Mega Millions multi-state lottery to get harder to win in Oct.

Comment #311

Jill34786 — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 23:38:56 GMT

Not sure if the matrix will be similar to PB but the cash value will definitely go down and be more inline with that of PB.

Comment #310

RJOh — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 23:41:08 GMT

Only time will tell if they lose either, they obviously don't think they are risking losing anything.

Comment #309

veganlife125 — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 23:32:16 GMT

Thanks for the post redhot7. I wonder what percentage of players wouldn't play MM or PB if they eliminated all of the prizes except the JACKPOT and MATCHING THE YELLOW BALL. That way you could fix the matrix of balls so if you matched the yellow ball you got like $20 bucks. I never play to match a few white balls.

Comment #308

bigbear29 — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 19:01:17 GMT

I will not be playing as many tickets as now when It changes. This sucks in a big way! It will be harder to win the JP.

Why would MM risk losing people/money by making this new matrix

Comment #307

helpmewin — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 14:08:40 GMT

Comment #306

redhot7 — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 13:03:31 GMT

Does the new MM 30-year annuity follow the same mechanism as PB 30-year annuity?

PB 30-year annuity

Year % of Prize

01 1.7830%

02 1.8543%

03 1.9285%

04 2.0056%

05 2.0859%

06 2.1693%

07 2.2561%

08 2.3463%

09 2.4402%

10 2.5378%

11 2.6393%

12 2.7449%

13 2.8547%

14 2.9688%

15 3.0876%

16 3.2111%

17 3.3395%

18 3.4731%

19 3.6121%

20 3.7565%

21 3.9068%

22 4.0631%

23 4.2256%

24 4.3946%

25 4.5704%

26 4.7532%

27 4.943... [ More ]

Comment #305

helpmewin — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 06:32:50 GMT

i think the people that play MEGA will play more to WIN

Comment #304

helpmewin — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 06:31:13 GMT

Maybe you can buy more TICKETS to pick up the slack of them slackers that don't play beacuse of the price increase

Comment #303

redhot7 — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 05:51:11 GMT

Match Old odds New odds

(1 in ...) (1 in ...)

All 5 of 5 and Mega 175,711,536 258,890,850 worse

All 5 of 5 3,904,701 18,492,204 worse

Any 4 of 5 and Mega 689,065 739,688 worse

Any 4 of 5 15,313 52,835 worse

Any 3 of 5 and Mega 13,781 10,720 better

Any 3 of 5 306 766 worse

Any 2 of 5 and Mega 844 473 better

Any 1 of 5 and Mega 141 56 better

None of 5, Only Mega 75 21 better

Overall odds of winning 39.89 14.71

Comment #302

Raven62 — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 18:46:09 GMT

Of Course: These changes are being implemented to benefit the PLAYERS. LOL

Comment #301

psykomo — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:58:15 GMT

RN:

Psyko will not waste money this PIG if they RAISE ODD

Comment #300

psykomo — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:43:23 GMT

RH: ..........complain enough

That always werk$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in NY and CA I drink ALL D 16 OZieessss I want 2 buy N NY!!

LUV CALIE heard a man married his minature pony there BUT, don't think these state's will

care 2 listen 2 suggestions on Mega Million'$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

is big MONEY 2 big 2 listen

Comment #299

Saylorgirl — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 23:16:39 GMT

I agree with you!! However, I will probably play until October 18th which is the last draw on the current game. Then boycot it is!! What a total waste of money it will be.

Comment #298

kapla — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 00:07:57 GMT

Not playing power ball much (if at all) since they increased the cost- gonna DROP Mega next...

Comment #297

Ronnie316 — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 22:16:05 GMT

What a bummer. My favorite game is being hijacked.

Comment #296

Ronnie316 — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 03:36:26 GMT

I don't do math either.

Comment #295

Ronnie316 — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 03:35:33 GMT

I dont think people will play as much once they realize no one is going to win.

Comment #294

Ronnie316 — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 03:34:21 GMT

Poor ticket sales after the fact is the only thing they will comprehend.

Comment #293

redhot7 — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 19:18:59 GMT

If they received enough complains, is there any chance that they would change their mind

Comment #292

brees2012 — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 18:40:13 GMT

Sounds like GREED IT'S not like they aren't making enough now

It will get to a point people will not play the game .....

Comment #291

Ronnie316 — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 20:32:32 GMT

This is a dumb idea. The only way to make the game BETTER is by increasing the ticket price.

Comment #290

Teddi — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 17:32:26 GMT

The only issue i have with that is decreasing the ticket price to 50 cents would decrease the value of the JP. But yes, if the JPs get to a certain amount I'd rather spend $2 on 4 tickets (even if the odds of winning are worse) than $2 on 1 ticket.

Someone would have to do the math for me, but at some point the odds of winning the MM would equal the PB once you buy x number of MM tickets with different numbers. If the odds of winning the MM with 4 tickets becomes greater than winning the PB... [ More ]

Comment #289

helpmewin — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:45:43 GMT

Comment #288

helpmewin — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:43:59 GMT

MAYBE YOU NEED TO TRY HARDER

Comment #287

jamella724 — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:34:55 GMT

If the lottery will be much harder to play, I think more and more people will become intereted in playing especially if the jackpot is extremely high. If that is the case it will generate a lot of revenue for the government. We need to play smarter to outwit this game

Comment #286

FrostedNostrals — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:55:55 GMT

85MM higher odds? LOL We rarely play MM now, and once these increased odds take place I suspect will quit playing altogether.

It's interesting how the current odds for the MM and PB jackpots are nearly identical and few people ever win. Two lines on MM cost the same as one line on PB, yet the cash value for PB jackpots is always 9 to 12% lower than the proportional cash vlaue for MM. It's something I've tracked since January 2011. When thinking about these proportional differences in the con... [ More ]

Comment #285

RJOh — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:27:14 GMT

If they weren't, everybody would be winning.

Comment #284

RJOh — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:24:36 GMT

If that ever happened, they could do what PB once proposed and cap the jackpot and shared the excess with the second place winners.

Comment #283

Ronnie316 — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:05:44 GMT

Comment #282

helpmewin — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:53:42 GMT

you have a better chance of winning if you play

Comment #281

brianbrian — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:18:03 GMT

I guess the chances of winning MegaMillions are pretty slim huh

Comment #280

helpmewin — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:35:14 GMT

everyone should be Happy

Comment #279

savagegoose — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 23:00:11 GMT

you make it 50c a ticket, and 1 in 1 billion m that's $1 buys a 1 in 500 mill chance. people will see the 50c and huge jackpots and flock to it; ignoring the incredibly high odds. you could also make the min buy $2, keeping the shop keepers happy.

Comment #278

Ronnie316 — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:45:24 GMT

Bigger ticket price, bigger jackpot size. Proven fact.

Comment #277

helpmewin — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:28:48 GMT

bigger is better

Comment #276

Ronnie316 — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:00:41 GMT

I love the PB jackpot size.

Comment #275

Ronnie316 — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:59:42 GMT

They will never keep up with PB until they raise the ticket price. Raising the odds will NOT increase sales.

Comment #274

helpmewin — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:28:06 GMT

Comment #273

haymaker — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 23:46:06 GMT

Been playing the MM ever since it started, it was called the BIG GAME back then,

I've played every draw regardless of JP size, now w/ this change I may join the camp that plays only after the JP hits a higher #

When they were getting ready to start the megaplier I was on the fence about it, once it started I liked it and was playing for the 2nd prize,

so now w/ this change I'm not sure what to do.

Guess I'll have to wait till it happens.

Comment #272

Goteki54 — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:58:23 GMT

Powerball went up to two bucks and seems to be chugging right along. People were buying those two dollar tickets and not evening thinking twice when the jackpot hit record levels. The average Joe's rationality of it is, it's still cheaper then a gallon of gas . Part of me is a little miffed at Mega Millions,but the other part of me understand why they are donig it. At the end of the day, they are in competetion with Powerball. Mega Millions could have increased their tickets to two dollars to ma... [ More ]

Comment #271

Ronnie316 — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 16:18:47 GMT

Increasing the price decreases the chances of someone winning because fewer tickets are sold...

I personally think it would be a disaster if the jackpots gets to a $1 billion, and still no one can win it.

Comment #270

jjtheprince — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 15:45:25 GMT

I don't think they're making it hard enough, there will still be PLENTY of winners. If you want my opinion, I think the odds need to be increased to over 1 in 1,000,000,000.

Comment #269

Ronnie316 — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 14:53:32 GMT

Comment #268

RJOh — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:51:30 GMT

With its sixth win of the year in Texas last night and third win in four drawings, PowerBall seems like it's already easier to win than MegaMillions which has only been won five times so far this year. When MM changes its matrix to make it even harder to win, PB will be the more attractive of the two games inspite of its $2 price. While players like large jackpots they also like having a reasonable chance of winning even more.

Comment #267

Nikkicute — Tue, 28 May 2013 10:12:58 GMT

The way Florida is with the jackpot wins, it will be the

first state to win after the changes take place. lol

Comment #266

rdgrnr — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:20:07 GMT

Are you saying the MM has just jumped the shark?

Zagly.

And there ain't no tablespoon, that would shorten the odds, you'd be eatin' the mayonnaise out of the jar with a pool cue.

Comment #265

helpmewin — Sat, 25 May 2013 20:54:57 GMT

Comment #264

Ronnie316 — Sat, 25 May 2013 16:24:42 GMT

The YAHOO is the person who wants to come along and win the jackpot without supporting the game.

Without regular players there wont be a game.

Comment #263

Ronnie316 — Sat, 25 May 2013 16:19:59 GMT

The vast majority of people who buy lottery tickets are NOT yahoo's.....

The core group of players who support the MM game will not bother to play a 1/75 game.

Comment #262

Ronnie316 — Sat, 25 May 2013 16:15:43 GMT

Comment #261

Ronnie316 — Sat, 25 May 2013 16:14:57 GMT

The only thing blowing up over at PB is the size of the jackpots.

Comment #260

DC81 — Sat, 25 May 2013 09:04:05 GMT

This isn't the 1980s and yes if Mega Millions or Powerball was around in the 1980s (actually the first multi-state lotto started in either '87 or '88, it was the predecessor to PB made up of six states and Washington D.C.) in the format they are today with the number of states involved there would have been 300M jackpots back then as well. Games were a dollar back then too, just because 300 million was worth more back then doesn't mean it couldn't have happened, people see those big numbers they... [ More ]

Comment #259

helpmewin — Sat, 25 May 2013 06:48:45 GMT

Comment #258

helpmewin — Sat, 25 May 2013 06:47:48 GMT

good for you planning ahead

Comment #257

cashman59 — Sat, 25 May 2013 06:11:10 GMT

I hope the new mega millions new game jackpot starts at 258.9 million and doubles to 617.8 then to 1.235.6 billion then when someone hits the jackpots it is at 22,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

dollars so they can pay for our national DEBT!!!!!! craig

Comment #256

larry3100 — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:19:25 GMT

Wow, this Mega Millions game will take the jackpot into the statosphere realm. Wow, odds one in 258.9 million. Come this fall, l'll wait until it gets to a $onebillion milestone jackpot before I'll buy a lottery ticket. No exceptions.

Comment #255

veganlife125 — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:02:42 GMT

The average YAHOO that buys a lottery ticket when reminded to by seeing the billboards up on the interstate or seeing it on the 6pm news don't know what the odds are and don't care. All he see's is millions to be won friday night! lets get a few tickets with the beer and gas at the 7/11 honny! muhaha! They don't care! Ever watch Jay Leno cover examples of this stuff over the years? The average dimwit can't even name the vice president or their senator haha! They might know who's dating the Karda... [ More ]

Comment #254

LottoBoner — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:54:02 GMT

I doubt it. Maybe if I had a very large grubstake.

Comment #253

Ronnie316 — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:24:36 GMT

In the event of a bold price increase, would you play 5 lines for $20. instead of 20 lines for $20.

Comment #252

Ronnie316 — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:03:52 GMT

Comment #251

Ronnie316 — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:58:40 GMT

Go big, or go home MM.

Comment #250

LottoBoner — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:40:03 GMT

The OP said that during an interview it was indicated that the changes were made to sustain the sales in N Dakota, if I am not mistaken.

There was no mention of the relative sales of other states when Jackpot sizes rise.

We have a promotion here also. It is a buy 10 get three free.

It is generous to a point.

What I dont like i that our play slips allows only five games max. So in order to get three free, you either have to play the same five lines twice, or you have to have enough co... [ More ]

Comment #249

LottoBoner — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:28:11 GMT

No, I dont know what you are saying.

Are you saying the MM has just jumped the shark?

P.S.

I dont mind Oprah on my back as long as Tom Cruise is on her back.

P.P.S.

Nothing like a good old tablespoon full of mayonnaise.

Comment #248

RedStang — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:09:52 GMT

Going to be interesting when playslips won't work and clerks have to explain that they raised the balls to 75.

Comment #247

redhot7 — Fri, 24 May 2013 03:02:00 GMT

This could backfire. Less people would buy MM which means the jackpot increment may only be 1 millions per draw. It would take 3 years before anybody won MM Jackpot. What a complete joke

Comment #246

mightwin — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:52:47 GMT

Maybe they want to be like ohio's classic lotto, how long has that run been going on?! Lol

Comment #245

veganlife125 — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:10:30 GMT

Even if they didn't change the odds they would take in alot more money over the course of a year if they started out at 100 million minimum. Each lotto has 104 draws a year with most of them lanquishing under 100 million bringing in what a measly 10 million a draw? 10+ draws just to get past 100mil? 15+ draws to get past 200mil? Then it starts to double each draw. Im rounding of course. It seemed inevitable to have higher odds or higher minimum pots. We will see.

Comment #244

veganlife125 — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:25:33 GMT

Ain't that the truth rdgrnr! We both be's up in these tennessee hills and whens i go walking the terriers in May they be jumpin rabbits every step of the way! Yall know why

Comment #243

RJOh — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:39:30 GMT

If states continue to contribute only 32% of sales to the jackpots but pay out less in prizes then the objective of the change will be shown not to be to increase the jackpots but to increase the states profits. If neither happens, I would expect another change within a year.

Comment #242

Ronnie316 — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:27:31 GMT

In the 1980s it was a big deal to be a millionaire .

Comment #241

yoho — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:25:33 GMT

you're sadly mistaken. Can you even imagine a 300 million dollar jackpot in the 1980s? It wouldn't have happened because 300 million then is like 2-3

billion now. At least. The value of a dollar will go down, eventually it'll be low enough that 300 million jackpots don't seem like so much. Which is when the

lottery commission has to raise the prizes to make bigger, more lucrative jackpots.

Comment #240

Ronnie316 — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:20:29 GMT

The problem is going to be having sales drop off and 6 months going by before the jackpot hits $100 million. If it takes a year before it gets past $200 million people could lose interest all together.

Comment #239

DC81 — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:12:55 GMT

Has nothing to do with inflation.

Comment #238

RJOh — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:32 GMT

Explain to me how this will bring more money?

They don't have to bring in more money to make more money, they just have to pay out less of what they bring in and by upping the odds and elimination 0+1 payouts of $2 they will accomplish that.

Comment #237

Toronto — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:30:12 GMT

Explain to me how this will bring more money? The reason PB worked was even with lower ticket sales (which there was, in fact, a drop in # of tickets sold for each equivalent jackpot level vs. the old game), they still made more sales/revenue because the ticket price doubled. This does none of that. Jackpots will grow slower, thereby doing what MM has been doing all year until reaching $190 million (which isn't that high in relative terms) recently - that is being won continually at lower jackpo... [ More ]

Comment #236

Uff Da! — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:12:41 GMT

It will be back to the state lotto for me except when the jackpot is unusually large. I rarely play Powerball since the price change, either.

Comment #235

Ronnie316 — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:54:47 GMT

MM should take lessons from PB and go BIG........

Comment #234

rdgrnr — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:17:15 GMT

Oh, I can't do those $20 instant loss tickets.

One time I went into a rage and flipped over the whole display rack of Cheezy Poofs.

Comment #233

Ronnie316 — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:10:24 GMT

Id rather go back to buying $20 scratch tickets.

Comment #232

rdgrnr — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:05:19 GMT

I'm not a vegan but all the rabbits and squirrels in the holler are.

And it don't seem to make 'em taste any healthier.

Comment #231

veganlife125 — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:26:06 GMT

Im really surprised at the reaction to this change from most of the regulars here that i've read for years. For us gamblers to play the greedy, jealousy, envy card when we are trying to win a gazillion dollars we didn't work for is unbecoming haha! Let's show a little more libertarian spirit! However, if i'm wrong in 6 months or so and they change it back i'll say hey fella's (and gals...wink!) im wrong .

Seriously though, the motive for any business is profit but that is achieved by serving... [ More ]

Comment #230

SLOYAROLE — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:45:25 GMT

Then, I guess I'm not understanding the reasoning behind the re-format. It's not like MM is producing a jackpot winner every couple of draws. If this is all about being the first game to produce a $1 billion jackpot, then I get it. At the end of the day, I just don't see this as an improvement to the game. The way i see it, the smart player will sit out until the jackpot reaches their threshold. With matrix they've decided on, I can easily sit out until 3 or 4 hundred million before buying a lin... [ More ]

Comment #229

rdgrnr — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:08:10 GMT

Yeah, 15 million instead of 12 million.

Comment #228

rdgrnr — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:06:32 GMT

I think that's exactly what's going to happen.

Players will buy a few extry tickets now before they cut back or quit when it goes into one chance in a gazillion mode.

Comment #227

Down — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:23:48 GMT

so once they make the change all the combinations get re-set. to 0 out of 200,000,000 (or whatever it is) so all the tracking people have been doing for this game for years watching past draws and whatnot they will have to throw it all out and start all over. Didn't relly read the whole post, did they say anything about bigger starting jackpots

Comment #226

RJOh — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:07:16 GMT

I'm not a regular lottery player. I'll buy a few tickets for high jackpots such as the recent MM and PB drawings.

It's not the occasional players that they will be depending on to make this work, it's the regular players who regularly put a few dollars on the games regardless the jackpot amount. Your occasional dollars or two when the jackpot get large will always be there if the jackpot is large enough.

Comment #225

veganlife125 — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:03:42 GMT

Hi to you miracleplay and thanks! I've been vegan now for 4 years love it. Back on topic though: MegaMillions will rock with the first billion dollar lottery muhahaha! PowerBall will cry FOUL and have to follow suit

Comment #224

Ronnie316 — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:37:55 GMT

Comment #223

Ronnie316 — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:37:18 GMT

Such long odds would give me a very dismal feeling.

Comment #222

Ronnie316 — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:14:58 GMT

I recently increased my MM lines to 30 per draw and if tickets were $4. I would drop back to 10 lines per draw and spend $40 instead of $30. But only if the odds are the same or BETTER.

Comment #221

SLOYAROLE — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:44:04 GMT

I'm not a regular lottery player. I'll buy a few tickets for high jackpots such as the recent MM and PB drawings. I typically don't bother playing a few lines unti the $100 million mark. Having said that; I think the new 5/75 + 1/15 format will keep me from playing - even at $100 million and up draws.

Reason being: Matching 5/56 is snip near impossible; adding 19 more numbers to pick from is overkill. Pretty negligent.

I play to win the 5+1 prize. The new format would make my few dollars p... [ More ]

Comment #220

grwurston — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:19:10 GMT

I used to play $10 a draw back when it first started, but I would never win anything. So I thought, why bother. Now I

wait for the jackpot to pile up and I get 3 lines with the megaplier. But not till it hits at least 400 mill, and even then I don't

play every draw. It's not that I'm cheap, but I have a little better chance with the Pick 3...

Comment #219

CinCin — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:38:15 GMT

This is very disappointing as I'd been playing MM quite regulary for awhile now, but I will NOT be playing on a regular basis with these types of odds......I might invest a dollar or two when the jackpot is very , VERY high, but I can't feel myself going into a buying frenzy like I'd been doing with unusually high jackpots...The odds are just too high for me to feel I'd even have a chance...

Comment #218

Ronnie316 — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:46:01 GMT

Good idea, but progress and competition demand change.

Comment #217

Ronnie316 — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:43:19 GMT

Jackpot games sell tickets because of jackpots and smaller prises dont matter as much.

Comment #216

Ronnie316 — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:38:36 GMT

That's like saying the states should have never produced a $!0 0r $20 scratch card.

Thanks to PB its abundantly clear that there is a market for higher priced draw games.

Comment #215

rcbbuckeye — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:35:27 GMT

Yeah. They aren't interested in profits for players. They are interested in profits for themselves.

Players sometimes forget that. Including me.

Comment #214

RJOh — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:31:08 GMT

They already know the change is supposed to mean more profit for the states, no one ever said it would mean more profit for every one.

Comment #213

jackpotismine — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:19:33 GMT

I think they should give it a 6 month trial run. If it doesn't result in more profit for everyone, then return it back to it's original format.

Comment #212

CLETU$ — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:57:28 GMT