Mega Millions® Reaches $400 Million Jackpot, Game’s Second-Largest
ALBUQUERQUE – Friday the 13th might turn out to be the luckiest day ever for people lining up for a chance at tonight’s $400 million Mega Millions® jackpot, the second-largest prize in the game’s history.
David Barden, Mexico Lottery’s interim CEO, said that the $400 million jackpot is already one for the record books.
“If someone lands that huge prize tonight, Friday the 13th will become a legendary day of good fortune, both for players and all the students counting on college scholarships funded by lottery ticket sales,” Barden said.
Barden added that lotteries nationwide expect to sell approximately $104 million in tickets for tonight’s drawing, five times more than ticket sales for a starting jackpot of $15 million.
New Mexico Lottery players have until 8:45 p.m. MT to buy tickets for tonight’s 9 p.m. drawing.
The jackpot’s cash option is $216.4 million before taxes.
Lucky on Friday the 13th
Since the New Mexico Lottery’s debut in April 1996, the 13th day of the month has landed on a Friday 30 times. On those 30 days, Barden said a total of $2 million in top-tier prizes has been paid to more than 120 players.
- On Oct. 13, 2006, a Powerball® ticket worth $800,000 was paid to players who bought their ticket at the Pilot Travel Center in Jamestown, east of Gallup.
- On Nov. 13, 2009, Lois Vines of Hobbs was paid a $250,000 Scratcher prize.
How to Play Mega Millions
To play Mega Millions, players choose five numbers from 1 to 75 and one Megaball number from 1 to 15. Players can also ask for a “quick-pick,” a set of numbers chosen by the lottery’s gaming system. Each wager costs $1.
In addition to the jackpot, there are eight prize levels ranging between $1 and $1 million. The game’s Megaplier® option multiples non-jackpot prizes up to $5 million. Megaplier costs $1 per wager.
The odds of winning a jackpot are approximately 1 in 259 million. The odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are approximately 1 in 15.
The game’s record jackpot of $656 million was shared by players from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland in March 2012.
Legislative Lottery Scholarships
All profits from the sale of New Mexico Lottery games fund an in-state college tuition assistance program. Since 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised $586 million for education and more than 90,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships. More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.
Follow the New Mexico Lottery on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nmlottery) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/NewMexicoLottery).