Do you want to have a great time while having the chance to become super rich? Then purchasing a ticket for MegaMillions is a good idea. This lottery game is incredibly popular in the United States and over the world.
How to play?
Selection of Numbers:
- Choose five distinct numbers ranging from 1 to 70.
- Select one additional number, known as the “Mega Ball”, from a range of 1 to 25
Record jackpot of $ 1,58 billion in August 2023
A Florida player has won $1.58 billion in the US Lottery Mega Millions jackpot. After 31 draws without a winner, one player guessed all the numbers correctly. It was the third-highest lottery win ever in the United States. The jackpot of $1.58 billion won by the winners set a new record for the Mega Millions lottery. The previous record was set in 2018 when the jackpot was $1.537 billion.
According to USNews, the lottery jackpot of $1.58 billion is the third-highest ever in the United States. Last November, a player from California won $2.04 billion in the Powerball lottery.
If the player wants to claim the bonus in one go, he will get some $783 million. The original amount is greatly reduced because of the large amount of taxes to be paid. The winner also has the option of receiving $1.58 billion a year for three decades.
Multi-state lotteries in the United States
An interesting thing about United States lotteries is that they are organized per state. Unlike many other countries, there is no national lottery. However, in the past few years more multi-state games are being organized. This interest grew after a very big Jackpot was drawn in 2000. It was worth 363 million dollars and was definitely record breaking. In 2002 several states decided to organize a multi-state lottery, namely New York, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. They called the new lottery ‘MegaMillions’, and it was an instant success.
The birth of MegaMillions
The first MegaMillions tickets were sold on May 15, 2002. Just two days later the first draw took place. It differs from other lotteries because of the very high Jackpots. The Jackpot prizes start at 12 million, and can reach incredibly high levels. Several American states noticed the enthusiasm around MegaMillions. As a result Washington and Texas also joined the multi-state lottery, respectively in 2002 and 2003. In 2005 California had to honor the become the 12th member. Nowadays no multi-state lottery is as a big and popular as MegaMillions.
Cross-selling agreement
Another important event in the history of MegaMillions took place in January 2010. It made a cross-selling agreement with Powerball, which meant that even more state-wide lotteries joined. Even more, in 2017 all the American lotteries participate in MegaMillions. It’s definitely worth it to be a participant of MegaMillions. Tickets are sold at multiple places for just one dollar. You can buy them in a store or online. One of the advantages of this lottery is that you can buy tickets in every state, plus the District of Colombia and the Virgin Islands. This makes 46 jurisdictions in total.
Duties shared by states
All the key duties of MegaMillions are shared by the member states. For example, think about budgeting, financial settlements, the settlements of draw and wagering data. The show production and broadcasting on television is also shared by the states. Besides that, they monitor their statistics and pay attention to public relations, among many other tasks together. However, the accounting is handled by the states individually. The states use different laws in regarding to the treatment of their winners as well. In some places they need to publicly identify, in others they don’t have to.
Live broadcast 2023
It’s really easy to play in MegaMillions. You only have to guess six numbers that match with the draw on Tuesday and Friday evening. Millions of Americans are watching WSB-TV at these moments. Because of fact that it’s a station-wide lottery, the broadcasting time is different. For example, it’s 11.00 p.m. Eastern Time, but 9.00 p.m. Mountain Time and 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
International participants
People from abroad can participate in MegaMillions as well. You don’t have to be an American citizen. You purchase a ticket at an American lottery retailer. Sometimes MegaMillions are also sold by companies around the world. You can easily find these tickets online. However, you have to be careful because these companies are not always trustworthy.
Questions about the winning numbers or other things
Every Wednesday and Saturday morning the winner numbers are published on the website of MegaMillions. After the draw these numbers need to be verified first. However, this is usually done very quickly. Players can also choose to receive the winning numbers automatically be e-mail. Perhaps you have some questions about the winning numbers. For more information about this lottery you can always contact MegaMillions. The professional team is always ready to help you.
Claim your prize
In most states you have 180 days to 1 year from the draw date to claim your prize. However, the number of days can differ per state. You should check this online. Always be careful with your ticket. MegaMillions is not responsible when you lose it. It would be too bad if there happens to a big prize on it.
Payment options Mega Millions
There are several payment options when you’ve won a prize in the MegaMillions lottery. Many players choose the annuity method, which makes it possible to receive a payment immediately, followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5 percent larger than the one before. You do have to pay income tax over your prize by the way. The taxes differ from state to state, so always check your own lottery. Other players choose the ‘Cash option’ instead. In that case they immediately receive the payment from the MegaMillions prize pool.