Mega Millions jackpot reaches $1 billion mark
Oct 19, 2018, 9:11 AM | Updated: 2:00 pm
PHOENIX — One billion dollars.
That’s what the estimated Mega Millions jackpot for Friday night’s drawing has reached, lottery officials said.
The prize is the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history, behind only a $1.6 billion Powerball prize won in 2016.
If nobody wins Friday’s Mega Millions, the total is expected to match the record for the next drawing Tuesday.
The $1 billion refers to the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Most winners take the cash option, which would pay out $565 million.
No one has matched all six numbers and won the Mega Millions grand prize since July 24. That reflects the game’s long odds, at one in 302.5 million.
Arizona is one of 44 states that plays Mega Millions, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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 theory was that bigger jackpots would draw more attention, leading more players to plop down $2 for a Mega Millions or Powerball ticket. The more tickets sold, the more the jackpots grow, leading to more players.
You’re not being rational if you think you have a good chance of winning the jackpot, whether it’s with one ticket or 100. The probabilities are overwhelmingly not in your favor.
Most people don’t expect to win and instead think the $2 ticket is a small price to dream and be part of a wishful conversation with co-workers or family.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.