The Mega Millions jackpot is now $1 Billion ahead of Friday’s draw at 11 p.m. ET after there were no winners on Tuesday night. That’s a cash option of $565 million and makes this jackpot the second-largest in U.S. history. The largest win in the U.S. was the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won on Jan. 13, 2016.
Lottery officials increased the grand prize just hours ahead of the Friday night drawing. The prize climbed from $970 million.
Although the jackpot keeps increasing , the odds of winning remain stuck at a miserable one in 302.5 million.
The prize has grown so large because no one has hit the jackpot since July 24, when a group in California won $543 million.
The $1 billion prize refers to the annuity option. Most winners opt for cash, which for Friday night’s drawing would be $565 million.
Officials say that if there isn’t a winner, the prize for Tuesday night’s drawing would be $1.6 billion, tying the largest U.S. lottery prize.
The current Powerball jackpot continues to grow, too. Nobody won Wednesday’s drawing, so on Saturday that jackpot will be worth an estimated $470 million.
If you win the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, you could be richer than Taylor Swift
All week, the climbing Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots have been awakening the frivolous dreamers inside of us. Come on, who can resist entertaining some “what ifs” when the money at stake is over a billion dollars?
To recap, no one’s won the big Powerball or Mega Millions payout for a long time, so now the jackpots are sinfully high. The Powerball pot is $470 million, and the top Mega Millions prize is a cool Dr. Evil-approved $1 billion. That makes it the second-largest drawing in US lottery history.
Granted, those numbers get pared down a LOT once cash value calculations and good old Uncle Sam get a hold of the winnings. But still, it’s an obscene amount of money.
>For some context, Taylor Swift’s net worth is reportedly around $300 million. If you win the Mega Millions “billion,” you could take home $565 million and be almost twice as rich as her with absolutely none of the work. Are you familiar with the Commonwealth of Dominica, a small island country in the West Indies? Their 2017 GDP was $562 million. You could literally be as rich as an entire country.
How to Play Mega Millions Online and Outside of the US ?
Provided below are the rules for how foreigners can play Mega Millions:
- Tickets for Mega Millions are for sale by lottery retailers in 43 US States, in the District of Colombia and in the U.S Virgin Islands.
- To obtain tickets outside of these jurisdictions, foreigners can use online lottery operators, to locally purchase an official lottery ticket on their behalf.
- All reputable retailers will require you to register and provide billing information before purchasing tickets on your behalf.
- Once the tickets have been bought, the online retailer will make scans of both the official ticket and the receipt.
- To avoid online scams be sure that the site you are using is legitimate. For a comparison of three online retailers already reviewed by InternationalLottery.org read here.
- After the draw, the winning numbers are published online. Retailers will generally only contact you if you have won.
- You can then choose to either have the winning ticket sent to you, or to authorize the retailer tocollect the winnings on your behalf.
- If you elect to do the latter, you will then be prompted to verify your identity for security and tax reasons.
- If you win a significant amount or even perhaps the jackpot, it is likely that you will have to personally claim your prize at the local Mega Millions office.
- At this time the agent may assist you in making the necessary legal arrangements to collect your prize.
Can Foreigners Win Mega Millions?
- Yes, foreign citizens can legally win Mega Millions.
- The tax for a non-US citizen is a flat 30% of the winnings.
- Additional tax treaties may also apply depending on your citizenship.
Please read HOW TO PLAY US MEGA MILLIONS FROM OUTSIDE THE US to be introduced step by step and avoid risks when you buy lotto tickets online.
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