By Todd Northrop
Will an incredibly lucky lottery player win a life-changing windfall this week, or will the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game enter another round of $200+ million jackpots?
We'll find out Tuesday night, when the $172 million Mega Millions drawing takes place.
Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot is the accumulation of 11 consecutive drawings without a top prize winner. The current jackpot run-up started on Feb. 4 as a $12 million grand prize.
The lump-sum cash value stands at a staggering $108.9 million.
Players should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries, and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs. Occasionally the official jackpot estimate is raised even before the drawing, due to larger-than-expected sales.
In Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 11 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $250,000 prize: 4 from California, 1 from Kansas, 1 from Michigan, 1 from New Jersey, 3 from New York, and 1 from Oregon.
The four California winners will each be awarded prizes of $113,947, because California awards all prizes in a pari-mutuel formula, which calculates the prize amount based on the number of tickets sold and the number of winners in each prize category. Because a larger-than-normal four tickets won second prize, the payout is smaller than the typical $250,000 for the winners.
Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $21 million from its previous amount of $151 million. The cash value was raised by $14.6 million, from its previous amount of $94.3 million.
The next Mega Millions drawing will take place Tuesday evening at 11:00 pm Eastern Time.
Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 41 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For a complete set of game descriptions, results, history, and all questions regarding Mega Millions, lottery players are encouraged to visit USA Mega (www.usamega.com), a Web site that caters to the Unites States's two multi-state lottery games, Powerball and Mega Millions.
The Tuesday night Mega Millions winning numbers will be published at USA Mega minutes after the drawing takes place.
I foresee only two possible outcomes:
1) It'll roll to over 200 million
or
2) It'll be won by some peckerwood in the backwoods of Tennessee
I HAVE 5 CHANCES TO HIT THE TARGET. If chris shaw did it in powerball, why not me.LUCKY $5 DOLLAR BILL.
When the jackpot reaches $342 million, call me @ 631-403-2022.
That is the time when I will throw my hat into the ring with the only winning ticket for that drawing.
Ridge, you wouldn't be the "peckerwood", would you???
When I win you can call me whatever you want.The joke will be on everyone else.
I was thinking maybe I should contact Chillicothe attorney Deborah Barrington and Columbus attorney Ronald Rowland to start making plans. https://www.lotterypost.com/news/194766
I need a piece of this...2nd place jackpot is ok with me. I'll be picking up a winning ticket in the morning!
Dadgum straight!
Hi everybody, this is my first time to post, however, I have been reading these posts since last year's growing MM jackpot. I seldom play.
Well it's time you started playing, sandia!
Welcome to Lottery Post.
If it will help you relax and feel more comfortable playing, I'll split the pot with you when you win.
Best of Luck sandia!
I've loved that video since I saw it, we actually get to see how people respond to learning they've won (for sure) and how others they know act. I think if I was him, when the lottery official was confirming the numbers and they were all matching, it would just be so surreal and I'd feel like I was about to wake up (I've actually had dreams where I've won and I've told myself within the dream "this has to be a dream, I'm not this lucky to have really won, I just need to wake up" and I actually woke up).
And yea I've been doing $5 myself. I think I did $7 the last drawing because I had to stop at another gas station to pick something up and ended up putting in $2 more from the change I had left.
Thank you rdgrnr, last year's jackpot got me very interested! Well, since you put it that way (splitting the jackpot), then I am more excited about this game, it only takes a dollar and a dream, right?
****Dreams are the windows to our fears and our desires, I like to go with the desires****
That's right sandia, a dollar and a dream, that's all it takes.
Pay attention to them dreams and random thoughts too.
My people are called thinkers of thoughts and dreamers of dreams and I add one more quality to that in a very real and visceral sense: drinker of whiskey.
172 million, nice number.
That would definitely be the right thing to do if you win a jackpot in a state that allows anonymity.
I think it is about time that someone from Alaska wins the Mega millions! So I said to myself why not me. I have a dog in this race. Then let ridgerunner win the next big jackpot, followed by Coin Toss. I need a nice pain free retirement.
If Alaska ever started selling MM tickets it would be more likely someone from there would win.
Tuesday will be one of the best days of my life when my numbers come up!
I would like to see it keep on rollin, but for some reason I think it is going to mimick the May 4, 2010 run if it rolls. Taking its sweet time to get up there.
May 4 $266 million
April 30 $224 million
April 27 $ 191 million
April 23 $166 million
You know...this reminds me of when something wonderfully shocking happened to my husband and me. Other people were constantly commenting on how reserved we seemed. Afterwards, we realized we were in shock, but a happy shock.
I wouldn't mind repeating this with a large lottery win!
ALL YOU NEED IS A DOLLAR AND A DREAM
Thank you, Louise!
I'll take that whiskey and a Greyhound ticket to Grand Rapids and me and you'll go out and tie one on and bust that town wide open! We'll pick up sully and CutlassBob and all the other Michiganders too.
Just one thing though Louise, is one little rule I insist upon when we go out and tear it up: We ain't leavin' til we're heavin' and pukin' in the parkin' lot!
Back from 7 days in the hospital ................ hope my luck changes tonite with Mega Millions!
Welcome back dpoly and I hope you're feelin better.
I also hope you win tonight. (2nd prize, though)
Welcome back, and I hope all is well...!
Good luck to you tonight..
.............. nice ................ thank you !!!!
Can I have a dollar then?