The Jackpot for US Mega Millions being drawn at 11pm on Tuesday October 23 is estimated at US$1.6 Billion.
Lottery aficionados and casual players alike are catching lottery fever. USA residents from 44 different states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands are able to buy tickets at their local lottery retailer.
The jackpot is so big because it has not seen a winner since a California office pool of 11 co-workers shared $534 Million this past July 24. Mega Millions jackpots begin at $40,000,000 and grow from there. For almost three months the winning jackpot numbers have not been played on a ticket and we’ve seen rollover after rollover.
The internet is full of ideas on how a lucky winner might spend their big prize. Everything from buying a professional sports team, buying hundreds of millions tacos or even buying the deed to a private island. It is undeniable that a cash prize this large would be a life changer for anybody who won it.
Winning the big one is not an easy task. The overall mathematical odds of winning the jackpot are north of 1 in 300,000,000.
What would you buy if you won $1.6 Billion
Mega Millions Specifications
Mega Millions selects its winning numbers every Tuesday and Friday in a televised draw. Five numbers will be chosen from a pool of numbers between one and seventy. A sixth number is selected from a separate pool of numbers between one and twenty five – this number is known as the Mega Ball.
To win the Jackpot, a player must match all six winning numbers.
There are nine prize categories all together which means that even non-jackpot winners can still win a prize.
This past Friday for example, 16 players matched 5 numbers out of 5 from the pool of 70 but missed the Mega Ball. All received a millionaire making payout.
Here is a list of the top 5 largest Jackpots in US History.
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 shared between three tickets
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 awarded to a single winner
- $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 shared between three tickets
- $648 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013 shared between two tickets
- $590.5 million, Powerball, May 18, 2013 awarded to a single winner