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After exactly three months of roll overs, Mega Millions made a jackpot winner. A ticket holder from South Carolina will scoop the record jackpot for this lottery – $1.53 million. The cash value for this jaw-dropping prize is $878 million.

Have you tried your luck with the Mega Millions lottery on October 23^rd? Are you from South Carolina? If the answer is yes on both counts, check your ticket! The winning numbers of this historic draw were 28, 70, 5, 62, 65, and a Mega Ball of 5. There is one single ticket that matched all of them and it was purchased in South Carolina. That’s all we know so far!

But, this is not the sole winner of the draw. In addition to the jackpot winner, the Mega Millions draw of October 23^rd had 15,750,013 winning tickets. 36 of them matched the five main numbers. Their ticket holders will scoop a prize of $1 million each. Two other players added Megaplier to their ticket. This means that instead of $1 million, they will cash $3 million.

Was It a World Record?

With an estimated value of $1.6 billion, this Mega Millions jackpot was believed to be a world record. However, once the final calculations were done, the prize wound up standing at $1.537 billion. This means Powerball remains the world jackpot record holder with the $1.58 billion prize delivered in January 2016.

Nevertheless, we are speaking about a record for Mega Millions and the largest win on a single ticket. The $1.53 billion jackpot breaks the former Mega Millions record worth $656 million dating from March 2012. We don’t know if we are talking about a syndicate win or a single ticket holder. But, one thing is sure: this ticket is worth more than Powerball’s former record on a single ticket – $758.7 million pocketed by Mavis Wanczyk in August 2017.

Besides, the $1.537 billion jackpot is certainly number one in Mega Millions jackpot winners Hall of Fame.

Why Did the Jackpot Amount Change?

The Mega Millions officials estimated that the jackpot at $1.6 billion, which would have been an all-times record for US lotteries. But, the morning after the draw Mega Millions said the total ended up being $1.537 billion.

A spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery explained in a phone interview with The Associated Press that estimated amounts are calculated based on historical patterns. As about 70 percent of ticket sales occur on the day of the draw, it is quite difficult to forecast precise numbers. The final calculations usually translate into a boost in the jackpot’s value, but this time it went the opposite way. Moreover, this made the difference between Mega Millions being the world record holder for largest jackpot in the lottery history books or not.

What Happens Now?

As of this morning, the Mega Millions jackpot has been reset to its initial value of $40 million. If nobody matches all the numbers, it will roll over until someone gets lucky again. So, don’t hesitate and play Mega Millions online! They might not make people queue for a ticket, but Mega Millions jackpots are life-changing any given day.

In the meantime, the other American lottery giant – Powerball displays a $620 million jackpot. So, you still have the chance of becoming a multi-millionaire!

Mega Millions is one the largest jackpots in the world. The famous lottery is making history with a new record-breaking jackpot. A jaw-dropping $1.6 billion jackpot prize is now up for grabs!

Before the October 19^th draw, the jackpot was already at a massive $1 billion value, thanks to 23 rollovers without a winner. Once the numbers were drawn and no one came forward to claim a complete number match, the jackpot rolled over for the 24th time.

Now it is not only a new Mega Millions record but also the largest jackpot ever in US lottery history, surpassing the Powerball record jackpot of $1.58 billion in January 2016!

 

The Odds of a Complete Numbers Match

From a statistical perspective, the odds of successfully matching all 5 numbers and the Mega Ball are 1 in 302,575,350. Those odds are clearly difficult – some might say impossible – to meet, and yet, someone has to win eventually. All it takes is 1 lucky guess!

Choosing the Right Numbers

How do players decide what numbers to play? Some choose numbers that have personal significance, such as birthdays, anniversaries, street addresses, and the like. Others let the lottery machine choose for them with the Quick Pick feature, which selects numbers randomly.

Not sure which numbers to choose? While there is no way to know exactly which numbers will be drawn, there are some strategies, such as hot and cold numbers, that can help players decide what to pick.

Who Will Be the New Mega Millions Record Holder?

If someone wins this incredible $1.6 billion jackpot prize, not only will they join the ranks of historic Mega Millions jackpot winners, they’ll also have some pretty important decisions to make. The first question may very well be, “Should I take the lump sum payment or the annuity option?”

While it’s tempting for winners to take the lump sum payout so they walk away with money immediately, there are benefits to choosing the annuity option. In this case, the cash payout would be a whopping $904 million! Should the winner decide on the annuity payout, the $1.6 billion would be spread out over 29 years, totaling around $55 million annually.

Tough call, we know.

 

Will Tuesday’s draw finally produce a winner, or will the already massive jackpot climb even higher? In 2 days, we’ll know the answer to that question. Until then, there’s still time to buy Mega Millions tickets and grab your chance at a life-changing jackpot!

Mega Millions is one of the most popular lotteries in the world, with one of the largest jackpot prizes in the entire global lottery industry.

The current US Mega Millions jackpot makes it clear why: at more than a half-billion dollars, it’s right on track to be a major record-breaker! At an enormous $548 million value, this cash prize has already topped other wins, some of the biggest in Mega Millions history.

Can you imagine what your life would be like with an extra half billion dollars in your bank account?

 

The Last Half-Billion Win

The Mega Millions jackpot was last won on July 25^th for an astounding $543 million! A group of 11 colleagues from a financial company in California correctly matched all 5 numbers, 1, 2, 4, 19 and 29, and the Mega Ball, 20.

The group’s supervisor accepted the prize on their behalf, telling reporters that they plan on keeping their jobs because they love what they do and want to continue working together.

21 Rollovers Without a Winner

On July 28^th, the jackpot started at $40 million and there has been no winner since. It has now rolled over 21 times! Will it become 22 or will some lucky player successfully match all 5 main numbers and the Mega Ball?

With a guaranteed starting jackpot of $40 million and unlimited rollovers, you can see why lottery players from across the globe love to play Mega Millions!