Players of Mega Millions in California, New York, and New Jersey Enjoy Great Fortune
On Tuesday evening, the Mega Millions jackpot stands at an enticing $560 million, making it the 9th wealthiest prize the interstate lottery game has offered. A study conducted by Adwise Research, based in New York, uncovered the locations with the highest chances of claiming this life-altering windfall.
To gather this information, Adwise Research analyzed data from Mega Millions games occurring between October 2017 and January 2024. The results showed that California, New York, and New Jersey were the places where most of the jackpots and significant secondary prizes were won.
California, with the largest population in the US, comes as no surprise, as it is home to the most residents. Following close behind in the population stakes are New York and Florida. What's striking is New Jersey, ranked 11th in population, also made the list.
Out of the total amount of jackpots won since 2017, California claims the top spot with 8 winning tickets, while New York has produced 8 Mega Millions winners, and Florida has managed to sell four lucky tickets.
When it comes to the Mega Millions winning numbers, the stats tell a fascinating story. The probability of a ticket successfully matching the five white balls and the gold Mega Ball is a mere 1 in 302,575,350. Yet, researchers from Adwise discovered that specific numbers have been drawn more frequently than others.
In particular, the Mega Ball has landed in the higher range (18-25 numbers) most often since 2017. Players are required to choose five numbers between 1 and 70 and the Mega Ball from a pool of 1 to 25.
The most frequent Mega Ball number to be drawn during this period is 22, which has emerged as the lucky choice 35 times. The other frequently drawn Mega Ball digits are 11, 18, 24, and 25.
Andriy Nezdopa, CEO of Adwise, warns the public that luck and chance remain at the heart of the lottery game—regardless of recent winning trends. "Although higher Mega Ball numbers have paid off for some lucky players in recent years, the lottery's inherently random nature means this may not always be the case," he explained.
Regarding the strategy of studying the game to increase chances of winning, Nezdopa stresses that there's no foolproof method. "Despite the speculation and attempts at strategy, the fundamental nature of Mega Millions lies in luck and chance," he said. "Each draw stands as an independent event, with all number combinations equally likely to be selected."
On the concerning note, the current price to play Mega Millions is $2, but rumors persist that officials could soon upgrade the fee to $5 per ticket. In Virginia, lottery machines have been limiting the advance sales of Mega Millions tickets, hinting at a possible price increase.
The Powerball jackpot, drawing on the same night, will be $171 million, with a cash value of $79.5 million. The likelihood of a ticket winning the Powerball jackpot is slightly better than Mega Millions, standing at 1 in 292.2 million.
