By Todd Northrop
As tickets for the multi-state Mega Millions jackpot pump out of lottery machines across the United States, the question on lottery players minds is just how high will the jackpot go before the drawing on Tuesday night.
One lottery official says that Mega Millions ticket sales easily could push Tuesday's jackpot above last year's record $656 million prize.
No ticket matched the six numbers needed to win Friday's $425 million prize. It was raised Saturday to $550 million for Tuesday's drawing — the fourth largest in U.S. history. Monday, the lotteries raised the estimated jackpot once again to $586 million.
The lump-sum cash value of the jackpot is now estimated to be $316.5 million.
Paula Otto, executive director of the Virginia Lottery and Mega Millions' lead director, told the Associated Press on Sunday that sales were up by as much as 20 percent over weekend numbers and were expected to spike on Tuesday, the day of the drawing.
"I think we'll be very close to the record, and maybe even surpass it," Otto said, adding that sales are difficult to predict.
"Lotto players are procrastinators. They tend to buy on the day of the draw," she said.
As of Friday, players had bought enough tickets to cover roughly half of the 259 million possible number combinations, Otto said.
A winner with a ticket matching all six numbers would have the choice of a full jackpot in 30 annual payments or a cash option of more than $316 million, before taxes.
The drawing is at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
Lottery players seeking to check the winning numbers Tuesday night are urged to use USA Mega (www.usamega.com). State lottery Web sites are normally sluggish or brought to a standstill during busy periods, while USA Mega normally remains responsive.
Mega Millions drawing results will be posted immediately after the 11:00 pm drawing at USA Mega. The number of winners and new jackpot will be announced after all participating states have reported their data, which normally occurs within a few hours after the drawing.
Tickets will remain on sale typically until 10:45 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, although players should check with a lottery retailer in their state for the exact sales cutoff time. Players are advised not to wait until the last minute.
The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1 in 259 million. The odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are 1 in 14.7.
Mega Millions tickets cost $1 each. For an extra $1 per ticket players can purchase the Megaplier option, which multiplies any non-jackpot won by up to 5 times, depending on the Megaplier number drawn that evening.
The only state that does not offer the Megaplier is California, because state law banning fixed lottery prize amounts is not compatible with the fixed nature of the Megaplier payouts.
Lottery players can see an after-tax analysis of the current Mega Millions jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page.
Mega Millions features nine different prize levels, ranging from $1 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Mega Ball number.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 4th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. That position may rise before the drawing, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Mega Millions: $586 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
- Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
- The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
- Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
- Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
- The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $319 million, Mar. 25, 2011 - New York
- Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005 - California
- Powerball: $314.9 million, Dec. 26, 2002 - West Virgina
- Powerball: $314.3 million, Aug. 25, 2007 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295.7 million, Jul. 29, 1998 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295 million, Aug. 25, 2001 - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $294 million, Jul. 2, 2004 - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $276.3 million, Mar. 15, 2008 - West Virgina
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Mega Millions: 9
- Powerball: 14
- The Big Game: 2
The Big Game is the original name of Mega Millions, from the game's first drawing on Sep. 6, 1996 through May 14, 2002. The name was changed to Mega Millions starting with the May 17, 2002 drawing.
Top 25 cash value jackpots
Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth.
Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the 4th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Mega Millions: $316.5 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($586 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
- Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
- Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $194.4. million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California
- The Big Game: $180 million cash, May 9, 2000 ($363 million annuity) - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $177.3 million cash, Feb. 18, 2006 ($365 million annuity) - Nebraska
- Mega Millions: $168 million cash, July 2, 2004 ($294 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $167.7 million cash, Feb. 22, 2008 ($275 million annuity) - Georgia
- Powerball: $166 million cash, Aug. 25, 2001 ($295 million annuity) - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $165.2 million cash, May 4, 2010 ($266 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $164.4 million cash, won Oct. 19, 2005 ($340 million annuity) - Oregon
- Mega Millions: $164 million cash, Feb. 28, 2006 ($270 million annuity) - Ohio
- Powerball: $161.5 million cash, July 29, 1998 ($295.7 million annuity) - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $156.1 million cash, Sept. 16, 2005 ($258 million annuity) - New Jersey
$586 Million Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!
The March 2012 record MM JP:
Started at $500M
Upped to $550M day before
Revised to $650M on draw day, finally ending up at $656M
This run:
Started at $550M
Upped to $586M day before
Revised to ????? on draw day, finally ending up at ?????
I dont think it will be hit tomorrow, and the crazy Lottery Frenzy will be "CRAZY RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!"
should be a most curious Wednesday morning hehehehe
I got my 1 ticket.
Hello everyone, I have been incognito for a spell!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, $586 million is NOTHING to sneeze about! I will take that in a heartbeat. However, if MEGAMILLIONS is looking to surpass the POWERBALL frenzy of the highest jackpot in world history, they better ramp up that climb more rapidly.....
I hope it hits a Billion
Mega Millions has its own world record to beat, not Powerball's. Powerball hasn't cracked $600M (yet), whereas Mega Millions owns the record at $656M. Could be pretty interesting to see if this cranks above $700M...
I'm a procrastinator, I'm buying mine tomorrow. Also, my company's holiday party is tomorrow. This could be a VERY fun night :)
I Got my one ticket today also. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE
I hate to be Buzzkill Bud (side kick to Debbie Downer), but it really does not matter what the jackpot amount is except if you are holding the winning ticket. My heart is not beating none the faster with the increased jackpot level.
Just the right size for me LOL!
I will have high tea if I take home this prize!
Hmm. I say $625M by midday. After that, no idea. I do know that if it rolls, Friday will be insane. I think people will be plunking down their paychecks and bonuses to buy a crapload of tickets.
Powerball has the worlds largest jackpot??.......huh!
I got a couple already, would like to call in rich wednesday
LOL Sully16
Seems like you and I have the same main objective !
Now would be the perfect time for anyone who has a winning ticket to cash it in. When all the attention is on mega millions. You can slip under the radar with not much attention, and people will forget about you during the big jackpot frenzy.
That would certainly be nice!
I still have a 3-person pool ticket from Colorado and bought 2 picks during my short visit in Maryland. I will get 2 more when I get back to Florida tomorrow.
Tried getting my husband to get a ticket but he absolutely refused...even for one stinking dollar.
As of Friday, players had bought enough tickets to cover roughly half of the 259 million
possible number combinations.
I think it might hit, at least 3 winners from 3 different states.
If not, whoa!!
Good luck, Jill.
I tried to buy tickets this morning when I stopped for gas but their machine was down. Either that was a sign or it'll make for a great story when I win.
"I tried to buy tickets from a particular place at a particular time but their machine was down. So the next day I went somewhere else and they sold me the winning ticket. I would sincerely like to thank the first place for not having a working machine which allowed me to buy the right ticket at the right time somewhere else. btw This was my very first time playing the lottery"
That doesn't make any sense, since the last drawing was ON Friday. Kinda hard to buy tickets for this drawing since Friday's hadn't even taken place yet. And as for advance draw tickets, I hardly think enough people buy those to cover ~130 million combinations.
Ms. Otto was describing the last draw on Friday at roughly 50% of combinations covered.
For Tues draw, could be anywhere from 70% to 80% coverage, we won't know for sure until tomorrow. That means 70-80% chance of a winner.(very likely)
I like your story line. That would certainly stir up those who play every draw.
Good luck to you as well!
Obviously not likely to happen. But two more rolls to Christmas Eve (next Tuesday) would be...something to behold.
My hand itches.
Rolling until Chfristmas Eve would be a joy to watch the frenzy hit the country. Then I could wake up on Christmas and God for blessing me and thank this great country for contributing to the best Christmas!!!!!!!!! lol
Whooooo!!! Bumpin' up!!!
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!
There's a couple different reasons for that.. beginning with you need to wash your hands with hot soapy water and ending with you're coming into some money.
You pick.
How combinations are in Mega Millions?
Am I the only one who REALLY REALLY REALLY wants this thing to roll until Christmas eve???? Oh, and then I win of course!!!!
I'd rather see 316 people win $1.000.000
Nope, one jackpot winner!
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!! ONE WINNER.
No offense, that's something only a grinch would say!!!! Why not just shoot for second tier with mega play then? 2 million... Wouldn't it be just a little more after taxes? While I would be more than ecstatic to even win $100, I play to win the jackpot whether it be $20,000,000 or 586+!!!!---------- but--------- that would be EPIC
Well stated!!!!! Dream big, and swing for the fences.
Don't forget that people can play the same numbers on the different tickets, so the chance of winning still somewhere between 50-80%. But this also means that there is a chance for multiple winners and a shared Jackpot.
I don't even try to guess the amount of the Jackpot for Friday - in case there will be no winner this Tuesday.
And I think we will start seeing Jackpots like this, since MM just introduced the new system last October changing the odds from 1:150million to 1:260million and the worse odds let the Jackpot rise higher and higher. There hasn't been a Jackpot since the new rules are in place.
I would like to see that as well.
316 people win the SECOND place prize of at least $1 million.
The jackpot would be best served by going to one or two lucky ticket holders.
My feet are itching...does that mean I will be walking into a huge pile of Mega Millions money this week? And no I do not suffer from athlete's foot!
That's a very socialistic view. No it is much more interesting for there to be a single winner come into mondo money. With Barack running country baroke (broke for you edumacated folk), I think I would take cash value and claim before year end. Toodles....
LOL!!! I can see the MUSL folks going nuts with a that many 5+0 winners.
Powerball once yeilded 110 second prize winners in a drawing.
Quoting Wikipedia:
The Powerball drawing on March 30, 2005 produced 110 second-prize winners. The total payout to these winners was $19,400,000, with 89 winners each receiving $100,000. The other 21 winners received $500,000, as they were Power Play selections.
MUSL officials initially suspected fraud or a reporting error. However, all 110 winners had played numbers from fortune cookies made by Wonton Food Inc. of Long Island City, New York. The factory had printed the numbers "22, 28, 32, 33, 39, 40" on thousands of fortunes. The "40" in the fortune did not match the Powerball number of "42". None of the employees of Wonton Food played those numbers; at the time, the closest state with Powerball was Connecticut. Since the ticket holders had won as result of a coincidence rather than foul play, the payouts were made.
Had these 110 winners shared the then $25 million jackpot, each ticket would have been worth about $227,272 annuity or $122,727 cash. The fortune on the inspiring fortune cookie read: "All the preparation you've done will finally be paying off."
Does Spain have Largest lottery jackpot giveaway? 900 million dollars?
I hope ticket clerks across the country get some rest tonight, tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for them. If the jackpot isn't won tomorrow, then Friday will most likely break or come very close to the all time MM record!! Right now the Mega Milllions Jackpot is trending number 3 on Yahoo, I think the word is out. lol
Yeah, the El Gordo has crazy jackopts all the time. But it has only one drawing a year at Christmas, and I remember that one was devided between almost 2000 winners.
Then those people should should for the 2nd tier and play their local state lottery. If you think this JP is too much for one person, the simple answer is do not play it. The people who have no issue winning that amount can continue to shoot for the JP. It's great when people are given a choice and not limited by one person's view.
Ok
How about 316 million people win a Dollar.
By the time taxes were taken out = 65 cents each
Heard it could reach $670 million ..........wait and see
No need for you to buy your ticket , I have the winning numbers (lol)
Well hell. I wish you'd told me that before I bought my tickets.
No, nothing was forgotten. Combinations = chances. 70-80% coverage of combos means 70-80% chances of winning.(you can't get a lower 50% from that) The duplicates on top of the coverage, which alway exists, doesn't increase or decrease chances of a JP winner, only the quantity of payouts.
Yes, I think I can say with reasonable certainty that you would be the only one wanting it to roll 'til Christmas Eve and then you win it.
I'm almost positive about that.
That's NICE!
I misunderstood of the meaning of the coverage. I thought that it meant the number of sold tickets.
Yeah, when the lottery tells you what you coverage of combinations is, that is the chance of a JP winner.
You can always estimate/calculate the coverage of combos from sales or projected sales, which always some lesser percentage, but that is just a theoretical estimate. Only the lottery knows exactly what numbers have been played and what the actual coverage of combinations is.
If sales for today's draw are over $400M, way above the 259M odds, that would give almost an 80% chance of a winner, in theory.(actual coverage may vary)
Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen. I just bought the winning ticket.
Ridge, your wisdom and humor is unmatched. You made my day! :)
Wonder how many duplicate numbers are generated by the machine's quick- pick program for Mega- Game and Powerball?
If you buy at least 15 tickets and pick your own mega numbers, with mega ball 1-15 for each respective ticket, you will no doubt hit the mega ball, but the other 75 numbers from the top is still a huge challenge. .
Now for the real interesting point. If someone gets all the numbers and selected the multiplier option, then their winning would be doubled!!!
What a load of cabbage to deal with !!!
Picking five of the white balls now gets the winner $1 million.
Hope there is more than one winner tonight. The winner is going to have one huge headache if they don't know about setting up a trust fund.
The IRS gets thier hands on the prize money before everyone else.
It's only a game until you over spend. As they say, "Play responsibly" .
Jackpot estimate just raised to $636 million — officially the second-highest in history!
I knew it was going to get bigger but i never thought it would be that BIG!
Just as long as the usual states don't win the jackpot, like always happens. I think it's possibly biased towards certain states and cities.
Bigger is better! Lol
Wow, nice draw day bump! That's close to what I expected. That's roughy about $350M in sales expected, and could be even more by draw time.
Sweeeet.... thats about $238,169,280.00 CASH ......after 39.6% fed tax... no state tax included
I just try to process how does the amount of sales affect the jackpot: $550 million was the carry-over from last week. $400 million in sales, x% of that goes into the prize pool, 65.154% of the prize pool is allocated to the jackpot prize. This jackpot is going to be a record one. I hope that someone (me, obviously) will win today. I think if the jackpot keeps rising it would just backfire later making people think 'What's the jackpot this time? $150 million? Pff, that's nothing!'.
If there is no winner tonight, Friday's Mega Millions jackpot will start at $950 million annuity with $510 (?) million cash.
Good luck.
Big difference
I would settle for this Jackpot LOL!
$550 milion was the original advertsied amount for this drawing. The actual starting point is the finishing point for the last drawing. I never saw a final total over the $425 million that was advertised, but based on sales I expect it was somewhere close to $440.
If they do sell 400 million tickets that will add a bit more than $130 million to the cash value, which means about $242 million for the advertised annuity. That would give us a final total of about $680 million for the annuity value. That's still almost $200 million shy of what's necessary to set a real record.
What!? 200 mil short? This is not even a record jackpot? Then I just don't want to win it! (JK, Yes, I do want it)
You have to respect the ingenuity of the people came up with the new rules, only a few month later of introducing it, the very first jackpot since the start of the new game brings this much of attention to MM.
The jackpot wouldnt be doubled, just the second tier prizes-- but the jackpot did get raised again!!!!
110 second prize winners for a $25 million jackpot is indeed pretty wild! Can you imagine if there were 500 or so 2nd prize winners this time due to numbers from fortune cookies?
2nd place would pay out more as a whole than the grand prize...MUSL would cringe at the thought.
Thanks Ashabug 725 for clearing up that multiplier prize. Did not know it only doubled the second tier. wasted a dollar on the one ticket that was purchased with the multiplier. No big deal. Only hit the the number seven on another ticket without the multiplier.