These Are Your Chances of Hitting the Mega Millions Jackpot
The Mega Millions jackpot hit $ 1 billion earlier today as a confluence of factors pushed it to record levels.
So if you’re thinking “why not?” when it comes to buying a ticket, we don’t blame you. After all, you have the same chance of hitting the 1 in 302.6 million jackpot as any other player.
These odds are worse than in the past – by design. Last year, the lottery program was “tweaked” to make jackpot payouts less frequent, according to CNBC . Until October 2017, the odds of winning were 1 in 258.9 million. But as fewer and fewer people win big money, the jackpot continues to grow and grow, which brings us to today’s $ 1 billion bank.
According to the Mega Millions site, there are smaller pots with slightly better odds:
- Runner-up (five matching numbers): 1 in 12,607,306
- Third place (four numbers with the Mega Ball): 1 in 931,001.
- Fourth place (four matching numbers): 1 in 38,792
- Fifth place (three numbers with the Mega Ball): 1 in 14,547.
- Sixth Place (Three Matching Numbers): 1 in 606
- Seventh place (two numbers with a Mega Ball): 1 in 693.
- Eighth Place (1 Mega Ball): 1 in 89
- Ninth place (no matches with Mega Ball): 1 in 37
So, is it worth the cost? It depends. The simple solution is to say: of course not, the lottery is a fool’s game, nobody rich plays it for some reason, you throw your money away, all the lottery winners are unhappy anyway, etc. who? A more complex answer would be to use this equation formulated by Slate to find a new version of the expected ticket price . Taking federal taxes into account, Slate estimates that the ticket actually costs around $ 2.20, but only costs $ 2. So this is actually a ticket deal with a projected jackpot of $ 1 billion (Slate estimates the jackpot is $ 970 million, so now your deal is even better). The article notes that if your state taxes lottery winnings more than eight percent (if you look at you, New York), then it probably isn’t worth it.
If you’re looking to try your luck, you can buy your ticket by 10:45 pm ET today and the draw will take place at 11:00 pm ET. Powerball is worth $ 470 million as of Friday and the draw takes place on Saturday night. If you’re aiming for Megamillions and Powerballs, you never know – there is a 1 in 88 quadrillion chance of winning.