Updated: April 30, 2005, 8:10 am
First drawing of new game set for June 24
When California becomes the 12th state in which the Mega Millions multi-state lottery game is played, players across the country will see changes that will make it even more exciting.
The addition of California as a Mega Millions state adds 35.9 million people to the population of Mega Millions states, which increases the 12-state game total to 155.1 million, an increase of 30%.
Californians are expected to be as enthusiastic about Mega Millions as any of the other Mega Millions states. The California Lottery's in-state jackpot game, Super Lotto Plus, has been very popular, reaching a jackpot of $193 million in February, 2002.
The basic Mega Millions game concept will not change. The price of tickets will remain at $1, and Mega Millions drawings will continue to be held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 10:00 p.m. Central Time, and 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
"The components that have made Mega Millions such a hit will not change," said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Penelope W. Kyle. "These changes will just add to the excitement."
California is expected to join the Mega Millions game in June, and the first drawing of the new Mega Millions game will be June 24.
it will be very interesting to see how mega millions and powerball do with the new changes......
Just a guess ..but I think the mega will out perform the pb and that dventually they will merge. Before that happens the mega will increase the gold ball to 52 or 56...mostly because the jackpots will be won quicker than they thought...but that is just a guess...or is it??? lol
very interesting,i wonder if that fcould happen....
This would be the perfect time to add one more enhancement to the game. The megaplier such as Texas has, would offer players a chance to win even more money in the lower prize tiers, which they are more likely to hit and win. Powerball has offered this option for years, and it has not hurt sales, but has probably increased them.
is mega millions still not going to add the megaplier when the chages take place? i thought they were i must be wrong....
powerball has this feature so i don't know what keeps mega millions from adding it....
Just because Powerball is making changes, does not mean that Mega Millions has to copy them and do the same! I think it's unnecessary on Mega's part.
Just because Powerball is making changes, does not mean that Mega Millions has to copy them and do the same! I think it's unnecessary on Mega's part.
Mega Millions anounced their changes first. Powerball only announced changes after the jackpot was hit several times in a row, and well after Mega Millions added California and announced that changes would be made.
It would seem that Mega Millions has become the new leader.
When you add the most populated state in the country with over 25 million being 18+, I think it's very necessary.
loops:
Ironically you have to be 21 in your home state.
When you add the most populated state in the country with over 25 million being 18+, I think it's very necessary.
I agree with that, but my point was that the statement that Mega Millions somehow copied Powerball in making the changes was incorrect. Powerball copied Mega Millions, if anything.
Aye, it used to be 18+ when it first came out, but they upped to 21 in '98 (when I was 19...not like it stopped retailers from selling them to me, though
And yeah, Todd, I have no doubt MM had the wheels in motion to increase the odds from the moment CA picked them.
when you have two great super games like these one is always gonna copy the other to keep the competition going.....
i thought the age limit was 18.???
Cash was refering to my home state, Louisiana, who along with arizona and iowa are the only 21+ states in the nation.
I was hoping they would change long before California joined. Changes are needed to make big jackpots happen. If people don't like the changes they can stick to their computer drawn small jackpot games. I just want my increadibly bad shot at some big bucks. Even if the odds were dropped to 100 million to one people just don't realize how bad those odds are. Even pick 4 has bad odds if you play for a straight. These are lotteries we are talking about here. If your doctor gave you the same odds as a pick 4 game after a diagnosis then I'd worry otherwise it's a game.
$250,000 is a very nice second tier prize
yep the higher second prizes will get people playing regular again....
It may just seem "very nice" and "second tier" to some.
I'd think I'd died and gone to heaven!
Mega Millions will have faster rollovers when California joins. Despite Powerball increasing their matrix as well, I doubt they will see faster rollovers as well unless they add every state that becomes new to the lottery game.
Faster jackpot turnover does not mean smaller jackpots. When you add 25 million people to the mix the jackpot will simply climb faster and be won sooner hence more people becoming fabulously wealthy. Think about it... it will only take 7 draws to get the pot up to $100 Million instead of 10 draws to get it there. If you leave the odds alone you will get more winners, but roughly the same jackpot sizes. This is simple mathematics. Raising the odds to 175 million to 1 will generate obscene jackpots that will reach more than $400 million at some point and possibly into the $500+ millions. But you will hardly ever see a winner out of a much larger pool of players. This is a crappy design in my opinion. Someone will win it, dventually, it just won't be you. All I ask is that someone create a midrange option for people like me. Right now my only choices are a small lottery of 13 million to 1 odds versus a gigantic lottery of 175 million to 1. What about those of us who desire odds somewhere in the 50-100 million to 1 range? Those odds can generate pots up to $100-150 million which is more than enough for most anyone. The current lottery associations won't create such a game because they know it will pull too many players away from the stupid powerball and mega millions games and render them insolvent. Do yourselves a favor when playing the mega lotteries, buy 1-2 tickets per draw and quit there. Buying more than that is a total waste, since it does not increase your chances of winning by anything even close to a significant amount. In others words... play, don't be played.
I'm excited about the second prize changing from $175,000 to $250,000!!!
$75,000 more is a good amount.
Oh and the number field for the mega ball is decreasing. Interesting.
MM was correct in decreasing the number of Mega Balls.
Yes, they descrease the number of mega balls and raise the number of white ball so you have less of a chance of matching the five white.
I like the new format.
But you get a better chance of winning something. All I ever win is nothing.
a better chance of winning something is better than winning nothing......
i like both of powerball and mega millions new formats.....it was time for changes to happen.