Just one winning ticket was sold for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions lottery jackpot, worth a record $1.6 billion, according to the official Mega Millions website.
ABC News reports that “The sole ticket to a historic Mega Millions jackpot — $1.6 billion or a cash sum of almost $914 million — was sold in somewhere in South Carolina, the state’s Education Lottery announced early Wednesday.”
The numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 with a Mega Ball of 5.
The ABC News story, reported by Meghan Keneally, Matthew Fuhrman and Karma Allen, also says, “Lottery officials are scheduled to release more information later today.”
The odds of buying a winning ticket were one in 302,575,350.
According to the Mega Millions official website, 36 tickets were sold that matched five of the numbers drawn, but not the Mega Ball. Most of those tickets are worth $1 million each, though two were megaplier winners of $3 million each.
An additional 419 tickets matched 4 of the numbers plus the Mega Ball. Most of those winners won $10,000.
We say “most” because in California “Mega Millions prize amounts are pari-mutuel and thus will vary depending on ticket sales and number of winners and will differ from the fixed prizes shown on the Mega Millions website.”
Therefore the eight tickets in California that matched five of the numbers drawn but not the Mega Ball – according to the website of the California Lottery – are worth $562,472 each. And the 70 tickets in California that matched 4 numbers and the Mega Ball were worth $8,906 each.
Such a large amount should not go to one person. The amounts won should be distributed pyramid like to all those who have at least three matching numbers.
The amounts should engorge below when they grow hugely at the top of the pyramid.
The same amount of money would be awarded but distribution would be benefit a larger number of people, spreading the wealth to more families and cities and states!
No one needs as much as was dumped on one person tonight! Spread the wealth and help everyone more!
Won’t work. Jackpots like this one get this big only because more and more people buy tickets as the jackpots get larger. Split (reduce) the size of the jackpot and fewer people will play… and therefore buy fewer tickets. Splitting a jackpot would just mean having to buy a separate ticket for each jackpot and that won’t increase anyone’s chances of winning.
Besides… who is anyone to say that such a large amount shouldn’t go to just one person? Does the green-eyed monster rule our society?