Mega Millions is one of the most popular lottery games in the United States known for its massive jackpots that often reach hundreds of millions of dollars. So how much does it cost to go for your pot of gold? Read on!
What’s the cost of a Mega Millions ticket?
Mega Million’s tickets cost $2.00 a play. The cost is the same whether you Quick Pick your numbers or choose your own.
For an extra $1 per play, most states offer the Mega Millions Megaplier feature to multiply non-jackpot prizes by 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x.
Where does the Mega Millions money go?
About half of Mega Millions lottery ticket revenue goes directly to Mega Millions winners in the form of prizes.
The other half goes to lottery administration and to the public good. Think: the great outdoors in Colorado, veterans in Texas, education in NYC and MANY MORE important state causes. Beneficiaries differ state by state, but each state returns a percentage of lottery revenue from ticket sales in their state to their own causes. Here’s where the lottery money goes in every state.
What is Mega Millions?
Mega Millions is a multi-million dollar prize game available in 46 lottery jurisdictions. All lottery jurisdictions contribute part of sales to the top prize that is shared between the states. The grand prize starts at $20 million and climbs from there until all five numbers and the Mega Ball are matched. In addition to the percentage that is put into the grand prize, part of sales in each state stays in the state to fund programs such as helping veterans, funding education and other important programs that vary by state.
(Related: Powerball vs Mega Millions: Do You Really Understand The Differences Between Them?)
What does the Mega Millions Multiplier cost?
For an additional $1 per ticket, you can add the Megaplier, which increases the winnings of the non-grand prize by up to 5x. For example, if you had a $1 million winning ticket, and the Megaplier was 5, you would win $5 million.
When are the drawings for Mega Millions?
Mega Millions drawings occur on Tuesdays and Fridays each week.
This article originally appeared on Jackpocket.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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5 Times Adding the $1 Multiplier to a Lottery Ticket Paid Off
Attention, lotto lovers. There are plenty of ways to win BIG without getting the top prize. Multipliers like the Megaplier for Mega Millions and Power Play for Powerball are low-risk ways to add some oomph to your potential winnings.
How does the multiplier work? For an extra $1 per game, you can add the multiplier to your ticket, which will multiply your prize amount—not including the grand prize—by up to 10 times, depending on the game. The “multiplier” number is announced along with the winning numbers after the drawing.
Adding the optional multiplier won’t boost your odds of winning, but it will boost your winning amount if you do. For Mega Millions, the possible multiplier numbers are 2X, 3X, 4X, and 5X. For Powerball, they are 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, and 10X. Other games with multipliers? Lotto America, Lotto Texas, and Pick-6 in New Jersey!
So, is adding the multiplier worth it? Take a look at these winner stories, and you be the judge.
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An Ohio lottery player in January 2022 matched five of five regular numbers on their ticket, just missing the Mega Ball. That would usually be a $1 million prize, but this lucky player had opted to add the mega multiplier (called the “Megaplier”) to their ticket. A $1 million win turned into $3 million—and the rest is history.
Related: How to Split Lottery Winnings with Family or Co-Workers
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What is the Powerball multiplier? The Powerball multiplier is called Power Play, and it can increase your winnings up to 10 times!
The very special 10X multiplier is in play whenever the Powerball top prize is under $150 million. A recent winner in North Carolina played some fortune cookie numbers that came with his order of fried shrimp and rice. He matched four out of five regular numbers AND the Powerball for a $50,000 payday.
Thanks to ticking that Power Play box on his play slip, his prize jumped TEN times to $500,000.
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Jackpocket lottery app user Ferney in New York picked his own lottery numbers and matched five of six regular numbers plus the Powerball. The 3X Power Play turned a $50,000 win into a $150,000 windfall. That’s how the multiplier works.
The winner said, “The multiplier is what made the prize so big. That $1 made a $150,000 return. I always add the multiplier. Why not?”
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In a lottery pool, a bigger win means everyone gets a bigger slice of the prize. A group of 20 co-workers at a medical supply company in Rhode Island joined forces for Mega Millions back in 2016. The “Billy Bunch Microgroup” purchased the Megaplier feature on their ticket, which ended up multiplying their $1,000,000 prize by five. With a $5,000,000 total prize, each member of the group was able to take home $250,000 to put toward retirement, a new car or a much-needed vacation.
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A Powerball winner in North Carolina missed the Wednesday night ticket cut-off by one minute, so her ticket went through for the Saturday drawing instead. Her lucky $3 Power Play ticket matched five out of five regular numbers to win $1 million in Saturday’s drawing. Her prize was doubled to $2 million when the 2X multiplier was drawn. Happy accidents!
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You won’t know how much your prize could be multiplied by. At least not until the drawing…
The multiplier number is pulled during or right before the lottery drawing. If you win a non-jackpot prize (and chose the multiplier add-on to your ticket) you will be able to use that number to determine what your new prize is!
Calculating the multiplier is pretty simple. You can easily know the potential prize for any Powerball Power Play multiplier or Mega Millions Megaplier by checking out our charts in our blog posts.
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When is the multiplier available?
For both the Powerball and Mega Millions, the multiplier is available with each drawing. For Powerball, the 10X multiplier ball is only added to the mix when the grand prize is below $150 million.
What are the biggest lottery multipliers out there?
Mega Millions (Megaplier), Powerball (Power Play) and Lotto America (All-Star Bonus) all have multipliers that could increase your prize by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times.
Powerball offers a 10X multiplier, but there are Powerball multiplier rules that govern when the 10X multiplier is available. This multiplier is only added to the potential multiplier drawing when the grand prize is below $150 million.
Other games with up to a 10x multiplier? Pick-6 in NJ and Lotto Texas both have multipliers that can go this high! How would you like to increase your non-jackpot winnings by a factor of 10?
How do I order lottery tickets online?
Getting your lottery ticket online with Jackpocket is easy. Choose your game, then pick your lucky numbers or go with a random Quick Pick. You can even add the multiplier to participating games! Enjoy your favorite state lottery games using Jackpocket!
This article originally appeared on Jackpocket.comand was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Featured Image Credit: fizkes/istockphoto.
