$1.6bn lottery jackpot is richest ever in US
A LUCKY American could walk away with a $1.6billion (£1.2billion) lottery prize – the largest in US history – on Tuesday.
The Mega Millions jackpot rose to the record level after Friday night’s draw failed to produce a winner.
Officials said no tickets matched all six numbers to claim the estimated $1billion prize.
The amount on offer for a $2 bet on Tuesday is likely to grow even larger as excitement around the record-breaking prize tempts more people to play.
The second-largest jackpot was a $1.586billion Powerball draw on January 13, 2016.
However, potential players should buy their ticket with a note of caution – the chance of matching all six numbers and taking home the grand prize comes in at a tiny one in 302.5million.
What is more, after federal taxes and state deductions, winners will gener-
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ally end up with around half that amount in upfront cash winnings. The annuity payout guarantees more money, but it is paid over 29 years and also would result in a hefty tax bill.
The Mega Millions jackpot has been growing since July, when a group of office workers from California won a prize of $543million.
Lottery officials changed the odds in recent years to lessen the chance of winning a jackpot, which in turn increased the opportunity for top prizes to reach stratospheric levels.
The strategy seems to be paying off with states reporting that lottery tickets fly out of shops when the top prizes reach gigantic sizes.
In California, for example, people were buying 200 tickets per second during the lunch hour on Thursday.
While no one won the grand prize on Friday, officials said they sold 15 tickets with numbers that matched five white balls but not the Mega Ball. Those are worth at least $1million.