Simple math behind huge lottery prizes
Odds for a Mega Millions win are 1 in 302.5 million
DES MOINES, Iowa — Whether someone will finally snag the gigantic Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots comes down to simple math — and very long odds.
But there are some quirks that likely will soon vault someone into stratospheric wealth after the jackpots grew for months without a winner.
What are the jackpots?
The biggest quirk is that the advertised $1.6 billion Mega Millions prize — the world’s largest — and $620 million Powerball prize aren’t quite real. Those are the amounts you’d be paid if you chose an annuity over 29 years. Nearly every winner opts for cash, which is the amount of money the lottery folks actually have in the bank to pay the company funding the annuity.
The cash option is $904 million for Mega Millions and $354.3 million for Powerball.
Potential combinations
The dismal odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot — one in 302.5million — means there are 302.5million potential number combinations. For last Friday’s drawing, about 59 percent of possible combinations were taken. But by tonight’s drawing, officials estimate that 75 percent will be sold.
That would mean a 25 percent chance of no winner. If that happens, even more combinations would likely be covered before the next drawing. Could the prize reach $2 billion?
The odds of winning Powerball are one in 292.2million.
The odds of winning don’t change as jackpots get larger, but the chance that more than one winner will share the prize do. When so many people rush to play as a jackpot soars, the chances increase that two or three tickets will match. Of the five largest jackpots awarded in the U.S., three went to multiple winners. The largest single prize went to a 2017 player from Massachusetts with a $758.7million Powerball payday.
Two jackpots, one winner?
If the odds of winning either Mega Millions or Powerball don’t seem gigantic enough, how about winning them both? Spend $4 on a ticket for each game and it could happen. But the odds are about one in 88 quadrillion (that’s 88,000,000,000,000,000).
Lucky numbers
What numbers come up most for Mega Millions? Since 2010, it has been the number 2, with 92 hits, followed by 20, 11, 31 and 17. The most hit Mega Ball number is 9.
Lottery officials point out that the selection is random. The game also has changed, so some numbers weren’t always in the mix.
Lucky states
Unsurprisingly, the most Mega Million jackpot winners in the past five years have come from states with the largest populations. New York leads with seven winners. California is second, with six, while Illinois is third, with four.
America is No. 1
The current Mega Millions jackpot is now the world’s largest. The annual El Gordo national lottery in Spain advertises a larger total prize, but the money is divvied up into many prizes.