If you have played the Mega Millions lottery this week, you’ll notice a big change - higher prices with increased chances to win.
Starting with the lottery draw on April 8, the price of a ticket went from $2 to $5.
The higher cost will bring with it increased chances to win, larger jackpots and a built-in multiplier in all states.
“Beyond big jackpots, players told us they want bigger non-jackpot prizes and that’s exactly what this new game delivers,” Mega Millions’ Joshua Johnston said in a news release earlier this year. “Non-jackpot prizes at every level are going up by 2 times to 10 times. That’s the kind of value the new Mega Millions will deliver to our players at every single drawing.”
Here are some of the other changes that are happening with the new Mega Millions game:
- Improved overall odds going from 1:24 to 1:23 after the removal of one gold Mega Ball.
- Improved odds for winning the jackpot from 1:302,575,350 to 1:290,472,336.
- Larger starting jackpots of $50 million instead of the current $20 million.
- Faster-growing and bigger jackpots.
- 2x-10x multiplier built in.
- Minimum prize set at $10 not the $5 cost of the ticket. Currently, the minimum prize is the same as the cost to play a ticket $2.
The final game under the old costs and odds was held on Friday, April 4. The numbers pulled that night were 11, 28, 35, 37, 69 with Mega Ball 25. It had a 2x Megaplyer.
No one won the jackpot, so it rolled over to April 8 and was valued at $54 million or, if the cash option was chosen, $25.7 million.
Mega Millions launched in 2002. It has had seven billion-dollar jackpot winners in its lifetime.
It is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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