The odds of hitting Friday’s $940 million Mega Millions jackpot are astronomical and the chances of even winning a far smaller lottery prize are fairly low too, but that’s part of the fun of dreaming big.
The overall odds of winning something after buying a $2 Mega Millions lottery ticket are 24 to 1.
To begin with there are two sets of Mega Millions balls. Five white balls are drawn out of a drum containing 70 balls. Then one gold Mega ball is drawn out of a second drum with 25 balls.
Players can increase their prize amounts by spending an extra $1 for the Megaplier option to wins two, three, four or on rare occasions five times as much. The Megaplier only applies to non-jackpot prizes.
The Mega Ball - $2
Let’s start with the small prizes.
The odds of your ticket matching only the gold Mega Ball is 37 to 1. On a single $2 ticket purchase, that’s a break even.
1 number plus the Meg Ball - $4
There’s a 1 in 89 chance your $2 gamble will net you $4 — a $2 profit.
2 numbers plus the Mega Ball - $10
It’s a 693 to 1 shot to buy a ticket containing two numbers and the Mega Ball but the payout is a scant $10.
3 numbers - still $10
If your ticket matched three of the five white balls, you still win just $10. The odds of hitting three numbers, but not the Powerball are a tad better than matching two numbers plus the Mega Ball — 606 to 1.
3 numbers plus the Mega Ball - $200
The good news is that the prize amount has finally reached triple digits - $200. Far less encouraging are that the odds of buying a ticket matching three numbers plus the Mega Ball are 14,547 to 1.
4 numbers - $500
A ticket that matches four numbers but not Mega Ball is one numbers away from winning serious money, but only gets you $500. It’s a 1 in 38,792 shot to be that fortunate, though.
4 numbers plus the Mega Ball - $10,000
The prize climbs all the way to winning $10,000 if you manage to beat the roughly 931,001 to 1 odds and match four numbers plus the Mega Ball.
A third-prize, $10,000 ticket was sold for Tuesday’s drawing at Canal’s Discount Liquor Mart on Route 70 in Marlton, New Jersey Lottery officials said. It matched four numbers plus the Mega Ball.
5 numbers - $1 million
The life-changing money begins at this prize level. All you have to do to win at least $1 million is match the numbers on the five white balls drawn, but not the Mega Ball. Good luck overcoming the 12,607,306 to 1 odds, though.
Mega Millions jackpot - Big money time
The dream for any lottery player is hitting the jackpot. The odds of buying a ticket that matches all five numbers and the Mega Millions are a ridiculous 302,575,350 to 1.
The jackpot has rolled over 23 times since two ticket holders — one in Florida and one in California split a $502 million jackpot
If someone hits the jackpot Friday, it will be the sixth-largest in U.S. lottery history and the fourth biggest Mega Millions prize. The cash option for Friday’s drawing is $483.5 million.
Friday’s drawing will be held at 10:59 p.m. and televised on WABC-7 in New York City and Fox 29 in Philadelphia. NJ.com will publish the winning numbers immediately following the conclusion of the drawing.
Mega Millions tickets cost $2 each and in New Jersey must be bought by 10:45 p.m. on the evening of the drawing. The game is played in 45 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
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