By Scott McFetridge, Associated Press
Monks, Iowa (AP) – Lottery players will have a shot to more jackpots of a billion dollars and slightly better ratings according to the new mega millions rules that come into force with Tuesday’s drawing.
But improvements have a cost – literally: players will have to pay $ 5 per ticket, more than double the previous price. On the other hand, the jackpots should increase a lot – and at a faster rate – and those responsible think that sales will increase while people are arrested in their footsteps by massive prices.
“People really want big jackpots,” said Joshua Johnston, the director of the state of Washington State who runs the Mega Millions match. “We expect to see a sales elevation on this subject.”
How do the Mega Millions change?
The biggest change is the increase in the price of the $ 2 to $ 5 ticket. Lottery officials expect the leap to increase income from the match twice a week, allowing them to reduce the chances of winning the jackpot by 1 in 303 million to 1 in 290 million.
The higher ticket price also means that jackpot can start at $ 50 million, rather than the previous $ 20 million, and the Grand Prix should grow more quickly. Whenever there is no big winner, the jackpot will jump to a larger brand. Officials expect it more frequently reaching the $ 1 billion threshold that draws additional attention – and larger sales.
Under the new rules, prices for tickets not corresponding to the six numbers will also increase, with smaller winners guaranteed at least $ 10. Each ticket will also include a random multiplier which can increase the price up to 10 times, a previous additional feature which cost an additional $ 1. The multiplier does not apply to a jackpot.
Will this facilitate a jackpot?
Yes, but it’s always incredibly improbable: the chances of 1 in 290 million are even more difficult to beat. And it’s true if you buy a ticket or 100.
“When we hear 1 in 290 million, we do not have an idea of what it means. We have a greater sense because there will be a winning number, “said Tim Chartier, professor of mathematics and computer science at Davidson College. “And it is true that it is possible, but the question is extreme improbability.”
To what extent is it improbable? The chance to hit a jackpot, even under the new rules, is like choosing a single second over a period of nine years, according to Chartier. He said he had never been ready to risk even a few dollars on these chances.
Why does the game change?
The new rules have two main objectives: to address what industry calls for “jackpot fatigue” and to differentiate mega millions of powerball, the other lottery drawing game played across the country.
Jackpot fatigue is the phenomenon under which prices must reach huge quantities before most players take note and buy a few tickets. These days, a price of 300 million dollars which once designed lines in mini-marchandises records barely.
With the new rules, officials expect these average winning jackpots to drop from around $ 450 million to $ 800 million, Johnston said. And they believe that even the fatigue of the lottery is not up to the more frequent price of a billion dollars.
“When you arrive at a billion people, people say,” Whoa, it’s a lot of money “,” said Johnston.
Lottery officials said there was a clear correlation between the greatest jackpots and higher sales, but Sandie Yeaman, Omaha, Nebraska, expressed a perplexity to connection.
“I would be satisfied with $ 1 million, just like the others,” she said. “A person who earns $ 50 million is ridiculous.”
How rarely is a rare ticket price of $ 5?
Mega Millions will be the most expensive lottery drawing game in the country, where random numbers are selected to determine a winner.
However, this price is much lower than the scratch tickets offered by certain states. In Texas, for example, some scratch tickets cost $ 100 each.
Outside the United States, the El Gordo Christmas lottery in Spain limits the number of tickets sold and invoices 20 euros for a partial ticket and 200 euros for a full ticket.
The price of the higher mega millions left Saeeth Williams from East Point, in Georgia, not knowing if he will continue to buy several tickets per week. “Maybe I will buy one ticket per week now that it’s $ 5 per ticket,” he said.
And PowerBall?
After the implementation of the new rules, the two lottery games which were once remarkably similar will now have some key differences.
The greatest contrast will be the cost, because Powerball will stick to his $ 2 – $ 3 tickets in Idaho and Montana where they need a special bundle.
With this smaller price of tickets, smaller minimum prices, from $ 4, or less than half of the lowest MEMBA Millions price. But Powerball players will always be able to pay an additional dollar for “Power Play”, a random multiplier which, as in Mega Millions, can increase everything except the Grand Prix.
Powerball’s drawings will continue to be three times a week – Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evening – while Mega Millions will hold drawings on Tuesday and Friday.
The modifications will bring the ratings of the two games to the jackpot, with jackpot powerball ratings 1 of 292.2 million just a little worse than the new dimensions of Mega Millions.
Remind me, what is the point of all this?
For players, it is a chance to spend a little money on an incredible dream of wealth while recognizing the reality that it will certainly not happen.
For the 45 states plus Washington, DC and the US virgin Islands where Mega Millions is played, the game collects funds for a variety of services, such as education scholarships. Local lottery agencies manage the game in each jurisdiction and the decisions on the way in which the profits are divided are inscribed in the law of the State.
The writer AP Margery A. Beck contributed to this story of Omaha, Nebraska.
Originally published:
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