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By now, you are probably aware of the recent Mega Millions news: On July 29, a lucky player from Illinois became the winner of the game’s second-largest jackpot ever.
The Michigan Lottery’s prize, which previously held the second-place position, was surpassed last week. The colossal prize of $1.337 billion on Friday now places it at number three on the list. Currently, there are three jackpots exceeding $1 billion, making them the largest in Mega Millions’ history.
How uncommon is it to win a life-altering Mega Millions prize? In order to hit the jackpot, a participant must successfully match all five white balls chosen from a pool of balls numbered 1 to 70, alongside an extra number ranging from 1 to 25 – known as the Mega Ball.
There are over 302.5 million potential number combinations when using the game matrix, indicating that your chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot with just one ticket are 1 in 302.5 million.
Although the chances of winning the second-tier $1 million prize are improved, it is still quite unlikely with odds of 1 in 12.6 million. The overall likelihood of winning any prize by playing the Mega Millions is 1 in 24. The prizes available range from $2 to the jackpot, which can be worth millions or even billions of dollars.
What are the chances a Michigan ticket will win Mega Millions?
It is a fact that certain states have a higher occurrence of jackpot winners compared to others. Surprisingly, out of the 47 states and jurisdictions, only 26 have had the privilege of having a jackpot winner. Michigan, on the other hand, holds the fifth position in terms of the number of Mega Millions jackpots won.
Since its inception in 2002, MI has emerged as a prominent winner among the 46 other jurisdictions involved, claiming 18 top prizes. It’s worth noting that Michigan has been part of the game from the start, while numerous states and jurisdictions joined in the following years. In 2010, the Mega Millions and Powerball cross-selling agreement led to the addition of 23 new states. Since then, players from MI have successfully hit the jackpot on nine occasions.
It should be emphasized that each individual ticket has an equal chance of winning the jackpot, regardless of its place of purchase. However, it is more probable to witness a winner in a state with a higher number of ticket sales. Typically, states with larger populations tend to sell more tickets. Michigan, being the 10th most populated state in the US, falls into this category.
The list of the top 10 states for Mega Millions jackpots since 2002 is dominated by the most populous states.
- New York 40
- California 33
- New Jersey 22
- Ohio 20
- Michigan 18
- Georgia 17
- Illinois 14
- Texas 13
- Maryland 11
- Virginia 9
Where to play the Mega Millions
Mega Millions tickets are available for purchase in 45 states, along with Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. All states in the US participate in the lottery, except for Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.
Online lottery sites, although only contributing a small fraction to overall lottery sales, have the potential to generate some level of participation in states where they are legally permitted. Currently, there are twelve jurisdictions, including Michigan, that allow the online purchase of lottery tickets. The remaining states where online lotto is available include Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., and Virginia.
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