Talk:Mega Millions

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[edit] Buying every ticket

If I purchased 176 million tickets am i guaranteed to win 376 million and pay taxes on profit only? This would be a bad deal only if you have to split it with more then 1 person?

True. In theory you could do that. However, lottery regulations state that you must fill out each little slip by hand! An Australian businessman tried to do this when the Australian jackpot hit astronomical levels, but couldn't get all of them filled out in time. Google it, and I think you'll find something. If you have any questions, please contact me at my talk page. Ian Manka 04:39, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
The cash prize is only 220 million. So you would be laying out 176 million to win 44 million more, which will be reduced to about 25 million after taxes. This is assuming you do not split with anyone. If you do split with someone, which is not unlikely, you immediately take a 66 million dollar loss. This is a terrible strategy... and if you had $176 million and really wanted $44 million more, I am sure you could do it more easily with investments. 68.36.197.244 06:12, 7 March 2007 (UTC) edit: my numbers are off slightly because your buying all those tickets would cause the jackpot to grow. It is still negative expectation due to the split. And as said above, youd have to hire 100s of people to buy all those tickets.

[edit] Probability

I have a question. It says the mega ball is numbered one through 46, therefore the odds of getting only the mega ball correct should be 1:46, but it is listed as one in 75. Am I missing something? Im not going to edit it myself, since Im not sure if I'm missing something.

1 in 75 is the odds of getting JUST the mega ball with no other numbers, as in you have no regular numbers match and the mega ball matches. Getting the mega ball with another number (or more) is worked into the odds for the other combinations which is where the 1 in 46 odds "go". Hope that makes sense. Gront 23:19, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Exactly, The 1 in 75 odds quoted are the odds of winning $2, or the odds of matching ONLY the Mega Ball.Ahussey 16:55, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't understand where the number "75" comes from. What's the mathematical formula? Because there are 46 mega balls, the odds of making it alone should 1 in 46. 61.9.126.41

The number "75" comes from the fact that for every 75 tickets you buy, on average 1 will qualify for the mega ball only prize.. It cannot be 1 in 46 because some of the tickets that match the mega ball will also match more numbers and qualify for a higher prize. 68.36.197.244 09:10, 5 March 2007 (UTC)


Ok, then I have a new question, how the heck did they come up with the odds of hitting the mega millions as 1 in 175,711,536? Since you have to pick 5 different numbers from 1-56 and then 1 number from 1-46, shouldn't the odds be 1 in 21,085,384,320 (56 * 55 * 54 * 53 * 52 * 46)? Actually this comes down to figuring out how they got the 1 in 3,904,701 for the non-Mega Ball hit since that is 175.7 Million / 46. Help me out here? BTW - for those wondering about the 1 in 75, that is 1 in 46 * the odds of NOT hitting any other number.ronb 3:33, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

  • The reason is that the order of the first 5 numbers doesn't count, because they're always reordered to ascending order. So if the balls come out as 1 2 3 4 5 | 6, that's the same as 2 1 5 4 3 | 6. You were calculating {}_{56}P_5 \times 46 = 21085384320 when really you should be calculating {}_{56}C_5 \times 46 = 175711536 Hope that helps. (maybe the jackpot calculation should go in the article?) — jmorgan (talk) 19:59, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

The numbers are correct for the probability but are not right if they are labeled odds. See the definition of Odds. I am changing the title of the column to Probability to make the article more correct. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.190.9.225 (talk) 15:27, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Income Tax

In the intro

Laws and regulations vary slightly and are generally governed by the applicable laws in the state where the ticket is sold. Mega Millions winnings are generally exempt from :state income tax in California, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington.

In the next section

Mega Millions winnings are exempt from state income taxes in California and New Jersey.

Presumably the intro is correct, and the other sentence doesn't mention the other states, but I don't know for sure. Regardless one of the sentences should be removed. --CVaneg 23:57, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

Texas doesn't have state income tax (for anything). California exempts lottery winnings from state income tax. Don't know about the other states.Gront 23:19, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The most difficult lottery game to win in the world?

The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are 1 in 146,107,962. But the odds in winning the jackpot in Mega Millions are 1 in 175,711,536. Is it true to say that Mega Millions is the most difficult lottery game in the world in terms of making the jackpot prize? I don't know any lottery game that has more odds. 61.9.126.41

Yes, the jackpot odds of Mega Millions are steep. However, the overall odds are 1:40. Mega Millions actually is a much better game than, say, New York Lotto (terrible payout) or Massachusetts Megabucks (still no cash option). 216.179.123.146 13:52, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] March 2007/Protection

I suggest that this article be protected until the drawing after the current jackpot ($370/ possible 470 million).

Who won it? Was it Ed Nabers? Did I spell his name correctly? Moonwalkerwiz 01:08, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
Is it just me or do some of you also feel profound jealousy towards winners of lotteries. Life isn't fair!!! On the other hand, I heard somewhere that 90% of lottery winners end up with major family problems, mental issues, etc... so I guess thats our silver lining. The thrill only can last for so long... 67.112.122.163 05:12, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Minors winning lottery prizes

Many US jurisdictions allow minors to receive lottery tickets as gifts, although of course all US lotteries have a minimum age to purchase them, which is 18 for all Mega Millions states, while a few of the MUSL/Powerball lotteries have higher minimums. An exception is Virginia, whose lottery prohibits minors from winning (now, what if an underage person finds a Virginia Lottery jackpot winning Mega Millions ticket?) 216.179.123.110 13:53, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Odds for the second prize?

I can't get the same answer as the odds for the second prize as listed (all 5 numbers but not the mega ball.) This should be the number of possible winning tickets out of the total number of tickets. So, Combin(5,5)*Combin(45,1) for the 5 correct numbers and the 1 wrong mega ball. That comes out to 45 possible tickets. 45/175,711,536 is about 1 in 3,904,700.80. So the odds as listed are off by 91. Molybdenum1 14:52, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

791 was just a typo. Why didn't you fix it to 701 yourself, you were right. 68.36.197.244 04:30, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Non-jackpot Prizes

Like most lotteries in America, the jackpot prize in Mega Millions is taxable. Meaning if you win it and select lump sum payment, approximately half of it will taken as tax. Are the prizes other than the jackpot also taxable?202.69.172.203 09:38, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

ALL lottery prizes in the US are taxable (including wins under $600.) You have to pay tax(es) on all winnings, whether they are in lump sum or annuity payments. You might be under the wrong assumption that "lump sum is less than the annuity"-the future payments include interest. Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, and Powerball cash option winners get the full present value of the annuity, paid in cash. 216.179.123.104 17:23, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

The "full present value" of the annuity in cash is certainly "less" (numerically) than the total value of the annuity. However, the spending power is supposed to be equivalent. 68.36.197.244 04:34, 9 June 2007 (UTC)
There are a number of games in the US where the cash option is a fixed percentage (in such cases always smaller) of the annuity, rather than a "floating percentage". In such games, a cash option winner is "gypped" since they do not receive the actual cash value (of the annuity.) The cash options in MM, PB, and Hot Lotto are always a "floating percentage" of the annuity value. 216.179.123.145 15:42, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 6 or 9?

In billiards, the balls numbered 6 and 9 have a line at the bottom of the number looking like a parenthesis to avoid confusion between the two numbers. In Mega Millions, it is quite unbelievable how they're able to differenciate 6 and 9 without any extra markings on the balls.61.9.126.41 04:08, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

You are right. I watched some videos of where the 6 and 9 are drawn, and the balls look identical to me:

http://www.megamillions.com/winningpicks/last_25.asp

  • 6 = JavaScript:popupvid('video.asp?quality=high&date=5/15/2007')
  • 9 = JavaScript:popupvid('video.asp?quality=high&date=4/20/2007')

My only guess is that the balls have some sort of orientation guide that I cannot see.

Interesting question. 68.36.197.244 04:40, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

I Tivo'd tonight's 11:00 drawing on ABC-New York DirecTV channel 86, ostensibly a high-def channel. In slow motion the balls (54, 5, 16, 49, 31, 19 - good luck!) each seem to have a tiny line of print under each number, using my imagination only slightly I can see "FIVE", "FORTY-NINE", etc. --CliffC 03:32, 20 June 2007 (UTC) <goes to check his tickets>

[edit] When to choose cash/annuity

I find it unfortunate NY and TX require Mega Millions players to have to choose either lump sum or annuity when they PLAY, instead of after they win. In these two states, jackpot winners who choose annuity are stuck with the annual payments. (All Powerball members allow the choice to be made after winning-to give winners a chance to get proper advice). 216.179.123.104 17:04, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

  • As of 9/15/2007, three of the last five MM jackpot winners have "chosen" annuity; normally, especially for Powerball, the choice is overwhelmingly for lump sum. This is disturbing news. I get the feeling that TX (its two most recent MM "winners" were for annuity) automatically defaults to "ANNUAL PAY" (this also applies to Lotto Texas) if the player makes no choice. What is especially sad is that one of the 8/31/2007 winners (two cash; the other two the wrong way) are two brothers; looking at their picture, they are obviously not young men, and even though they made the choice (two weeks) after winning, after having a chance to get prudent financial, legal, etc advice, they chose the 26 annual payments. Maybe MM needs to change the annuity to be like PB's (30 increasing annual payments) to discourage players/winners from choosing annuity, and to make $400m-$500m jackpots more likely. At least Rev Bunky in Maryland and the New Jersey winners did choose the cash.

I'm concerned that one day, MM and PB will try to outdo each other to the point where either or both will make second prize (5+0) a "lifetime" annuity, instead of an all-cash prize. 70.107.41.96 14:32, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

    • You might be thinking of games such as MA Megabucks, which I believe is the only US lottery jackpot game that still forces winners to receive annuity payments in lieu of cash. Many scratch games also still have that problem. 216.179.123.146 17:38, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Winning numbers

Has the thought of adding the latest winning numbers to the page been discussed? It seems that it's already getting updated after every drawing to include the current jackpot, so it would just be adding the numbers at the same time. --Weables 18:38, 30 August 2007 (UTC)