Attention turns to Mega Millions after California store sells winning Powerball ticket
Lottery dreamers are setting their sights on the growing Mega Millions jackpot now that a ticket worth more than $1 billion finally has been sold for the Powerball lottery
Lottery dreamers are setting their sights on the growing Mega Millions jackpot drawing on Friday after a ticket worth more than $1 billion was sold for the Powerball lottery. Here’s a look at how this drawing compares to other jackpots and why these winnings have become so high.
HOW DOES THIS LATEST MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT STACK UP?
The new jackpot for the Mega Millions drawing has reached an estimated $720 million, making it the game's fifth highest. It hasn't yet broken into the top 10 highest lottery jackpots in U.S. history, though.
If someone picks all five numbers, plus the gold Mega Ball, they will have the option of taking the prize in yearly increments paid over 29 years or a $369.6 million lump sum before taxes. The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18. The jackpot will continue growing until someone wins.
POWERBALL WINNING TICKET
Most of the attention had been on Powerball until a winning ticket was drawn this week. Sold at a tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles, it is worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game. The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24.
WHY ARE LOTTERY JACKPOTS SO LARGE THESE DAYS?
That’s how the games have been designed. The credit for such big jackpots comes down to math and more difficult odds. In 2015, the Powerball lottery lengthened the odds of winning from 1 in 175.2 million to 1 in 292.2 million. Mega Millions followed two years later by
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