The Jackpot has Landed

Comment #81

savagegoose — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:19:52 GMT

the best odds increase you get is buying your 1st ticket, it goes downhill from there.

Comment #80

Guru101 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 04:11:30 GMT

Holy crap. Now I don't feel so bad for not winning when I played $50 when Powerball got to $300 million one time. lol

Sorry to hear man.

Comment #79

rock_nc — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 04:44:41 GMT

i'm in a lottery group at work,we played 150.00 dollars worth and did not win anything.NOTHING!!!! there was some numbers on some tickets,like one or two numbers,but that was it.....but if you ain't in it,you can't win it..

Comment #78

Jack-C — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 02:40:57 GMT

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:kJdUGQnK0UIdBM:http://indyposted.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/helen-thomas.jpg t=1

Comment #77

Perfecttiming2 — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:17:39 GMT

I agree..........it was the most fun for MM in a long time

Comment #76

naijaman — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:23:29 GMT

I don't understand how anyone could have felt buyer's remorse for not winning the MegaMillions...I mean...the odds of winning are ridiculous. I personally never spend more than $5 each time....I'm reading posts from folks who spent $40 and $50 on just this drawing?

Wow...

Comment #75

mightwin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:09:30 GMT

Yeah seems low too. The cash option for dec 31 was $154,000,000. and for jan 4 was $240,000,000. A difference of 86 million. If the sales were $229,421,186 and the mega millions site says approx 50% of every dollar spent goes back to player prizes, half of the reported sales would be $114,710,593 going to prizes. Put 86 million into the jackpot cash option leaves $28,710,593 for smaller prizes, yet if you add up the total paid for smaller prizes it adds up to approx $44,841,397. Does anyone know... [ More ]

Comment #74

hearsetrax — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:58:15 GMT

nice shot , Todd

but this is a prime exsample of the pet theory that some people subscribe to and need to quit

Comment #73

Todd — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:29:20 GMT

How do you think the jackpot rises so quickly?

Not trying to make light of your loss, but seriously, the odds are very good that you will lose all or most of your wager when playing any lottery game. That's what makes lottery winners so special and unique.

Comment #72

spaconbe2 — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:19:02 GMT

I spent $200 and all I win back is $10. This is clearly is a sign that the lottery is a bull. Now I learned my lesson. There's better thing to do with money than throwing it away.

Comment #71

Merccyless — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:43:18 GMT

Hey,

I'm from DC and I feel the same as you. Washington State always win the powerball/mega millions. It would beso nice for it two come to US Capitol for a change. As you said, Good luck everyone! Well, I say the same to you everyone in the DC area

Comment #70

louise black — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:15:56 GMT

Are you telling us you are a milliionare or you saiding that you won 250,000! well, well congrat!! is inorder for you too.

Comment #69

freeobama — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:56:04 GMT

I spent $37 and played my 2 favorite set of numbers lol, maybe next time when this powerball jackpot sky rocket!! I will be in VA lurking

Comment #68

Piaceri — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:31:23 GMT

I can't see why anyone would have buyers remorse. This was the most fun MM has been in quite a while. I spent $30, won $0. Great entertainment value. Cheaper than dinner and a movie. Thank you MM! (I'm easily entertained, lol)

Congrats to both winners, may they carefully choose legal and financial assistance... educate themselves and listen to advice.

Comment #67

LotteryTechInc — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:53:01 GMT

That's why I would never try and tackle the PowerBall or Mega-Millions there too dang hard!!! and quick-picks don't make it any easier

Comment #66

PrisonerSix — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:16:44 GMT

I saw at one point, they were selling 240,000 tickets per minute, and around 9,000 people played the Lost numbers.

I was debating if nobody won tonight or Friday, taking a road trip to Orange, Texas, to buy a bunch of tickets.

Hopefully Powerball will start to climb high again.

Comment #65

Jack-C — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:50:57 GMT

http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000906015/nancy_pelosi_facelift11_xlarge.jpeg

Comment #64

larry3100 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:44:37 GMT

Congratulations to the two winners!. That Hurley tape blew me away.Where were you Hurley when I needed you !. I bought $11.00 worth of Mega numbers and didn't win a thing. Oh,well next time,I'm going to win it.

Comment #63

Coin Toss — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:07:04 GMT

Must be money in potatoes, Idaho has the most millionaires of any state, per capita.

Now they've got at least one more

Comment #62

hearsetrax — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:02:27 GMT

Comment #61

gonnawinwatchme — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:55:46 GMT

Congrats to the winners!! Hopefully they claim their prize and run away

Comment #60

Perfecttiming2 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:31:03 GMT

Hi JWB......

I like to look at it this way........

After reading the articles on this site, I see that on Dec 31st the jackpot was $242m and no one won....

Then it rolled to 290M........then 330M.....then 335m.......and landed at $380M....that's a jump of $138 million between drawings..........

I don't think that has ever happened......

In fact the last time MM had a huge jump like that was before the cross-selling began inwhich (on its own) MM jump $75m from one drawing to the ne... [ More ]

Comment #59

JWBlue — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:18:15 GMT

According to Lotto Report sales were $229,421,186.

That seems low to me.

Comment #58

petergrfn — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 22:14:00 GMT

After my numbers didn't come up I knew it wouldn't roll....After all Yolanda Vega from NY was there...and the Next Drawing was to be in NYC! That usually means the jackpot run is OVER! Oh well...I guess I will have to wait a little bit longer for my $500 Million

Comment #57

Perfecttiming2 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:51:17 GMT

the sales alone for this game were absolutely ridiculous

Yep.......that's why its called MegaMillions!

(I like your post btw).....

And I also noticed on the Powerball website that they have a tab for MM...I do not recall that being on the original site.

Seems like they are making an attempt to support cross-selling (because for a while MM and PB seemed to be in competition with each other)..........Could this be the set-up for these games to become one?

And one more thing.....I b... [ More ]

Comment #56

iGlenn — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:28:05 GMT

In your scenario Washington would have sold two winning tickets. We only know the states where the winning tickets were purchased (Idaho and Washington), not where the winners actually live.

Comment #55

mightwin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:07:32 GMT

Congrats to the winners, but good things come to those who wait so...... I'll grab the next big jackpot. LOL

Comment #54

fwlawrence — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:05:37 GMT

If one store was near the border, like the city of Opportunity, one person from that city could have bought a winning ticket. Then, someone from Idaho, driving to work in Spokane could have stopped at the same store and also bought a winning ticket. Just an example.

Comment #53

dbello — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:15:34 GMT

Thanks Todd! Signed on the last page

Comment #52

Todd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:14:04 GMT

Check my post in this thread of a news story. It has the Lost clip in it.

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/225706/1905181

Comment #51

freeobama — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:13:09 GMT

Not unless they are a couple of potato heads!!! I read a article saying the tickets was sold 125 miles apart

Comment #50

dbello — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:12:22 GMT

Has everyone seen the youtube video of the Lost episode (ABC TV) where the numbers drawn in the lottery were 4-8-15-16-23 + 4? Unbelievable! Lot of people won 150.00 playing those last night!

It's title Lost - Hurley wins the lottery....hope this was okay to post Todd

Comment #49

dpoly1 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:10:37 GMT

Just so it is not a couple of potato heads saying I don't know what to do with all of that money ..................

Comment #48

luisM — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:41:55 GMT

Thanks for clearing that up ttech. I think everyone knows of a scary chick .

Comment #47

ttech10 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:35:27 GMT

ThatScaryChick, she's a member on here from Idaho.

Glad I only spent $5 on this drawing, though I did see there was a 5/5 winner in my town. At least it came from the store across from where I buy my tickets (on occasion) so it's not like I missed out on getting them as one of my QPs.

Comment #46

grey310 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:34:31 GMT

i gt 5of5 yes baby.... but wanted the jackpot what a boner kill

Comment #45

grey310 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:31:03 GMT

where did u see that scary chick

Comment #44

JONNIE — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:27:55 GMT

I only got 2 numbers right. The sales in NJ and NY alone were ridiculous.. I spent $10 total; $8 of my picks and $2 qp's. I was in line and 5 people in front of me were throwing at least $50 or higher in qp's!! But also let this be a lesson learned for the lottery commission. DO NOT combine these games (PB and MM) or get rid of one for another, etc. as the sales alone for this game were absolutely ridiculous. The lottery made an absolute killing off of this even with 2 jackpot winners.. Its the... [ More ]

Comment #43

Toney725 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:21:13 GMT

Because a HUGE number of Americans are geographically challenged and assume that the postal codes of AR=Arizona, AK=Arkansas, when it's AR-Arkansas, AK-Alaska, AZ-Arizona AL-Alabama.....

Comment #42

luisM — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:11:36 GMT

What are you guys talking about

Comment #41

B$Rizzle — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:00:57 GMT

What?

Please tell me how 1 store could be in 2 states

Comment #40

joshuacloak — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:59:35 GMT

wow i liked the updated values, didn't know it surpassed the 233m record, to 240m,

cash value is real jackpot anyway, so this wil always be the world record jackpot atm to me, and we got to play it :D

very happy added states in total 41 states of mm setted a new record , it just goes to show, when the jackpot Does get high, added players make it fly

i already keep my tickets for each new year, incase i get taxed on any major winnings reported to irs aka claimed at lotto hq , then a... [ More ]

Comment #39

NITEHAWK61 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:57:36 GMT

played $5.00 won $3.00

not bad

Comment #38

Todd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:53:16 GMT

Frustratingly, the official Mega Millions organization continues reporting Arkansas second-prize winners as Arizona . I have corrected the information here and on USA Mega, but they are really getting ridiculous with mis-identifying the Arkansas prizes.

Comment #37

dallascowboyfan — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:36:09 GMT

Congratulations to both Jackpot Winners...... I just go off the phone with all my relatives in Washington State....... unfortuntely none of them live in Eastern Washigton......

Comment #36

plshelpme — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:35:49 GMT

She was the 1st person I thought of when I heard the location of 1 of the winning tickets

Comment #35

Todd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:31:59 GMT

Now known as That Scary Rich Chick .

Comment #34

Stack47 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:27:50 GMT

Has anybody seen That Scary Chick ; she was from Idaho

Comment #33

hsg1 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:25:49 GMT

Can anyone guess how many tickets must have bought for this mega million ticket for this draw?

Make a Guess

Comment #32

Todd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:23:07 GMT

Hopefully everyone caught the fact that the news story has been updated with the actual jackpot amount at draw-time: $380 million! The cash value of $240 million was the largest in history.

Comment #31

hsg1 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:21:24 GMT

I bought 5 tickets, like a visit to Mc Donalds for a hamburger meal

Comment #30

fwlawrence — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:54:30 GMT

Since Idaho and Washington border one another, it is possible that one store could have sold both winning tickets.

Comment #29

myturn08 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:32:04 GMT

haha that crazy, i use to play that number all the time too, lol

Comment #28

Jack-C — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:01:43 GMT

To all my dear, dear, dear friends in Idaho and Washington that I have not seen for many, many years. I have been thinking of you a lot lately. We really should get together soon.

All My Love Forever,

Jack

BTW, when we meet, I have this terrific business opportunity I would like to tell you about.

Comment #27

PERDUE — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:55:03 GMT

The megaplier was 4. So those who megaplied and won on the lower tier prizes received 4 times their wins.

So if you hit on the $150 level and megaplied, then you walk away with a nice $600 bucks. Not bad for a drawing, provided that the winner did not overspend.

I am happy to say that my family broke even in last night's drawing. We spent $20 on 10 combinations and won our $20 back. The same thing happened to us on 12-31-10.

So we are able to return the $20 to the gambling fund for our... [ More ]

Comment #26

lottolaughs — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:46:07 GMT

Congrats to Todd for breaking the old online record!

25,791

on January 4, 2011, 11:30 pm

If you really want to win a jackpot folks...stick with your Pick 5 game

Comment #25

C0w Pi3 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:07:29 GMT

THANKS FOR SHARING THIS AFTER THE DRAWING! I would of at least played the numbers :X

Comment #24

freeobama — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:56:57 GMT

I told my wife before the drawing that Idaho was going to be a winner how did i know? mega millions will shift from odds to geographical areas!! Take a minute to think about it every body and every state was in a freenzy,who win two laid back states who have not won in years!! im quite sure Idaho did not have lines of buyers at they retail stores wraped around the building!!! anyways congrats to the winners

Comment #23

freeobama — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:47:21 GMT

I see the odds is one big rotten fish in a tank!! something smells fishy to me

Comment #22

freeobama — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:43:45 GMT

Yes indeed VA is long overdue

Comment #21

temptustoo — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:28:22 GMT

I'm so happy I didnt win last night.. The thought of not having my morning coffee in peace would have just ruined my day// God Speed

Comment #20

joshuacloak — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:12:30 GMT

ah oh will, glad we know mm can sure pull a nice big run on us, all the players don't play to its high, so the 41 states helps out the must when its high, this run had even me guesting the amounts wrong it was higher!

but 67 5-0 winners also, this jackpot was doomed atfer that 5th white ball

i just told my self no star bucks coffe for me for the rest of the month, any money spent was jsut throw away money to begin with :P

was fun to dream about such high amounts :D

Comment #19

dr65 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:04:16 GMT

I had one ticket, it's in the trash right now. I wonder how many people went way overboard hoping to win? The odds are crazy. I half expected

one person to win. I'm happy to see that 2 people won but wish it could have been more.

Comment #18

Todd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:48:41 GMT

News story reported from within the drawing studio

Comment #17

Hermanus104 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:44:42 GMT

I had 4 and 8 together, but only because my mom was born in April and my dad was born in August. (Also because yesterday was my birthday - that's the only reason I played). I won $2 with a bonus ball match on my birthday. Yay.

That prize should pay out far more than $150 if the odds of 3+1 are 1:13,781. That's why I don't play this game on any regular basis - the lower-tier prize payouts are lousy.

Comment #16

B$Rizzle — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:28:44 GMT

Interesting, that was brought up on a FL lottery blog not too long ago, in which those #s matched either 3 or 4 as well

Comment #15

butterflykt — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:28:42 GMT

Wow! Somebody won from my state...it's about time. I think it's been about 4 yrs since the last winner....really was wishing it would have been me. Congratulation to the 2 winners.

Comment #14

B$Rizzle — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:27:30 GMT

Random # picked at drawing which multiplies non-jackpot winnings. This draw it was 4. So all non-jackpot winnings were multiplied by 4....Extra $1 during play time. Not all states offer it

Also if you have 5/5 with MegaPlier and no Mega Ball automatic $1 Million

Comment #13

all4luck — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:03:56 GMT

You can say that again. The people that won better do good with that money...

Comment #12

sully16 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:01:43 GMT

Congrats to all the winners.

Comment #11

Starr920 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:59:50 GMT

Guess I should've played Hurley's numbers

Would've had 4, 8, 15 and MB 42 = $150

Comment #10

hearsetrax — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:48:30 GMT

..... well count thy blessings and remember in a sense you just dodged the XXLarge green bullet and the many days,months years of hoards of beggers camping out on thy door step waiting for thar share

Comment #9

kennedygrandma — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:36:34 GMT

Well I said I wanted to win mega million and I won 2.00 had the mega ball should have said I wanted to win the jackpot LOL

Comment #8

emerald64 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:34:08 GMT

What is the megaplier

Comment #7

dk1421 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:29:59 GMT

I must say, when I woke up this morning, it's the very first time I had buyer's remorse - and that was before I checked to see what states were the big winner. I only spent around $40, but that's a HUGE amount for me. Usually it's just $5.

However, I haven't checked my tickets yet to see if I won $1 million, so hopefully....

Comment #6

hearsetrax — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:56:50 GMT

barely had time had time to wipe the sand from my eyes and ave my first few sips of tea only to find out it was a two way split ...... well least I can honestly say I hope the few andy many who spent over $5 to $100 and walked away with nutting .... SERVES YA RIGHT YOU SUCKERS!!!!!

I'm with you increase we here in VA could use a good winner

well heres to the next Mega jackpot

Comment #5

richnc — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:28:42 GMT

Better to know you are not going to win (read the odds) and be supprised and happy. If you know you are going to win and do not win (like a LOT of us) you could be depressed today.

Comment #4

increase — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:24:27 GMT

Congratulations to the winners!

That kind of money will really change lives.

It's very unfortunate that I live in VA.

The next Mega Millions winner should be from VA.

Good luck everyone

Comment #3

dopey7719 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:24:10 GMT

Oh well......16 bucks down the drain...but it was nice daydreaming about if I did win all day yesterday

Comment #2

luisM — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:08:58 GMT

to put it quite simply, that sucks.

Comment #1

visiondude — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:06:47 GMT

out of millions of tickets purchased, and millions of combinations covered, and only 2 winners, all that previous talk about increasing your odds thru the purchase of more than one ticket was obviously like i said it was.....

.....a waste of money (at least from an increasing one's odds perspective).

from the $50 million mark on, i was only out $1 QP a draw.

tonight, i don't suffer from buyers remorse ......lol

The Jackpot has Landed

Lottery Post — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:50:57 GMT

2 tickets from Idaho and Washington split $380 million Mega Millions jackpot

By Todd Northrop

Update: Final draw-time jackpot increased, cash value was largest ever

Update 2: California prizes added

After a lottery ticket buying frenzy swept across America this week, the massive, seemingly unstoppable Mega Millions jackpot has finally been taken down.

Tuesday's $380 million jackpot was the second-largest jackpot ever in the United States, second only to the $390 million Mega Milli... [ More ]