Mega Millions is $312M, Do You Know How to Win?

The last estimated Mega Millions jackpot was $312 Million and was drawn on Tuesday 22nd June 2022. Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery played across 45 states in North America and the District of Columbia and the Virgin Isles with a minimum jackpot of $40 million American dollars.

Players are required to select five main numbers from a total of 70, plus the Mega Ball from a combination of 25. The jackpot is won if any ticket matches the full set of numbers, with eight more prize tiers rewarding players who match fewer numbers.

The top prize automatically rolls to a higher number when not won, with frequent triple-digit jackpots appearing thanks to an update made in 2017. The biggest prize in history was on 23rd October 2018 with a top prize of $1.537 Billion going to a single winner.

Mega Millions was first launched in August 1996, and was known back then as “The Big Game.” Tickets were sold across the six original states for its Friday night draws. At first, the only participants were the states of Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia. The original game contained a number range from 1 to 50 and a bonus ball pool of 25. When the game first launched jackpots could be claimed only via the annuity option. Over time many changes have happened to this beloved game, with everything from the name to the odds to win.

In October 2017, Mega Millions underwent significant changes to its format. The main ball pool was changed to a total of 70, combined with the Mega Ball pool to 25, making it more challenging to win a top prize, but more frequent odds to other tiers. These changes helped to create the biggest Mega Millions jackpot in history on 23rd October 2018, when a single ticket holder from South Carolina matched all 6 numbers to win $1.537 billion.

Mississippi became the 48th locality in the US to offer Mega Millions. Tickets went on sale in the state on January 30th 2020. Alabama is currently debating whether to legalise lotteries across its state.

There are nine different ways to win when playing for a Mega Millions prize. Five different numbers are available up to 70, and the MB number up to 25. You can also select a quick pick to automatically assign numbers to your ticket. You win the jackpot by matching all six numbers in the draw. If the top prize isn’t won the jackpot automatically rolls over to the next draw, with an average of $12 million increase per game. Here you can see a breakdown of how to win Mega Millions using your ticket strategy. The overall chances of winning any prize are 1 in 24. 

Powerball and Mega Millions, the two richest lotteries ever seen, consistently rank in the top 10 for the most talked-about record-winning pots. 

In 2017, the Powerball gave a $758.7 million jackpot to M L. Wanczyk of Massachusetts. The woman, 32, quit her job as a nurse at the hospital and momentarily entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest single prize winner in lottery history. In 2019 she was eclipsed by only 10 million when a $768.4 Million jackpot was scooped in Wisconsin. 

In 2018, the biggest Mega Millions jackpot took place. It was seen as one of hte most played games of all time, but there was only one winner, from South Carolina netting a total of $1.537M dollars overall. Here are the biggest jackpots for Mega Millions to this date.