In the Mega Millions draw held this Tuesday, a player finally emerged as the winner of the jackpot consisting of the impressive sum of $800 million after buying the lucky ticket in the state of Texas, this prize being one of the largest in the history of this game of chance.
The numbers drawn yesterday were 1, 2, 16, 24, 66 and the golden Mega Ball 6 and Megaplier 4x, however, there were other tickets purchased in the states of California, Florida, New York and Washington that matched the numbers corresponding to the five white balls.
The winner of the grand prize has the option of choosing a one-time cash payment of $401,8 million or an annual payment that includes an initial amount and 29 annual installments that increase by 5% each year.
The rapid growth of lottery jackpots is due to the low odds of winning them. In the Mega Millions, the odds are 1 in 302.6 million.
Mega Millions tickets are sold at gas stations and grocery stores and cost $2, but players can choose the Megaplier option for an additional $1, which multiplies any secondary prize by 2, 3, 4 and even 5 times the original amount, depending on the Megaplier number drawn in the draw.
The Megaplier is selected just before the Mega Millions draw from a separate pool of 15 balls, of which five are 2x, six are 3x, three are 4x and one is 5x. However, it should be noted that this option is not available in California.
The minimum jackpot limit in Mega Millions is 20 million, a sum that begins to rise after the absence of winners in the draws.
The game involves selecting five numbers from 1 to 70 and one number from 1 to 25 known as the Mega Ball. To win the jackpot, players must match all six numbers drawn.
Those who do not want to choose the numbers can use the Easy Pick or Quick Pick option so that the machine will randomly select the six numbers in question.
Mega Millions is one of the most popular and widely followed lotteries in the United States and is available in 45 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, excluding Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Puerto Rico. Drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 p.m. ET.
