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  • Mega Millions Jackpot: What Would You Do?

    The Mega Millions jackpot has hit an astounding high at $180 million dollars.

    However, the odds are not in your favor. As the number goes up, so do lottery ticket sales. The Mega Millions jackpot has not had a winner for 15 straight drawings and that fact has garnered a lot of attention, even from some who don’t usually play the lottery.

    This the second longest streak with no winner in 2014. The first started back in December of 2013 and ran 21 drawings before giving away a $400 million jackpot on March 18th, 2014.

    If no one wins this $180 million Mega Millions jackpot, the count is expected to roll to $190 million.

    Wow.

    Was it you? Probably not.

    So, what are the chances of you winning the $180 million Mega Millions jackpot?

    There are reportedly 258,890,850 possible combinations, so the chances of hitting all six numbers are not great, but it’s worth a try to some.

    What happens is this: Tickets are bought for $1 a piece. You choose five numbers from among your lucky ones, your kids’ birthdates, your address, your anniversary, or wherever else you may pull them from. You can also have the machine do a quick pick, where it randomly picks numbers for you.

    Then you choose a megaball number between one and 15. After that, you cross your fingers.

    Because…

    If you win the $180 million, you can choose the annuity option which will pay out the entire amount (minus Uncle Sam’s cut) annually over 30 years. If you do the cash option, you get a lump sum of $107 million.

    If you only match the first five numbers and not that mega ball, you still get to pocket a pretty $1 million. Not too bad! I wouldn’t complain.

    This begs the eternal question:

    What would you do with $180 million dollars if you won the Mega Millions jackpot?

  • Mega Millions Jackpot: Up To $160 Million

    Mega Millions Jackpot: Up To $160 Million

    I’m sure there are plenty of unlucky individuals breathing a sigh of relief right now since they failed to secure a Mega Millions lottery ticket in time for Friday’s drawing.

    The $144 million dollar jackpot went unclaimed as no one was lucky enough to match all five numbers and the Mega Ball.

    Those numbers were 16, 19, 28, 29, and 68; the Mega Ball was nine.

    Although no one walked away with the big prize, someone did become a millionaire over the weekend.

    A ticket that was purchased in Illinois matched five numbers which led to a million dollar payday. The ticket holder missed out on the Megaplier (2x), which would have added a second million to their total winnings.

    According to the Mega Millions website, 38 people walked away with $5,000 after matching four numbers and the Mega Ball.

    As for those who missed the chance to participate in Friday’s jackpot, that means there is a new opportunity to cash in on a bigger jackpot.

    Following the lack of a winner over the weekend, on Tuesday the jackpot will be worth over $160 million.

    If you aren’t fond of the idea of annuity payments, then you can dream of a lump sum payout of $95 million.

    If there are no winners on Tuesday, then the Friday jackpot may very well see the cash option reach over $100 million. Exciting!

    The Powerball jackpot climbed to $60 million in value (with a $36 million cash option) on Saturday as no winning tickets were sold.

    The winning numbers in that jackpot: 07, 08, 17, 48 and 59; the Powerball was nine.

    Sure it was an unlucky weekend for lottery players, but for anyone who neglected to get their hand on a ticket they have a few days to avoid missing out again.

    You still have a chance at the big prizes, but you MUST play in order to win them!

    Do You Plan To Buy A Lottery Ticket This Week? What Would You Do If You Won? Comment Below!

    Image via YouTube

  • Mega Millions Jackpot Climbs To $25 Million

    Good news for all you lottery players! The Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $25 million!

    The latest drawing took place on July 4 with the winning numbers of 16, 33, 39, 58 and 69 with a Mega Ball of 2 and a Megaplier of 5. Because no one matched all six numbers, the jackpot went from $15 million to $25 million for Tuesday night’s drawing.

    The jackpot is not the only way to win the Mega Millions. The second prize can be won by matching five numbers but not the Mega Ball. The payment for second prize is a flat $1 million before taxes.

    Last week a winning ticket was sold in Moulton, Texas, a town with a population of less than 1,000 and approximately 120 miles west of Houston, at the Moulton Grocery & Market located at 100 S. Lavaca.

    That ticket, which still remains unclaimed, is worth a whopping $33 million, and is the eighth winning jackpot ticket in 2014. When the prize is claimed, the winner will have the option of taking one lump sum of a little more than $19 million.

    Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U. S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $1 each, and drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday nights.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Mega Millions: Two Tickets Split $400 Million Prize

    Mega Millions: Two Tickets Split $400 Million Prize

    If you stumbled out of bed in the middle of the night to check your Mega Millions ticket, you no doubt noticed that the website has the next jackpot at $15 million.

    This of course means that the $400 million jackpot was won last night.

    The winning numbers in the March 18th jackpot were 11, 19, 24, 33, 51 and 7. The Megaplier was 3x.

    Quite a few people walked away with top prizes this time around.

    The huge $400 million prize will be split between two ticket winners that were sold in Florida and Maryland. According to Florida lottery officials, the winning ticket was sold at a Sunoco convenience store in Merritt Island.

    There is no information yet as to where the Maryland ticket was purchased and no one has come forward to claim their jackpot winnings as of yet.

    Eight other individuals missed the Mega Ball number, but each find themselves a million dollars richer. Had any of them gotten the Megaplier, they would be sitting on $3 million.

    The eight $1 million tickets were sold in Florida (2), New York (2), California, Illinois, Maryland, and Texas.

    A lucky 207 individuals across the United States won matched 4 + 1, and while most will be happy with their $5,000, a luckier 17 individuals got the Megaplier. This means their winnings were increased to $15,000.

    There were over 8 million winning Mega Millions tickets and persons were able to claim prizes big and small. If you missed out on the all the action, you’re no doubt disappointed.

    Don’t feel too bad.

    The jackpot will be back in the hundred millions within another couple of months.

    There’s also the Powerball jackpot to keep your eye on. It just hit $80 million, meaning that a lack of winners will put it over the coveted $100 million mark pretty soon.

    Good luck!

    Image via YouTube

  • Mega Millions Jackpot Skyrockets to $400M as Third Largest

    Boy oh boy! My right palm is itching for some money-especially now that the Mega Millions Jackpot has increased to $400 million!

    The lottery for Tuesday has become the third largest winning amount in jackpot gaming history.

    However, it doesn’t beat its predecessors:

    • $656M on March 30, 2012
    • $648M on Dec. 17, 2013

    Neither does the current amount break the records of previous Powerball cash prizes:

    •  $588M on  Nov. 29, 2012
    • $591M on May 18, 2013
    • $448M on Aug. 7, 2013

    Additionally, the winning cash value drops to $224.8 million after taxes. But hey, money is money, and I’m sure any amount would be greatly appreciated.

    As the sixth largest amount, this winning number has people running to their local convenience store to trade in a dollar for millions.

    One Orlando, Fla., resident and lottery player told WESH-TV that this could be his ticket out of working two jobs.

    “Leave both of them right away. Say goodbye to my bosses,” Raymond Valez said.

    Another player traveled from New York to visit her parents, but she made sure to play her numbers.

    “You got to be in it to win it. And that’s what I’m here for,” said Penny Monge. “I came all the way to Florida, visited my parents, and I’m going to come back to New York rich.”

    The jackpot has been rolling since January 3. Friday’s drawing would have won a lucky person $353 million, but thankfully, no one matched all six numbers.

    Tickets are being sold until 9:45 p.m. The next drawing will be tonight at 10 p.m.

    If no one wins, then the jackpot will once again roll over to Friday March 21.

    Since the Mega Millions changed its rules in October, it has increased the jackpot’s starting amount, but has lowered the chances of scoring it big.

    Statically, the odds of winning the jackpot are currently 1 in 259 million.

    Hopefully I’ll be that “1” tonight, or will you?

    Image via YouTube

  • Mega Millions Winner: Truck Driver Realizes It’s Him

    The second Mega Millions winner has come forward, and well– it looks like the rest of us just have to keep on truckin.’

    Los Angeles TImes tells us of a man who had $324 million dollars lying around and didn’t know it. Northern California truck driver Steve Tran heard that the winning ticket was purchased in San Jose, but it didn’t hit him until this Friday that, in his words, “I think I went to San Jose.”

    Steve Tran happened to buy the winning ticket from Jenny’s Gift Shop during one of his truck driving deliveries weeks ago, but forgot about it. After checking his ticket, the rest –as well as his employment as a truck driver–is history.

    Great news for the family of Steve Tran and the owner of Jenny’s Gift Shop– Steve Tran just might be on the road a lot less now, and the store that sells a winning ticket also gets a cool million. If Tran decides to take the lump sum, he will receive a paltry $173.8 million before taxes.

    He has 60 days to decide if he wants to do that, and we can be sure that he won’t miss the truck train on this one. It’s just a great thing that his Lottery Ticket Epiphany only took weeks– Mega Millions in California gives you a year to claim your ticket before it expires.

    Image via Youtube

  • Mega Millions Jackpot Could Draw Record Ticket Sales

    After no one won the $425 million prize on Friday the 13th, Mega Millions’ ticket sales rapidly increased. Friday’s $425 million drawing showed ticket sales that were 40 percent greater than expected. In states, such as New York, tickets sold at an estimated pace of $500,000 an hour. Lottery ticket sales are expected to increase as the drawing gets closer. Tuesday is when the next Mega Millions drawing occurs.

    Currently the Mega Millions’ jackpot is over $550 million dollars. To make the pot even sweeter, Mega Millions’ lead director, Paula Otto, teased to theAssociated Press that the prize could increase to as high as a billion dollars before the holiday season ends.

    After hearing this, more people rushed out to buy tickets. The odds are obviously not in their favor, with a 1 in 259 million chance of winning, but believing in miracles is what the holidays are all about. Therefore, nothing will stop people from remaining hopeful about their chances of winning this huge prize.

    The Mega Millions’ lottery ticket sales average about 20 million each drawing. However, when a huge price is announced, they reach far over a 100 million ticket sales. According to Lottoreport.com, ticket sales from March 23-30, 2012 were extremely high. These sales corresponded with the Mega Millions’ largest drawing in history. The $656 million dollar prize drew in almost 652 million lottery ticket sales. The biggest day of lottery ticket sales were on the actual day of the drawing.

    For the current lottery, Friday’s ticket sales drew in 168 million dollars . On Tuesday, the ticket sales should be at least triple this number. On the other hand, it is unlikely to reach the same numbers as the March 2012 Mega Millions drawing, that is unless the prize does really increase to close to a billion dollars.

    On Tuesday night, if no one wins, or claims their prize of the over $550 million, the tickets are sure to reach record highs – as will the prize.

    But could it be pushing the Mega Millions’ luck to expect someone to not win again? Probably, but stranger things have happened, like people actually winning the lottery.

    Image via ThinkStock

  • Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $400 Million

    Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $400 Million

    If you have ever dreamed of being a millionaire, now is the time to play the Mega Millions lottery which is now estimated to be around $400 million. The winning numbers will be picked on Friday and according to the lottery website, this will be the second highest award ever for Mega Millions.

    After taxes, the cash payout would be about $216 million and of course, if more than one person has the winning numbers, they will have to split the jackpot. The highest Mega Millions jackpot was $656 million. The numbers were drawn on March, 30, 2012 and the money was split between three winners.

    The Jackpot has already rolled 20 times without a winner and when nobody won on Tuesday night, the pot went up from $344 million to $400 million.

    The Mega Millions website said,
    “This is the largest jackpot since changes were made to Mega Millions that include larger starting jackpots, a million-dollar second prize, and a new matrix of 1-75 for the first five numbers and 1-15 for the Mega Ball number. One thing that did not change is the price of a Mega Millions ticket: still $1. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately one in 259 million. The odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are approximately 1 in 15. Mega Millions holds the record for the largest jackpot ever, at $656 million. That jackpot on March 30, 2012, was split by three winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.”

    The winner can choose to take the $216 million in cash or receive payments of $13.3 million annually.

    Have you bought your ticket yet?

    Image from Wikimedia Commons.