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USA Mega Millions
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R130,000,000 JACKPOT
499,231 Winners
What is the USA Mega Millions Lotto
The USA Mega Millions Lotto is quick and easy to pick up and really fun to play. You will choose 5 numbers between 1 to 70 which are called the white balls and then the gold mega ball number that ranges between 1 to 25. You win the lotto by getting all 6 numbers correct. The lottery is currently played across 45 different states. The drawings are held twice a week on Tuesday and Friday at 23:00 EST, in South Africa it will be 05h00 on Wednesday and Saturday. The Mega Millions often creates some of the largest jackpots in the world. The starting jackpot of Mega Millions is $40 million and does roll over with a $5 million minimum.
The US Mega Millions also offers a Megaplier feature that increases non-jackpot prizes by 2,3,3 and even 5 times. It does cost an extra $1 per play. It is drawn before the Mega Millions main draw on Tuesday and Friday. There is a pool of 15 balls 5 of them are marked with 2X then 6 if then with 3X then 3 with 4X and then the last one with 5X. The Megaplier is not available in California.
You will also find that in some states they have a special offer called Just the Jackpot. Just as the name states this feature allows you to only play for the jackpot. At a price of $3 you as the player will receive 2 plays for the jackpot only. The tickets will not be eligible for any other prize levels.
Mega Millions offers 2 options if you win the jackpot:
option#1:
The annuity option is paid out as one immediate payment then followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment will then be 5% bigger than the previous payment.
option#2:
The cash option is a one time, lump-sum payment that will be equal to all the cash in the jackpot prize pool.
Mega Millions information
| Lotto | Schedule | Guess Range |
|---|---|---|
| USA Mega Millions | Tuesday 23:00 EST | 1-70 +1-25 |
| Friday 23:00 EST |
Prize pool Categories
Main Draw
| Prize tier | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|
| 0 numbers + Mega ball | $2 | 1 in 36 |
| 1 number + Mega ball | $4 | 1 in 89 |
| 3 numbers | $10 | 1 in 606 |
| 2 Numbers+ Mega ball | $10 | 1 in 693 |
| 3 Numbers + Mega ball | $200 | 1 in 14,547 |
| 4 numbers | $500 | 1 in 38,792 |
| 4 numbers + Mega ball | $10 000 | 1 in 931,001 |
| 5 numbers | $1 million | 1 in 12,607,306 |
| 5 numbers + Mega ball | Jackpot | 1 in 302,575,350 |
Megaplier Draw
| Winning tier | X2 (odds: 1 in 3) | X3 (odds: 1 in 2.5) | 4x (odds: 1 in 5) | 5x (odds: 1 in 15) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 numbers | $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 4 numbers + Mega ball | $20,000 | $30,000 | $40,000 | $50,000 |
| 4 numbers | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| 3 Numbers + Mega ball | $400 | $600 | $800 | $1,000 |
| 3 numbers | $20 | $30 | $40 | $50 |
| 2 Numbers+ Mega ball | $20 | $30 | $40 | $50 |
| 1 number + Mega ball | $8 | $12 | $16 | $20 |
| 0 numbers + Mega ball | $4 | $6 | $8 | $10 |
How to play Mega Millions in South Africa
If you are situated in South Africa you will easily be able to play Mega Millions with the rest of the world.
Each player has to select 5 number between 1-70 and then a Mega ball number between 1-25. A basic Mega Millions ticket costs $2 and most states also offer the Megaplier option where you have to pay $1 extra to multiply any prize won other than the jackpot.
You can choose the lottery numbers yourself or you can also try the quick pick option which generates the numbers randomly for you. You can also use a Mega millions number Generator online that generates random numbers for you. From the 28th of October some states will also offer Just the Jackpot where you play just for the jackpot. If you opt in for this feature it will cost you $3 for 2 tickets.
Step by step guide on how to play Mega Millions
History
Mega Millions began on the 31st of August in 1996 and was called The Big Game. The first drawing of The Big Game took place on the 6th of September in 1996 with only 6 states participating. When the lottery grew more popular over the time they decided to add a Tuesday drawing in February 1998 and so everything progressed further giving players a larger choice of numbers and a cash payout option and then New Jersey joined in as the seventh state in May 1999.
Then in May 2002 the name was changed to Mega Millions. 2 new states joined after and the prize amounts were changed to produce more excitement among the players. Then in September 2002 Washington became the 10th state and followed by Texas that joined in December 2003 and then California joined in June 2005 becoming the 12th state member.
On then 31ste of January 2019 a whopping 23 more state lotteries joined the Mega Millions making it a historic cross-selling agreement. Additional lotteries joined after making Mega Millions played by 47 jurisdictions, 45 states and the District of Columbia and the U.S Virgin Islands. On the 30th of March in 2012 the world’s largest jackpot to that date by Mega Millions was won by 3 winning tickets in Illinois, Maryland and Kansas. This jackpot prize was $656 million and stood for almost 4 years when the Powerball reached a jackpot of $1,586 billion in January 2016.
In October 2017 raised their ticket price from $1 apiece to $2 and dropping the number of white balls from 75 to 70 and instead of 15 numbers to choose from the Mega ball they changed it to 25. The starting jackpot also increased from $15 million to $40 million. All these changed put Mega Millions in line with the Powerball lottery that has been busy attracting a lot of players due to its record breaking jackpots.
News
The first Mega millions jackpot in 2020 was won on the 11th of February in New Jersey. The winner matched all the five white balls. The winning numbers were 4, 6, 32, 52 and 64 the Mega ball was 6. The lucky winner won $202 million. There were another 689,521 additional other winning tickets. The lucky winner located in West Virginia got the five white balls correct and won $1 million. 14 other players won $10 000 dollars each for matching 4 white balls and the Mega ball. 2 of these 14 tickets were a prize of $20 000 because they opted in for the Megaplier option.
The jackpot had been rolling over since it was last was on the 17th of December in Ohio. During this jackpot run there was a total of 7,8 million winning tickets sold. This was the jackpot winner included and 17 other tickets with prize values of $1 million or more.
The top 10 mega millions jackpots
| Jackpot prize | Amount of tickets that won | Date |
|---|---|---|
| $1,537 billion | 1 winning ticket | 10/23/2018 |
| $656 million | 3 winning ticket | 3/30/2012 |
| $648 million | 2 winning ticket | 12/17/2013 |
| $543 million | 1 winning ticket | 7/24/2018 |
| $536 million | 1 winning ticket | 7/8/2016 |
| $533 million | 1 winning ticket | 3/30/2018 |
| $522 million | 1 winning ticket | 6/7/2019 |
| $451 million | 1 winning ticket | 1/5/2018 |
| $437 million | 1 winning ticket | 1/1/2019 |
| $414 million | 2 winning ticket | 3/8/2014 |
Comparison table
Comparison of different lotteries.
| Mega Millions | Euro Millions | Ithuba National Lottery | SuperEnalotto | Lotto United Kingdom |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odds of winning The jackpot | 1 in 302,575,350 | 1 in 139,838,160 | 1 in 20,358,520 | 1 in 622,614,630 | 1 in 45,057,474 |
| Highest jackpot won | $1.537 billion | £193m | R232,131,750 | €209m | £170.2 m |
| Draw days | Tuesday, Friday | Tuesdays, Fridays | Wednesday, Saturday | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday |
| Date of the biggest jackpot | 2018 | 2011 | |||
| Number drawn the most amount of times | 23 | 17 | 16 | 51 | 23 |
| Starting Jackpot | $40,000,000 | €17,000,000 | R1,000,000 | €1,300,000 | £2,500,000 / £5,000,000 |
Mega Millions payout
Finding out if you won the Mega Millions Jackpot
2 Winners are drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays and you can buy tickets up to 15 minutes before the time. The winning numbers are announced on TV, newspapers and in stores where you can buy the tickets or simply find them by visiting the official Mega Millions website. There are many apps and RSS feeds that can also keep you up to date of the latest lotto numbers.
Going public if you win Mega Millions
It is requested of you to reveal your identity publicly if you win the Mega Millions lottery. There are however 5 states that will let you collect your winning anonymously those states are Ohio, Maryland, Kansas, Delaware and North Dakota.
How you will receive your prize if you win
You have 2 payout options to choose from once you won the jackpot. You can choose the lump-sum payout or an annuity. The annuity will be paid out in a time of 29 years and receiving 5% more each year than the year before. If the winner passes away before the money was paid out in full then his or heirs will still continue to receive the payments. The lump-sum option will give you the entire jackpot prize amount at once. Remember the annuity option does sound better but you will also have to pay taxes on your winnings. If you are not a resident, then you must claim the prize you win in the same state where you bought the ticket. The deadline for claiming your Mega Millions prize varies in each state. For example, some states like New Mexico only give you 90 days to claim your prize and other states will give you up to a year. Claiming your prize will be different depending on where you play but you will generally be able to claim any amount from a licensed lottery retailer up to $599, prizes over $600 have to claimed by a regional claim centre. Rather contact the relevant lottery headquarters if you want to make arrangements.
States not participating in the Mega Millions lottery
There are a few states that do not participate in the Mega Millions lottery namely Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, Hawaii and Utah
Tax
Your tax will differ depending on where you play Mega Millions. You will be unlikely to pay any tax if you win below $5 000. If you win the jackpot you will be taxed at least 37% at a federal level and 24% if it is above the $5 000 mark. Then state taxes could also be taken off. Other locations like New York city will levy an additional local tax on their residents. You will pay the tax depending on your personal circumstances. It is recommended to rather speak to a financial advisor.
Mega Millions Statistics
The chance of you winning the lottery will be one in 302,5 million meaning that there are 302,5 million possible number combinations. There are 328 million people living in the united states to put things in perspective or you. Although the amount of people playing does not increase or decrease your chances of winning they stay exactly the same but it does increase the chances of the jackpot being won. Every number combination is just as likely to come out as any other. Some people use a chart that show the Mega Millions hot number and Mega Millions cold numbers and use this chart to have a better statistical number combination guess. They believe numbers like 2, 3, 5 and 6 shouldn’t be chosen because it’s never going to come out but in fact it’s got just as much chance as any other number. Analitycs show that the common Mega Millions numbers are 50, 63, 57, 36, 9 in the main lotto draw and the number 50 has only been chosen twice. The least common number for the Mega ball is 5.
Mega Millions cold numbers
| 1 | 2 | 26 | 45 | 69 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 21 | 59 | 13 | 67 | 7 |
Mega Millions hot numbers
| 48 | 17 | 31 | 24 | 14 | 62 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 37 | 11 | 34 | 56 | 25 |
Mega Millions Number Generator
Odds of winning
Your odds of winning the jackpot is 1 in 302,575,350 which is better from the previous odds that were 1,258,890,850. The population of the United States is 323 million making the odds of winning the Mega Millions 1 in 303 million. Having a high expectation of winning when buying a lottery ticket is not a good thing necessarily. It is extremely difficult and the numbers are selected randomly. The odds of winning the second prize which is $1 million are 1 in 12,6 million but nevertheless the game is still very popular among players because of the high jackpots.
Odds of winning any cash prize
| Lottery | Overall odds |
|---|---|
| French Lotto | 1 in 6 |
| SA Lotto | 1 in 96 |
| SA powerball | 1 in 36 |
| Mega Millions | 1 in 14.71 |
| UK Lotto | 1 in 9,3 |
| Austrian Lotto | 1 in 12 |
| EuroMillions | 1 in 13 |
Lottery scams
Lottery scams happen all around us and it can definitely happen to you. Please be aware of what you are doing. Sometimes it can even be really difficult to spot a lottery scam. Scammers can reach out to you with an email, phone, text, social media and a letter. We have listed a few quick key points that you can use to know if you are being scammed or not.
Check to see is the reference used on the email, text or letter is relevant.
Did you enter the South African lottery but won the Mega Millions
If you didn’t play the lottery there is no way that you can possibly win.
If you didn’t buy a ticket and play the game you cannot win.
Are you being asked to keep the news confidential
No one will stop you from telling your friends or family unless they want to avoid being known scammers and the news of fraud being spread.
Are you being pressured to respond
Most lotteries will give you a long time to collect your winnings
Is your name being mentioned
Is your name mentioned or does it say “Dear player” unless you play online in that case follow the official steps to claim your winnings.
Does the email address look legit.
Is it from an official lottery or does is it a Gmail or Hotmail.
Participating states
Mega Millions is available to play in 45 states and we made a table of all the participating states and general information for each of them.
| State | Year joined | Claims period | Jackpot winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 2014 | 180 days | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| West Virginia | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Virgin Islands | 2010 | 6 months | 0 |
| Vermont | 2010 | 1 year | 0 |
| South Dakota | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Oregon | 2010 | 1 year | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| North Dakota | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| New Mexico | 2010 | 90 days | 0 |
| Nebraska | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Montana | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Mississippi | 2020 | 180 days | 0 |
| Minnesota | 2010 | 1 year | 0 |
| Maine | 2010 | 1 year | 0 |
| Louisiana | 2011 | 180 days | 0 |
| Kentucky | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Iowa | 2010 | 1 year | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Delaware | 2010 | 1 year | 0 |
| Connecticut | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Colorado | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Arizona | 2010 | 180 days | 0 |
| Tennessee | 2010 | 180 days | 1 |
| South Carolina | 2010 | 180 days | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 2010 | 1 year | 1 |
| New Hampshire | 2010 | 1 year | 2 |
| Kansas | 2010 | 1 year | 2 |
| Idaho | 2010 | 180 days | 2 |
| Arkansas | 2010 | 180 days | 2 |
| Pennsylvania | 2010 | 1 year | 2 |
| North Carolina | 2010 | 180 days | 2 |
| Missouri | 2010 | 180 days | 2 |
| Indiana | 2010 | 180 days | 2 |
| Florida | 2013 | 180 days | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 1996 | 1 year | 3 |
| Washington | 2002 | 180 days | 5 |
| Virginia | 1996 | 180 days | 10 |
| Maryland | 1996 | 182 days | 11 |
| Illinois | 1996 | 1 year | 12 |
| Texas | 2003 | 180 days | 13 |
| Georgia | 1996 | 180 days | 16 |
| Michigan | 1996 | 1 year | 17 |
| Ohio | 2002 | 180 days | 20 |
| New Jersey | 1999 | 1 year | 24 |
| California | 2005 | 1 year | 33 |
| New York | 2002 | 1 year | 38 |
There are 3 unclaimed jackpots of Mega Millions since 2002. In December 2002 there was an unclaimed jackpot of $68 million in New York then another in April 2003 in New York as well, an amount of $46 million. In August 2006 another winner also failed to claim his $31 million prize in Queens, New York.
Highest second prizes in the world
Mega Millions is the only lottery where second prizes can reach up to $5 million. This happens if the player purchased an the Megaplier feature extra for $1 and got all 5 white ball numbers correct. There has been many states where players won a second prize of $5 million. Texas has the highest Megaplier score count with a total of 23 winning tickets that were sold that won between $2 million and $5 million. Florida is next in line with 5 winning Megaplier tickets that were sold.
Security
The Mega Millions drawing are always conducted under rigid security procedures.
The drawing machines used to draw the numbers are always randomly selected and certified by outside auditors to ensure that each number has an equal chance of being drawn
Each Mega Millions drawing machine goes through a long series of pre-drawing tests that will always ensure that the numbers are in fact selected randomly
Post –drawing tests are also done as part of the certification process
The 2 members that do the drawings will be an employee of Mega Millions and a independent auditing firm member.
All of these measures taken are also videotaped to ensure further integrity.
The whole process take about 3 hours for a drawing that only takes about a minute.
FAQS
All prizes will be subjected to income tax. You can consult your regional financial advisor for more information.
The top 8 hot numbers are 17, 31, 12, 4 8, 56, 9, 30, 14
The top 8 cold numbers are 1, 2, 26, 45, 69, 5, 15, 21
The Mega Millions draw is drawn every Tuesday and Friday at 23:00 EST that means it is drawn on Wednesday and Saturday at 5:00 am
The top 3 hot mega ball numbers are 22, 20, 24
If you have 3 numbers correct it will get you a prize of $10.
There is no way that you can possibly cheat the lottery. It is impossible to cheat all the numbers are selected randomly.
The Megaplier gives you the option to increase your non jackpot winnings by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times. It does cost an extra $1 to play Megaplier.
The safest way to claim your prize is to follow the instructions on the official website of the lottery.
Just the jackpot is a option where you okay just for the jackpot. You pay an amount of $3 and receive 2 tickets that are only eligible for the jackpot.
Claims vary in each state but it usually ranges from 90 days to a year
Mega Millions is not responsible for any lost or stolen tickets. You are responsible for the safekeeping of your own ticket.
if you do not meet the required time to claim your jackpot each of the participating states that contributed to that unclaimed jackpot will receive all their money back.
Yes, the prize can be shared. You can decide to do what you want with the prize once you have claimed it. Some restrictions do apply so make sure you check the state where you bought the tickets on their restrictions.
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Conclusion
The US Mega Millions is one of the biggest lotteries in the world. The jackpots are extremely high but your chances are rather on the low side. With a lot of extra features like the Megaplier feature and the “Just The Jackpot” feature you can be sure it’s really fun to play participate in this world known popular lottery.
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