What are the lucky numbers of the American lotteries, Powerball and Mega Millions?
Draw and lucky numbers
Everyone who participates in the lottery has a fondness for Wednesday and Saturday. On these days the Powerball draw takes place in the evening. Perhaps you’re one of those people who dreams of a big lottery win. It might change your life forever. Before this happens, you should know some interesting facts about Powerball!
From the Big Game to Mega Millions
Mega Millions was established in 1996. Back then it was known as the ‘Big Game’. A name that fits with the big prizes of this lottery. However, in 2002 the organization decided that ‘The Big Game Mega Millions’ was a better name. Did you know that a Jackpot was already won during the very first draw of Mega Millions? It was the first of nine in 1996. Nowadays it organizes a lottery in 44 states and two draws a week. It has developed into one of the most popular lotteries in the United States.
Billion dollar Jackpot
The amazing Jackpots are a big reason for the popularity of Mega Millions. Over the years Powerball had some amazing Jackpots, including one of 1.6 billion! This has been the biggest Jackpot in its history. However, it had to be shared between three persons. Everyone got 528.8 million dollars, so they probably won’t complain about that!
Lucky numbers
Everyone likes to win the Powerball lottery. Research has shown that the number thirteen gives you luck instead of bad luck. It’s one of the best numbers for a Powerball lottery ticket, besides 16, 22, 26, 32 and 41 These numbers have been chosen the most in the last 100 draws of Mega Millions. It’s recommended to tickets with numbers that are automatically chosen. You don’t have to decide anything and research has shown that they have the highest win rate.
Play in Indiana
Do you want to win the lottery? It helps when you live in Indiana. According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, most Powerball recipients live here. New York and California have a lot of winners as well. So perhaps it’s time for a trip to one of these states? Although most Mega Million winners happen to live in Indiana, one of the largest Mega Millions prize hasn’t been won over here. An incredible 656 million dollars was split between winners in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland. It was a historic win and the third largest in the history of US lotteries.
Most tickets sold
It’s always interesting to take a look at lists. It appears that the most popular Mega Millions draw ever took place on March 6, 2007. Back then more than 200 million tickets were sold, an absolute record. It’s even more impressive if you realize that 200 million is more than 50 percent of the population in the United States.
A pile of money
It’s almost impossible to imagine how much money the Powerball Jackpot actually contains. We have a challenge for you: try to stack 100 dollar bills to form 40 million, which is the current Powerball Jackpot. You’re probably not going to succeed, since the stack would be as high as the Smithsonian in Washington D.C! According to Powerball.com, 85 million in 100 dollar bills would even be as high as the Statue of Liberty. Wow!
Choose your pay-out
In the past 1.5 years Mega Millions has paid out ten jackpots. This is also the case for second-tier prizes, that vary from 1 to 5 million dollars. Very exciting, but patience is a virtue when you’re a lottery player. When you win a big prize, like a few million dollars, you have two pay-out options: lump-sump or annuity. Lump-sump means that you receive the money all at once, while the annuity Jackpot is paid over time. Winners usually receive 30 installments over 29 years. This schedule has a big advantage, namely that the annuity payout increases with five percent every year.