A $768 million Powerball ticket was sold in Wisconsin. Here’s why huge jackpots are the new normal.
A billboard in Des Moines promotes the Powerball jackpot, which ultimately swelled to $768.4 million. By Lindsey Bever and Lindsey Bever General assignment reporter covering national and breaking news Email Bio Follow Alex Horton Alex Horton General assignment reporter covering national and breaking news Email Bio Follow March 28 at 8:36 AM A $768.4 million Powerball jackpot — the third-largest in U.S. lottery history — has been won in Wisconsin.
In January 2016, winners in California, Florida and Tennessee split the largest American lottery jackpot ever won — a $1.586 billion Powerball prize. Tweaks to the game in October 2015 increased the number of total balls, from 59 to 69, from which players need to pick five. It may seem like a modest change, but the chance of winning decreased.
That lottery has existed in some form since 1996, but only recently has Mega Millions been shelling out massive jackpots. The lottery officials who run Mega Millions tweaked the rules and odds of the game in 2017 to make jackpots pay out less frequently, spurring their monster growth. Since that change, five of the eight largest Mega Millions jackpots have been paid out.
Now, the Mega Millions jackpots — such as Powerball — grow and grow, creating huge prizes with infrequent payouts.They discovered that when the jackpot grows to an absurdly high figure, even skeptical players will buy tickets — perhaps on a whim at a convenience store or by chipping in a few bucks in an office pool, Medenica said.
Here’s how Mega Millions used to work: Players picked five numbers from one to 75 and a Mega number from one to 15. The odds of winning the top prize were 1 in 258,890,850. Since Mega Millions modified the formula, players now pick five numbers from one to 70 and a Mega number of one to 25. The odds of winning the jackpot are now 1 in 302,575,350.
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