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Mega Millions Jackpot
Remember this moment because it probably won't last: A US lottery jackpot soared above USD 1 billion, and that's still a big deal. After three months without anyone winning the top prize, a ticket worth an estimated USD 1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night. The high number evoked headlines and likely lured more people to convenience stores with dreams of private spacewalks above the Earth. It doesn't seem to matter that the nation's top 10 jackpots, not including Friday, already boasted 10-figure payouts. For many of us, something stirs inside when a number ticks one dollar above USD 999,999,999. The question lurking is, what happens when USD 1 billion becomes routine and people don't care about it anymore? said Jonathan D. Cohen, author of the 2022 book For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America. There's no easy round number after a billion, Cohen said. "But also, how much money can one person possibly, possibly, possibly need? Mega ..
Lottery players will have another shot at a huge Mega Millions jackpot Friday night and a chance to break a stretch of more than three months without a big winner of the game. The estimated USD 940 million prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 28 straight drawings without a jackpot winner. The jackpot is now the eighth-largest ever in the U.S. It comes a little over a week after someone in Los Angeles won a USD 1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. It's still a mystery who won that prize. Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million. The USD 940 million prize would be for a sole winner choosing to be paid through an annuity with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Friday night's drawing .