Thursday, March 29, 2012

MEGA MILLIONS COULD BECOME MEGA BILLION

Mega Millions logo
Mega Millions logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SACRAMENTO – The MEGA Millions jackpot for Friday night’s draw has officially become the largest jackpot in the history of lotteries around the world…$540 million!
Not surprisingly, players took to the internet to find out the winning numbers Tuesday night and the Lottery’s website had 1 million hits between 8-9pm. Also, as expected, “MEGA Millions jackpot” is one of the top trending topics on the worldwide web currently. Although nine Californians matched five numbers without the Mega number, no one matched all six numbers in Tuesday night’s MEGA Millions draw, making Friday’s night’s jackpot worth the astounding $540 million amount.
The estimated cash option for Friday night’s draw is $389.8 million. If a single winner won the jackpot and the annual payment option was chosen, payments would be $20.7 million a year for 26 years (before taxes). The retailer who sells the jackpot-winning ticket will receive the maximum bonus of $1 million. For reference, the largest MEGA Millions jackpot ever won was $390 million in March 2007, with a cash option of $233 million.  
MEGA Millions is a multistate game, played in California and 43 other jurisdictions (41 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Players pick five numbers from 1 to 56 plus a Mega number from 1 to 46. Draw times are Tuesdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. PST. Tickets are $1 and can be purchased from any of the more than 21,000 California Lottery retailers. Please visit the California Lottery’s MEGA Millions site for more information. 
As jackpots rise, the California Lottery would like to remind players that gambling should be fun. Borrowing money to play, spending above a person’s budget or using money intended for other purposes can ultimately lead to significant problems for players and their families. If a player recognizes that they have a gambling problem or if someone knows of someone who may have a problem, the Lottery recommends calling the Problem Gambling Help Line at 1-800-GAMBLER.
The mission of the California Lottery is to provide supplemental funding to California schools while simultaneously supporting local communities. More than 94 cents of every dollar spent by our players goes back to local communities in the form of contributions to public schools and colleges, prizes and retail compensation. Since 2000, Lottery players have contributed $1 billion to public schools each year, and, since we began in 1985, Lottery players have contributed a total of more than $24 billion to education. The California Lottery urges its customers to play responsibly and within their budgets. If you feel you have a gambling problem, or know someone who does, you can get help at 1-800-GAMBLER.

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