the essential
The American Mega Millions lottery puts more than a billion dollars at stake this Friday, December 27. Will the jackpot that increases from week to week fall? Is it possible to play this lottery from France?
Everything is often blown out of proportion in the United States. Games of chance are no exception. One of the two famous American lotteries, Powerball brings into play the stratospheric sum of 1.15 billion dollars – or 1.05 billion euros – this Friday, December 27, during the holidays.
This record jackpot is explained by the fact that no player has found the right combination in the Tuesday and Friday draws since the last winner of $810 million 3 and a half months ago.
It's hard to imagine what $1.1 billion represents. The Parisian did the calculation. The winner could afford either 10 Airbus A320 neo, 13.5 tonnes of gold or even 785 million classic baguettes. $1.1 billion represents 64,269 years of minimum wage.
A rule of the game quite similar to EuroMillions
To play Mega Millions – a lottery quite similar to EuroMillions in Europe – Americans must purchase a $2 ticket and choose six numbers: the first five must be between 1 and 70 and the sixth number must be between 1 and 25 to find the “Gold Mega Ball”. The probability of winning is one chance in 302 million compared to one chance in 139 million in the European lottery.
Play from France?
The amount at stake is a dream. Could a Frenchman win it? Yes, a non-American can definitely hit the jackpot. However, tickets must be purchased “from a U.S. lottery retailer,” state the Mega Millions rules, which clearly state that “Mega Millions tickets are not sold outside the United States.” And don't expect to play online. Several states allow this practice after registering on state lottery sites. “In all cases, you must be physically within their borders when making online ticket purchases,” the regulation states.
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