Mega Millions Lottery – MegaMillions

Current Jackpot $ 99,000,000

Mega Millions Overview

MegaMillions is one of the two largest Multi State Lottery games that takes place in the U.S.A. – the other and its principal rival being the record breaking Powerball.

This massive USA lottery began in 1996 and was then known as The Big Game. It wasn’t until May 15th 2002 that its name was changed to what we now know as the Mega Millions lottery.

This game is one of America’s biggest jackpot lotteries and has the honor of having produced the 2nd largest ever jackpot in the history of all lottery games – an incredible US$ 656 MILLION won back on March 30th 2012.

There are now 46 separate US State Lottery companies that now combine to take part in this huge multi state USA Lottery.

Draws for the Mega Millions lottery take place on Tuesday and Friday from Atlanta, Georgia at 11pm EST with the occasional draw taking place in Times Square, New York City when the Jackpot exceeds US$ 200 MILLION.

Millions of players not only in the USA but right around the world take part twice every week in the MegaMillions Lottery.

Mega Millions Cross-Over Sales...

On January 31st 2010 Mega Millions and its biggest rival – Powerball from the Multi State Lottery Association (MUSL) – began offering each others lotteries in many US States under an historic cross-selling agreement.

This increased the number of State Lottery companies that offered Mega Millions from 12 to 35 in January 2010 with 8 more Powerball States joining between March and October 2010.

November 2011 saw the Louisiana Lottery join and with the long awaited addition of the Florida Lottery in May 2013 followed by Wyoming's WyoLotto in August 2014. This means that you are now able to play Mega Millions throughout America across a grand total of 46 different US States & districts as well as from almost all overseas countries when you play MegaMillions online.

Similarly – at the very same time on January 31st 2010 – the Powerball game began to be offered across Mega Millions jurisdictions raising the total number of USA State Lotteries to be offering Powerball from 33 to 43 in January with the Ohio Lottery joining in April 2010, the California Lottery in April 2013 and both the Puerto Rico Lottery and Wyoming Lottery in 2014. This means that you are now also able to play Powerball as well as Mega Millions across a total of 47 different US States & districts as well as nearly all countries abroad if you play Powerball online.

MegaMillions – How It Works...

Mega Millions players need to select 5 different main numbers from white balls drawn, numbered from 1 to 70 and also 1 number (the Mega Ball) from gold balls drawn numbered 1 to 25.

The other option players have is to select the Easy Pick facility whereby the numbers are generated automatically for you in a similar way to the Lucky Dip option offered by the UK National Lottery and EuroMillions in Europe.

The Mega Millions jackpot starts off at US$ 40 MILLION and increases in size by at least US$ 5 MILLION every time with a rollover for each draw in which the top prize is not won.

There is also a guaranteed US$ 1 MILLION to be won on the 2nd Mega Millions prize level which can be boosted right up to a cool US$ 5 MILLION using the MegaPlier feature (see below).

With 7 further ways to win Mega Millions prizes in addition to these – the odds of coming away with something are very high.

It costs just US$ 2.00 for each line on a Mega Millions ticket.

You can either select your own Mega Millions lottery numbers yourself or choose to have the MegaMillions computer pick the numbers automatically for you using a random number generator.

The lottery numbers are drawn from two separate drawing machines in a similar fashion to most lotteries that use a Bonus Ball or Power Ball – first the main white balls are drawn from one drum and then the gold Mega Ball are drawn from a second drum.

Mega Millions MegaPlier Feature

Similar to the PowerPlay option available with the Powerball game – there is an additional feature that can be activated when you play Mega Millions for just an extra US$ 1.00 per ticket entry.

This optional add-on is called the Mega Millions MegaPlier and as a player you have the choice to play MegaMillions with the inclusion of this popular feature to boost the value of your prize.

Very simply – the MegaPlier facility will multiply any of your non-jackpot winnings by either 2, 3, 4 or 5 times the amount won – thus increasing your MegaMillions win quite considerably.

With the introduction of the x 5 multiplier on October 19th 2013 – the significance of the MegaPlier option grew even stronger. The minimum US$ 1 MILLION 2nd prizes introduced at the same time can now be increased to anything between US$ 2 MILLION and US$ 5 MILLION meaning that you can become a Multi-Millionaire without even winning the jackpot.

For a long time it was only possible to play using the MegaPlier option in the state of Texas but by January 2011 this highly popular prize multiplier was made available to all participating states and jurisdications apart from the California Lottery who do not offer their players the Mega Millions MegaPlier feature.

The MegaPlier number is still drawn by the Texas Lottery who were the original US State Lottery to offer players the option.

Random Number Generator

Whilst the 5 main numbers and the Mega Ball are drawn in the traditional way with the lottery balls moving round in two rotating drums, the MegaPlier number is drawn by the Texas Lottery using a Lotto Number Picker – Random Number Generator (RNG).

You are welcome to use our very own Lottery Number Picker
– Random Number Generator – to select your own personal lottery numbers when you play Mega Millions.

USA MegaMillions "Easy Pick" Random Number Generator - Click On the Button Below to Generate Some Numbers Your numbers will open in the top left in a new small window. To generate more numbers you MUST close "X" this small window first. Javascript must be enabled in your browser for this widget to work. The button below will not work unless it is.

MegaMillions – Who Can Play?

Historically – only resident citizens of any of the member states across America were allowed to play in any of the Mega Millions lottery draws.

Nowadays however – you are able to choose your MegaMillions lottery numbers and buy lottery tickets from genuine and fully authorized online lottery ticket sales agents such as TheLotter or WinTrillions no matter where in the world you live.

Great news for all those who live outside the U.S.A. and would like to take part in another of the world’s largest jackpot lotteries and guarantee their entry into the next big draw or just want to be able to easily and conveniently buy lottery tickets online.

You are also able to check the MegaMillions Results online to see if you have become one of the lucky lottery winners.

The minimum age for any player to be eligible to purchase a MegaMillions ticket is 18 years across all participating states apart from Nebraska where it is 19 years plus Arizona, Iowa and Louisiana where it is 21 years. It is however permissable in all states except from Virginia for persons younger than this to be able to win on MegaMillions tickets that they may receive as a gift.

Participating Mega Millions States

The following is a list of the U.S. States that take part in the MegaMillions Lottery along with the dates that they joined. There are currently 44 participating state members plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands – making a total of 46 U.S. jurisdictions that sell MegaMillions tickets…

Arizona (joined 2010)	Nebraska (joined 2010)
Arkansas (joined 2010)	New Hampshire (2010)
California (joined 2005)	New Jersey (joined 1999)
Colorado (joined 2010)	New Mexico (joined 2010)
Connecticut (2010)	New York (joined 2002)
Delaware (joined 2010)	North Carolina (2010)
Dist.of Columbia (2010)	North Dakota (joined 2010)
Florida (joined 2013)	Ohio (joined 2002)
Georgia (joined 1996)	Oklahoma (joined 2010)
Idaho (joined 2010)	Oregon (joined 2010)
Illinois (joined 1996)	Pennsylvania (joined 2010)
Indiana (joined 2010)	Rhode Island (joined 2010)
Iowa (joined 2010)	South Carolina (2010)
Kansas (joined 2010)	South Dakota (joined 2010)
Kentucky (joined 2010)	Tennessee (joined 2010)
Louisiana (joined 2011)	Texas (joined 2003)
Maine (joined 2010)	Vermont (joined 2010)
Maryland (joined 1996)	Virgin Islands (joined 2010)
Massachusetts (1996)	Virginia (joined 1996)
Michigan (joined 1996)	Washington (joined 2002)
Minnesota (joined 2010)	West Virginia (joined 2010)
Missouri (joined 2010)	Wisconsin (joined 2010)
Montana (joined 2010)	Wyoming (joined 2014)

MegaMillions Information & Background

This Multi State Lottery started off with the name The Big Game.

Initially there were 6 US States participating when tickets first went on sale back on August 31st 1996 – these early pioneers were Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia.

The very first draw took place 6 days later on September 6th and every week thereafter on Fridays until the first Tuesday draw was launched by MegMillions on February 10th 1998.

In January 1999 the cash option was introduced whereby jackpot winners now had the choice to claim their winnings in cash.

New Jersey joined The Big Game in May 1999 and would be the only state newcomer prior to the name change to Mega Millions.

May 2002 saw the name change to the current MegaMillions with jackpots commencing at US$ 12 MILLION which then increased by way of a jackpot rollover when there was no jackpot winner, a practice that is now common among many lotteries worldwide.

Also in May 2002, New York and Ohio joined the multi state lottery and the first drawing under the new image and name took place on May 17th 2002.

There were then 3 further states that joined forces, with Washington in September 2002, Texas in 2003 and then more recently California who joined in 2005 prior to the cross-selling expansion with the Powerball States in 2010 which eventually saw the number of Mega Millions States and jurisdictions rise to 46.

The matrix has changed slightly from time to time over the years from 5/50 + 1/25 then to 5/50 + 1/36 which was then revised to 5/52 + 1/52 before becoming 5/56 + 1/46 evolving to the current format of 5/75 + 1/15 on October 19th 2013.

With effect from October 2th 2017 the Mega Millions changed its format once again – this time using a matrix of 5/70 + 1/25. The starting jackpot was also increased to match the Powerball's of US$ 40 MILLION and the cost was raised to US$ 2.00 per play.

MegaMillions Odds of Winning

There are a total of 9 different ways to win MegaMillions and as such there are many thousands of prizes won twice every week.

The lottery odds of you winning the Mega Millions jackpot prize are 1 in 302,575,350 for successfully matching all of the 5 main winning MegaMillions numbers plus the Mega Ball.

2nd prize odds are 1 in 12,607,306 for selecting just the 5 main lottery winning numbers.

The odds of winning a 3rd level prize come in at 1 in 931,001 for matching 4 of the main winning numbers plus the Mega Ball.

Prizes on the 4th tier have odds of 1 in 38,792 for selecting 4 of the main winning lottery numbers whilst odds on the 5th level are 1 in 14,547 for picking 3 of the main numbers plus the Mega Ball.

The odds you face of winning a 6th tier prize are 1 in 606 for correctly selecting 3 of the main winning MegaMillions numbers whilst 7th level prizes have odds of 1 in 693 for matching 2 of the main winning MegaMillions numbers plus the Mega Ball.

For prizes on the penultimate 8th level there are odds of 1 in 89 for correctly guessing just 1 of the main winning numbers plus the Mega Ball and finally the 9th tier has prize odds of 1 in 37 for picking just the Mega Ball itself.

The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24.

MegaMillions Record Jackpots...

The biggest ever Mega Millions Jackpot to have been won so far has been the incredible amount of US$ 656 MILLION that was claimed and shared equally between 3 superbly lucky winning tickets that had been purchased in the states of Kansas, Illinois and Maryland on March 30th 2012. Winning numbers were: 2, 4, 23, 38, 46 and the Mega Ball 23.

This massive amount was the biggest lottery jackpot win in the history of lottery games up until the US$ 1.58 BILLION was won on the Powerball by 3 ticket holders on January 13th 2016.

The 2nd largest Mega Millions jackpot win to date has been a huge US$ 648 MILLION that was won on December 17th 2013 by 2 winning ticket holders from both California and Georgia.

The 3rd largest jackpot win to date on the MegaMillions occurred on July 8th 2016 when US$ 536 MILLION was won by Warren D. LLC from Indiana.

The 4th biggest Mega Millions jackpot produced to date was won by Secret 007 LLC of Port Richey, Florida when the top prize reached US$ 451 MILLION on January 5th 2018.

The 5th largest MegaMillions jackpot was won when 2 winning tickets scooped US$ 414 MILLION on March 18th 2014. The lucky jackpot winners were from Florida and Maryland.

The 6th highest MegaMillions jackpot so far has been the huge US$ 393 MILLION won on August 11th 2017 by Patricia Busking from Palos Heights, Illinois.

Mega Millions 7th biggest jackpot win stood as the all time record lottery win for 5 years from March 6th 2007 when 2 winning tickets from Georgia and New Jersey won a cool US$ 390 MILLION.

There have been at least 6 more jackpots awarded by the MegaMillions that have also been greater than US$ 300 MILLION.

On January 4th 2011 – 2 lucky top prize winners from Idaho and Washington won a MegaMillions Jackpot of US$ 380 MILLION.

On August 28th 2009 – the MegaMillions jackpot soared to a dizzy US$ 333 MILLION and was won by 2 lucky winners who had purchased tickets in the states of California and New York.

Winners from Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia shared a huge jackpot win of US$ 330 MILLION on August 31st 2007.

November 4th 2014 saw a jackpot of US$ 326 MILLION offered by the MegaMillions that was won by a just one ticket from New York. This still ranks as the biggest single ticket MegaMillions win.

Another jackpot winner from New York claimed the MegaMillions top prize of US$ 319 MILLION back on March 25th 2011.

November 15th 2005 saw a huge US$ 315 MILLION jackpot advertised that was won by a single ticket in Anaheim, California.

Prior to the game changing from The Big Game to Mega Millions – a jackpot win of US$ 363 MILLION was achieved by 2 ticket holders from both Illinois and Michigan on May 9th 2000.

A US$ 331 MILLION jackpot was also produced by The Big Game on April 16th 2002 which was won by 3 winning ticket holders from the states of Georgia, Illinois and New Jersey.

How are MegaMillions Prizes Paid?

Mega Millions Jackpot prizes are paid in either 1 or 2 ways – as a cash lump sum or as an annuity payment which is paid each year in 30 annual installments.

The value of the cash lump sum paid against the annuity installment amount varies but is approximately 60%.

Depending upon which state your ticket is purchased in – you generally have either up to 180 days or 1 year in which to claim your winnings. In certain states – jackpot prizes need to be claimed within 60 days of the draw.

There are a number of differences here among the various member states and jurisdictions as to how and when lottery winners need to choose how they wish to receive jackpot prizes.

In Georgia and New Jersey for example – MegaMillions players need to choose whether they wish to receive their jackpot prize as a lump sum or an annuity at the time they purchase their tickets. They can later change this from an annuity to cash if they so wish.

Similarly – players in Texas are also required to make their choice of either an annuity or lump sum payment at the time of ticket purchase – they are not able to reverse their choice later though.

If you should buy lottery tickets from one of the authorized and accredited lottery ticket sales companies such as TheLotter or WinTrillions you will not have to be concerned about any of these details as the company will take care of everything for you and provide you with prompt payment when you play lottery online.

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