Olympia on Wednesday morning

Comment #31

gy65 — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:37:26 GMT

Doing the rough math . . $208M would be reduced to around $125M after 35% federal and 5% state taxes. That balance invested in a corporate bond fund with a yield of around 5% would generate around $10,000 per day in dividends after 40% taxes.

Comment #30

freeobama — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:22:49 GMT

My friend picked up $2Qp from Georgia ,North Carolina and Virginia he spent $6 good luck everyone

Comment #29

ttech10 — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:21:23 GMT

Dang, so the last one was bumped only $5 million (from $237 to $242) and this was a $40 million bump... that's a huge difference.

I hope another person out there has the winning numbers as me, $135,000,000 is a ridiculous take home for one person.

Comment #28

fwlawrence — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:01:45 GMT

I thought the jackpot might go up to $300 million but $330 million-wow! When I win, forget the champagne and caviar-I'm celebrating with Mountain Dew and hot dogs! Hopefully my tastes won't change and I can still be the same person.

Comment #27

johngreek — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:45:05 GMT

if i lived in the states i would play 3QP

3 is my lucky numba :PP

Comment #26

hearsetrax — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:41:59 GMT

well I just tossed my few dollars into the backhole ..... personally would love for it to be a single ticket win (preferably me)

heres to hoping to get a smallish piece of the beastly prize