Figures that make you dizzy. Mega Millions, one of the two most famous and generous American lotteries with Powerball, offers players the opportunity to win the sum of 1.15 billion dollars (approximately 1,105,000,000 euros) this Friday, December 27, in full end-of-year holiday season.
This stratospheric sum can be explained by the fact that the last Mega Millions jackpot was won three and a half months ago by a Texan player, who pocketed the sum of 810 million dollars (approximately 780,000,000 euros). Since then, every Tuesday and every Friday, thirty draws have followed one another without a winner, increasing the jackpot each time.
Considering the period during which this sum is at stake, Joshua Johnson, the main director of the Mega Millions consortium, has difficulty believing that the jackpot will not find a taker for a 31st consecutive drawing. “We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday's drawing as end-of-year gifts, and what a gift that would be if you ended up with a ticket worth $1.15 billion.” , he baited.
Fifth largest jackpot in gaming history
The lottery, formerly called “The Big Game”, is getting a big publicity boost this holiday season. In addition to this record jackpot at stake for the month of December, a player from New Jersey came this week to claim his huge winnings won… last March. The lucky guy, who won $1.13 billion, took nine months to come forward and “begin the process of recovering the prize,” the New Jersey Lottery said in a statement on Monday.
If the jackpot at stake this Friday were to be won, it would be the fifth largest win in the history of the Mega Millions, ahead of the amount won by this unknown person from New Jersey. The record belongs to a Florida resident who won $1.6 billion in August 2023.
This is only the seventh time in the history of this lottery that the jackpot has exceeded $1 billion. The potential winner will have the opportunity to receive $1.15 billion in annual payments spread over 30 years, or to receive a one-time payment of $516.1 million into their bank account. The first payment method “helps protect the lifestyle and purchasing power of winners in times of inflation,” the lottery says on its site.
39,300 Renault 5 electric
Whatever option the lucky winner chooses, there is no doubt that hitting the jackpot will significantly change their life. If he chooses the first option and receives the sum of 1.15 billion dollars, the neo-billionaire will be able to buy the equivalent of 39,300 electric Renault 5s. The player will of course no longer need to work to meet his needs and receive the equivalent of 771,226 months of minimum wage, or 64,269 years of minimum wage.
To participate in this draw, players must purchase a grid for the price of two dollars, on which they must choose six numbers, including the first five ranging from 1 to 70 and a last one between 1 and 25, to find the “Gold Mega Ball “.
If the system is close to that of EuroMillions, which consists of choosing five numbers on a grid of 50 numbers and two stars on a grid of twelve numbers, the probability of winning the American lottery is slimmer with one chance in 302 million, compared to one chance in 139 million in the European lottery.
