If You’re Playing the Mega Millions Lottery, Here’s How to Improve Your (Infinitesimal) Chances of Winning

The Mega Millions multi-state lottery has hit an estimated jackpot of over $1.1 billion, making the upcoming drawing one of many largest lottery prizes in U.S. historical past.

But enormous prizes include tiny odds. A participant who buys a single ticket for the January tenth Mega Millions solely has a 1 in 302,575,350 likelihood of successful the jackpot. You’re far more probably to get hit by lightning.

But in the event you nonetheless wish to play, there’s a couple of issues it is best to know that may enhance —or worsen—your probabilities.

What is the Mega Millions Jackpot?

The final Mega Millions jackpot was gained on October 14, with a $502 million ($252.0 million money) pot shared by tickets offered in San Jose, California, and Fort Myers, Florida. In the three months since, the jackpot prize has skyrocketed. After Friday’s $940 million prize once more went unclaimed, the Mega Millions jackpot rose above a billion {dollars}, relying on how the participant needs to receives a commission.

The Tuesday, January 2023 jackpot is $1.1 billion for these winners that select to obtain an annuity, which can be paid out over 30 years. But almost all winners select to obtain a one-time lump sum cost as a substitute of ready. The money choice for Monday’s drawing is price an estimated $568.7million.

All this assumes you’re the solely winner of the jackpot. Huge lottery prizes like this one entice much more gamers who purchase much more tickets, and the highest prize is usually shared between a number of individuals who occurred to select the identical numbers. Should that occur, the jackpot is split equally by the variety of successful tickets.

How to decide on the appropriate lottery numbers

Lots of people have a fortunate quantity or a date they like to make use of when taking part in the lottery. But has that quantity traditionally proven up in drawings?

The Mega Millions lottery winner is chosen by randomly deciding on 5 white balls with numbers on them out of a pool of 70 numbered balls, after which a “Mega Ball” out of a pool of 25.

According to U.S.A Mega, the 5 numbers that got here up essentially the most in Mega Millions drawings during the last seven years are 14 (drawn 52 occasions), 17 (51 occasions), 10 and 31 and three8 (all drawn 38 occasions). The commonest Mega Ball was 22 (drawn 32 occasions), adopted by 11 (28 occasions), 9 (26 occasions), and 10 and 18 and 24 (all 25 occasions). The least generally drawn numbers are 49 and 51 (each drawn 25 occasions) and the least widespread Mega Ball is 8 (16 occasions).

Of course, that’s simply based mostly on 542 drawings since October 31, 2017. Given an extended time interval and an even bigger knowledge pattern, each single quantity must be chosen the identical variety of occasions; the entire level of randomly deciding on balls is to common out variations over time.

Still, you is perhaps inclined to select a kind of numbers, or to decide on one other “lucky” choice. But suppose twice earlier than you do. If different individuals select the identical numbers as you, you’ll should share the jackpot with them—and persons are extra probably to decide on a “lucky” quantity like 7, or a quantity between 1 and 31 as a result of it represents a birthday. Shying away from these numbers doesn’t enhance your probabilities of successful the lottery, nevertheless it does provide you with a really barely improved likelihood to take house the highest prize all by your self. So statistically, it’s higher to decide on unusual numbers.

Then once more, if everybody picks uncommon numbers for this very motive, these numbers are going to be extra more likely to be shared, so it’ll truly be higher to selected a ordinary quantity. See how onerous it’s to hack this method?

The secret to successful the lottery is: Buy extra tickets

Lottery is a sport of likelihood and chance, so the easiest way to extend your odds of successful, assuming you’re getting random numbers, is to purchase extra tickets. If you’ve got a 1 in 300 million likelihood of successful, shopping for a second ticket doubles your odds to 2 in 300 million, one other to three in 300 million, and so forth.

Of course, when you’re bettering your odds, your probabilities of taking house a billion {dollars} are nonetheless infinitesimal. In order to enhance your odds in a very substantial method, you’d should spend an enormous amount of cash. Even in the event you spent one million {dollars} shopping for $2 Mega Millions tickets this Monday, the percentages would nonetheless be overwhelmingly towards you.

So play your fortunate quantity, play an unusual quantity, play your start date, no matter. Buy one ticket or purchase twenty. It doesn’t actually matter.

States with essentially the most lottery winners

There are 45 states that take part within the Mega Millions lottery, and it’s additionally accessible in Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands. But each state has not had a jackpot winner.

Since the sport began in 2022, gamers in solely 26 of these 47 places have gained the Mega Millions jackpot, in accordance with Jackpocket, a 3rd celebration lottery app that enables customers to purchase tickets on their cellphone. New York has been the luckiest, with 40 jackpots gained, adopted by California with 32, and New Jersey with 22. It would appear that being from certainly one of these states means you’ve got a better chance of successful, proper?

Wrong. All these individuals in these states had been fortunate, however not as a result of they’d a better chance of successful. For one factor, some states entered the multi-state pool later than others: Mississippi, for instance, solely began promoting Mega Millions tickets in January of 2020, so it’s no shock that it’s by no means had a winner.

But extra importantly: In all issues lottery, you’ll be able to’t escape math. People in populous states like New York, New Jersey and California win extra actually because they’ve extra individuals taking part in. Your odds don’t change based mostly on the place you purchase the ticket.

There is, nonetheless, one issue which could truly make it a good suggestion to play Mega Millions in a single state versus one other: Local guidelines about whether or not or not the winner can keep nameless. In locations like Illinois and Kansas, winners can request that the lottery board hold their identification secret. In states like New York, you’ll be able to count on your identify to be launched to the media —that means everybody on this planet now is aware of you’re a multi-billionaire.

What time is the lottery drawing?

Wait, you continue to wish to play? Mega Millions drawings are held each Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. ET. Good luck!