Mega Millions Mania Reaches New Level
The jackpot for Tuesday Mega Millions drawing — after 21 straight without a grand prize winner — could top $600 million. And if the trend continues, the jackpot could hit the billion dollar mark. The epic mega-million dollar jackpot is at a whopping $586 million and climbing. “We have never been in this position, to have a jackpot this tremendous, over half a billion dollars already, the week before Christmas,” Paula Otto said, the lead director for Mega Millions. Just how massive could the jackpot get? Lottery officials say if there’s no winner in Tuesday’s drawing, the prize will swell to $800 million and possibly a billion by Christmas. Causing a very festive frenzy for what could end up becoming the largest lotto in Mega Millions history. “This time of year around Christmas, lottery tickets make great gifts, people are thinking about gift giving,” Todd Northrop said, the founder of lotterypost.com The mega millions is one of the biggest jackpots in the world right now – and the fourth largest in U.S. history. If no one wins tonight, it will likely surpass the largest us payout set in march 2012 by over $100 million. “Winning the Mega Millions is akin to getting struck by lightning at the same time you’re being eaten by a shark,” Northrop said. “I mean, it’s pretty wild how long the odds are.” In October, Mega Millions lottery increased the range of numbers you can get on the five balls from 56 to 75, dramatically decreasing your chances of winning. Since then there have been 21 consecutive drawings without a winner. Because you’re up against the worst odd of any U.S. lottery — to clinch the jackpot you’ll have to strike the winning number combo out of a incredible 259 million combinations A lottery official told the Associated Press that by the next drawing, 70 percent of possible combinations will be sold-but that’s still no guarantee someone will win the mega bucks. Most lottery ticket buyers are procrastinators, according to lottery officials in Virginia. So if you don’t want to wait in a long line to buy your ticket, you may want to go before evening rush.
