Later this week, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game will undergo changes — including a price hike — designed to increase jackpots and make them grow faster.
The cost of a Mega Millions ticket will climb from $1 to $2 starting with the Oct. 31 drawing. Tickets for that drawing go on sale Saturday, Oct. 28.
Starting jackpots will increase from $15 million to $40 million. Both changes will put Mega Millions on equal footing with Powerball, which usually offers more lucrative jackpots.
Of the 15 largest jackpots won in the U.S., 12 are Powerball and three are Mega Millions.
The upcoming tweaks will mark the sixth time in the game's 21-year history where the matrix of numbers has been shuffled. A closer look at the changes follows:
Mega Millions tickets climbing to $2
The cost of a Mega Millions ticket will climb from $1 to $2 starting with the Oct. 31 drawing. That last drawing with the current ticket price will be on Friday, Oct. 27.
Starting jackpots will increase from $15 million to $40 million. Both changes will put Mega Millions on equal footing with Powerball, which usually offers more lucrative jackpots.
Of the 15 largest jackpots won in the U.S., 12 are Powerball and three are Mega Millions.
The upcoming changes will mark the sixth time in the game's 21-year history where the matrix of numbers has been shuffled. Here's what you need to know:
Bad news: It'll be harder to win the jackpot
The matrix of balls will change as well. The first set of balls will include 70 numbers, a decrease from the current 75. But the number of Mega Ball numbers available to be drawn will climb 15 from 25.
"We have a demand for innovation to keep fresh, entertaining lottery games and to deliver the attention-grabbing jackpots," Mega Millions president Debbie D. Alford said in a statement. "We're excited to deliver the opportunity to create more millionaires and also provide more opportunities to raise additional revenues for the respected causes lotteries benefit."
The already astronomical odds of hitting the jackpot will become even more challenging. While it's now a 258,890,850 to 1 shot, the changes in number of balls will make it more than 302 million to 1.
The overall odds of winning any prize will also decrease to 1 in 24. Right now, players have about a 1 in 14.7 shot to win money.
Powerball jackpot odds are 292,201,338 to 1.
Good news: It'll be easier to win $1 million prize
The odds of matching five numbers and winning at least $1 million will improve from the current 18.5 million to 1 to about 12.5 million to 1.
Other secondary prizes are being increased with the revamped game. Players will win:
- $10,000 for matching four white balls and the Mega Ball, an increase of $5,000.
- $200 for matching three white balls and the Mega Ball, an increase of $150
- $10 for matching either three white balls or two white balls and the Mega Ball, an
increase of $5 - $4 for matching one white ball and the Mega Ball, and increase of $2
- $2 for matching the Mega Ball, and increase of $1
'Just the Jackpot' option
Mega Millions players will have an extra ticket option called "Just the Jackpot." For $3 players will get two chances instead of one to win the top prize. The catch is that the player is ineligible to win any of the many smaller prizes.
First changes to the game in four years
The upcoming adjustments to Mega Millions will be the first to the game in four years.
On Oct. 22, 2013, the number of white balls increased from 56 to 75 and the number of gold Mega balls decreased from 46 to 15.
The changes also bumped the minimum prize for matching five numbers from $250,000 to $1 million.
In addition, the minimum jackpot jumped from $12 million to $15 million.
The Megaplier option, an additional $1, also expanded to include a five meaning a player could win up to $5 million without hitting the jackpot.
June 2005 changes
The June 24, 2005 drawing was the first with 56 numbers in the first set of balls, an increase from the previous 52, according to USAMega.com, a website that tracks Powerball and Mega Millions lottery statistics.
The number of Mega Balls dropped from 52 to 46.
Big Game becomes Mega Millions in 2002
The six-year-old Big Game changed its name to Mega Millions in May 2002.
The change in name also brought some alterations to the drawing.
The number of balls in the first set inched from 50 to 52, while the number of Mega Balls available to be drawn jumped to 52. Previously, there were 36 Big Money balls from which a player could choose.
The first drawing under the Mega Millions name took place on May 17, 2002. Samuel Rice of Chatham, Ill. won the $28 million jackpot that evening.
Origins of the game
Six states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia) were part of the Big Game when the first drawing was held on Sept. 6, 1996.
The original matrix included a set of balls from 1 to 50 and Big Money balls numbered from 1 to 25. New Jersey became the seventh state to join in May 1999.
Mega Millions has grown substantially in 21 years. It's now played in 44 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The largest Mega Millions jackpot won came on March 30, 2012 when the holders of three tickets split a $656 million prize. One ticket was bought in Maryland, another in Illinois and a third in Kansas.
Just the JP is just to risky, especially when they improve the odds for 2nd prize somewhat.
I mean can you imagine...?
No way would I do that $3 option; $3 with MP sure.
They could have had a short article just stating 100% price increase effective 28 OCT 17 and been done with it.
Someone out there enlighten me. Are MM & PB both owned by MUSL? I believe MM is in GA where drawings take place and PB headquartered in IA with drawings in FL???
The Lottery will grab all the attention in the media when there are $1,000,000,000.00 jackpots in both Mega Millions and Power Ball at the same time.
Can you imagine the frenzy? This will be worldwide news.
Multiple LP members winning will definitely be good news for Lottery Post and USAMega.
Good Luck to all LP Members and Staff!!!
This price hike is totally unnecessary.Notice how the powers that be NEVER ever run the idea past the playing public first? Perhaps they are inclined to know the reaction. Its no different than the Dumbarton bridge Toll rates in this neck of the woods.. says a driver friend. Oh well!
2Axles = $5.00 3 Axles= $15.00 4Axles = $20.00 5Axles= $25.00
you're
funny. lol
but yet so true.
my father was saying analogous today. maybe if LESS cease from playing it so much then the price would NOT be invoked, but too late now.It's raised, so that's that lol
That is why i only play MM PW sporatically,and usually when real high. Outlandish to raise it to 2 buck smh But, maybe then give more a chance to win if over 50 to 100 million. More than 1 or 2 people should be winning, to share the golden-$$$ pot with more than just 1 winner( when it gets that high) No need for 1 winner when it's excessively high.THAT is when my dad feel it is a rigged/rip off et.al.,
Time will tell."
Some things are not as they seem. Adjusting for doubled price, 2nd place is roughly 30% more difficult to win.
Also, in the current matrix, 5X is statistically weighted to come up most of the time. Sadly, seemingly most players don't realize that, and hence it's a no brainer for the lottery to make it more difficult with few noticing. With the change, 2X and 3X will come up most of the time similar to Powerball.
As for Just the Jackpot, that the main concern I have with it too. The negative PR will be intense, if and when, someone matches all 5 and yet wins zero. I can already envision the headlines: "Player Matches All 5 in Mega Millions and Wins Nothing!"; "Lottery Refuses to Pay Player $1 Million for Matching 5."; "Mega Millions Player Cheated Out of $1 Million." One gets the idea.
There are already many players who have doubts about Mega Milions and Powerball games; believe the games are rigged and don't always pay out. With Just The Jackpot, the lottery really won't payout on what would otherwise be winning combinations.
Furthermore, JTJ is quick-pick only further raising questions about how those QPs are generated. A perception may develop that JTJ QPs are skewed (which could be true in many instances, since lottery terminals generate the numbers) to intentionally deprive players the jackpot. I can already foresee a JTJ Match-5 loser making the case publicly and/or in court the lottery QP is faulty in some way, and they were cheated out of the jackpot.
All in all, JTJ seems risky, but maybe it will work out great. Personally, I believe all prize tiers should be available to all MM players; no JTJ option.
Why don't they just hold Powerball drawings four times a week instead. They are basically the same game now.
Between jacking up the price of ball-drawn games and making them even MORE impossible to win, and RNG games cloaked in secrecy, I think I'll just keep my platinum membership up to date here at Lottery Post. That way I can post predictions with imaginary money and win or lose imaginary riches.
302 Million to one?
You gotta be kidding me. This is ridiculous!!!
Put it in perspective.
Every single legal age person in the U.S. could buy one ticket with a different combination, and there would still be 45-50 million unsold combinations. That's every single drawing.
Good Luck!!! You're gonna need it.
l am all for MM going to $2.00 a ticket, but....only after l win it.
MM won't get any more of my money.
Right! The only way we could be sure you true to yourself, is if you hooked up with a Police Ankle bracelet. Other than that, it's all oatmeal.
Since mega is now basically the same as powerball, i will play my powerball #s and get a megamillions quick pick when it hits $200 million. So. basically after this week i am stopping megamillions plays
I hope there is one Mega Millions Jackpot winning ticket that beats the Powerball Jackpot single ticket of $758.7 million dollars.
It will be interesting to see how many play the Just the Jackpot option. As things are right now with $1 tickets most players don't play the Megaplier.
It's also kind of amusing how people are kvetching about tickets being $2 instead of $1 when those very people are trying to win tens or millions of dollars.
I'm so upset about this price increase. It was the only game I could afford:
George Washington is upset too. They just wiped him out of the game:
Do they even make these things anymore?
I'm done with Mega Millions and Powerball. This is getting crazy. I liked it better when it was just a just a game that a few states play among themselves. Might as well stick to playing the state lotto jackpot.
The odds are better with the state games. The big lotteries aren't really worth it. The powerball pp is rediculous. MM is okay.
It's better playing the state games. Better odds. Even doing a search around there isn't much at all. Some of the old members aren't on here no more. Oh well.
It's coming to a point where there's nothing to play. MM sucks,PB sucks and scratch-offs are horrible everywhere.
What it boils down to is : Only play If you can afford to. Carry just enough ammo* money, for that particular game.In other words don't order steak, if all you need is a cheese burger.
* Get my drift?
In Other Words:
Some lotteries are pushing Just the Jackpot hard. Even if just 10% play JTJ, that's a lot of upset losers. In theory, for every ~6.3 million JTJ tickets (each with 2 plays) sold, one will hit Match-5. In realty, it may take more or less JTJ tickets than that to hit Match-5.
Point is during a large jackpot run, there could easily be several or more JTJ Match-5 losers per drawing. Hitting Match-5 is 48 times more likely (2 plays on JTJ ticket) than jackpot. Be interesting to see how the lotteries handle the negative PR. Maybe it will be no big deal, but I'm not so sure. Time will tell.
As for the price, it's not that $2 will break players, but rather it's difficult for many to justify spending that much for a "dream". Casual players, in particular, recognize the odds of winning anything substantial is essentially zero. $1 for a dream many can justify with virtually no thought. $2 involves a little more thought.
On an aside, likely the main reason many, in particular, casual players who don't regularly play, don't take checking their tickets seriously, since they figure they already lost soon as they bought the ticket.
An extra $1 on one play isn't a big deal, but it adds up for multiple plays. Could equate to $10, $20, $50, etc additional cost. A lot more than just a dollar.
I'm pretty sure Massachusetts USED TO offer Mass Cash as a subscription years ago. They are very vague about bringing it back. Seems to be hit quite a bit for a twice weekly drawing. I agree 100% that state lotteries generally have better payouts than the national ones.
Just the Jackpot Costs $3 for Two Quick Picks...
I like that the 2nd prize is higher. I always hit for a few bucks.
A friend of mine and courage me to go on Amazon start selling stuff and I have an idea on both of my websites to get people on. The lottery is like the stock market. Nothing guaranteed. You basically get what you paid for
If that's how you feel about the lottery. Ok then.
"$10,000 for matching four white balls and the Mega Ball, an increase of $5,000."
Correct me if I'm wrong but if a player bought two $1 tickets with the same numbers and matched 4 + 1 in the "old" matrix, they would also win $10,000. It's the same as when players paid an extra buck for the megaplier and was 2. With the exception of the 3 + 1 prize, MM doubled the other prizes after doubling the price of a ticket. Maybe they are hoping nobody will notice.
As for buying tickets, I'll wait until the jackpot gets close to "must win" territory.
You know more on this than i know of the mathematics. And people are still going to buy them no matter how much the jackpots are that's a scary part I agree with what you're saying in there
It is disappointing that they didn't do anything to differentiate between Mega Ball and Power Millions.
I was hoping for a "Big-A-Plier" for 2nd and 3rd prizes and a "Small-A-Plier" for the other prizes.
Even if they were for fixed extra amounts it would still make Mega a better game as Power Millions second prize stops at $2 million.
Without the hope of a decent second prize I will wait for the jackpots to get huuugggggggeee before I waste a chance at it.
I figure I might be playing each game about once every year-and-a-half now with the way they did the current odds/prizes.
Greed and lack of imagination. It appears they're well down the path to merging the games into one, likely Powerball. After merging, probably be $3 base play and $5 for Powerplay. Too early to say whether Just the Jackpot will remain or go, but my hunch is even if JTJ is popular, it hurts the overall game.
Another possible change, regardless of whether the games merge or not, is more drawings per week. PA Lottery recently changed Match-6 from two days per week to everyday. Simple, but unimaginative. May boost sales, but there's a limit to how much players will spend on lottery, especially given the increased competition.
Personally, I cut way back on Powerball after the price increase. Don't play it much unless annuity jackpot is upwards of $750 million (~$250 million cash after taxes). Will do likewise with Mega Millions. Advertised annuity jackpot amounts are deceptive. A simple, quick way to calculate how much one can expect to walk away with after cash option and less taxes is divide the annuity amount by 3. For example, $450 million annuity equals approx $150 million cash after taxes.
You're 1000% correct. I didn't really think of it that way however we know that they take 40% the state takes whatever they take and honestly it's not worth it
PB = 292 Million to 1 for $2.00
MM= 302 Million to 1 for $2.00
hmmmmmmmm?? well, looks like that new odds won't get my money until it hits $150 Million
PB, you still have my $2.00 at $100 million
I'll only be playing when it gets in record territory...not sure about the MP.
You're right about the negative PR being intense and it will happen it's just a matter of time !
I can see it now. Especially in the beginning. Or when there is a near record jackpot, when the people that never play decide to play.
Someone thinks they won the second or third prize, and goes down to cash in their winning ticket only to be told, "You didn't win anything. You selected the Just the Jackpot option." And then they will say, "No I didn't. What is that? I never heard of it. The clerk must made a mistake."
So if you buy MM tickets, from now on you better make d@mn sure you check your tickets before you leave the store. Because if you don't, it could literally cost you millions of dollars.
Good Luck!!!
It's interesting to see some lotteries don't offer Just The Jackpot. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois do not. While New Jersey, Texas, and New York do.
Offering JTJ may hurt overall sales. Sure, it's 2 plays, but many will be turned off by the $3 price. Presumably, most JTJ players will only play when jackpot is very high. However, it's difficult for the jackpot to build, if many wait it out. Lower tier prizes keep players in the game, coming back for more. At least that's the theory. Maybe lotteries offering JTJ will prove common wisdom false.
Also, the Mega Millions Megaplier option is extra revenue lotteries miss out on with JTJ. All in all, it appears many lotteries are holding out for now.
Another aspect, though a minor one compared to the above, is too many playing JTJ may result in less jackpot rollovers, since one can buy 2 plays for $3 verses $4. Not likely to have much effect initially, but even a small difference in combination coverage could be the difference between say a $500 million jackpot rolling verses being hit, ending the excitement. I'm curious as to whether lotteries have fully considered effect of JTJ on rollovers. Maybe it's not an issue, but I have my doubts.
Good thing I read this. I was going to buy a MM ticket for the Tuesday drawing. I'm not spending two bucks on a ticket with those odds. Might as well throw that money out the window. Screw them!
However:
Many lotteries offering Just The Jackpot have it as Quick Pick only, but not all. Interestingly, Texas Lottery allows players to choose their JTJ numbers or QP.
I'm curious as to what a JTJ ticket looks like. If anyone buys one, please post (blur out serial number, etc of course) a picture of it. I'm curious as to how different or similar it appears to a regular Mega Million ticket.
Another poster pointed out that during big jackpot runs, some clerks may try selling JTJ tickets to unsuspecting buyers for various reasons. Could the typical, casual player tell the difference at a glance? Or could many be confused? Hopefully, this is something lotteries have considered in the design of JTJ tickets.