$940M Mega Millions Jackpot up for grabs: Odds and prizes

Jan. 5—STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The jackpot for Friday night's Mega Millions drawing has climbed to a whopping $940,000,000. To win even a fraction of that prize would set someone up for life. But before you start raising your hopes and convincing yourself that this time will be different, let's break down the odds.

$2 is all you need to have a chance at winning millions, $2 being the cost of a ticket. To win the jackpot in Mega Millions you need to have five matching numbers and the Mega Ball. According to the NY Lottery website, the odds of winning this prize are 1 in 302,575,350...but not zero.

In truth, the vast majority of players end up losing, with 50% of sales being allocated as prize money. However, hypothetically, let's say you score big time. Before you lose your mind with excitement, keep in mind that there is the possibility of multiple winners, though those chances are slim. If such a case were to happen, the prize would be split equally amongst the winners.

But hey, millions of dollars is nothing to scoff at whatsoever. If you did win, you could opt to receive the prize as a thirty-year annuity or a one-time lump sum payment. Now before you jump to accept the payment in full, consider that the amount of the lump sum payment is equal to the estimated cash required to purchase the annuity. It seems like there's always a catch.

Time to step it back, you haven't even won yet. In all likelihood, you won't win. However, there are still other prizes to consider, prizes that you may actually end up winning.

If you match all numbers and fall short by missing the Mega ball, you just won yourself $1,000,000. I'd say that's quite the consolation prize. If you multiplied your prize by purchasing the Megaplier prior to the game, you could have the reward multiplied up to an impressive $5,000,000. The odds of winning this second prize are about 1 in 12,607,306. While that sounds good, you'd have a better chance at winning the presidency with odds of 1 in 10,000,000.

Realistically, most winners will have walked away with one of the lower tier prizes. If you had gotten three numbers and no Mega ball, you will still walk away with at least $10, the odds of doing so are 1 in 606. The lowest possible prize is $2, the cost of the ticket, and that is for simply having the Mega ball. If you are the lucky 1 in 37, you can take your humble winnings and walk away or maybe purchase another ticket.

If you do intend on testing your luck Friday, be sure to purchase your ticket at a New York Lottery retailer before 10:45 p.m., as that is when you can no longer buy tickets. At 11 p.m. the numbers will be drawn and you will find out if you defied the odds and walk away a millionaire. If not a millionaire, at least a winner of sorts, as the overall chances of winning any prize are 1 in 24.

Interestingly enough, Staten Island has seen a slew of million dollar winners. Most notably, Stop & Shop at 2754 Hylan Blvd. in New Dorp, sold a Powerball ticket worth $247,000,000 in 2018. They say that lightning does not strike the same place twice, but with those two dollars you could challenge that notion (Note: the odds of getting struck by lightning are 1 in 12,000).

Soham Enterprise LLC at 1774 Forest Ave. in Graniteville seems to make its own luck. At the time of Dec. 1, 2022, the store had sold at least 2,476 winning tickets with a prize of at least $600.

If Mega Millions isn't your speed, there are still other lottery games to be played with big payouts. As of Dec. 27, 2022, the $10,000 a week for life scratch off game still has 32 $10,000 prizes floating around waiting to be claimed.

While fun to play, gambling addiction is no joke. If you have a gambling problem you can reach out to the NYC HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY(467369).

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