Current:Home > ContactThe best strategies for winning the Mega Millions jackpot, according to a Harvard statistician-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
The best strategies for winning the Mega Millions jackpot, according to a Harvard statistician
lotradecoin low trading fees advantage View Date:2024-12-26 05:00:58
With the Mega Millions lottery prize reaching over a billion dollar heading into Tuesday's drawing, some Americans may be wondering what they can do to increase their chances of winning.
To be sure, it all boils down to luck, but you can still try to increase your odds. Here are the best strategies for doing just that.
Mega Millions latest
The Mega Millions latest jackpot has risen to an estimated $1.55 billion — the largest in the game's history.
How to increase your chances of winning? The unsurprising short answer is, buy as many tickets as you can within reason. That's according to Mark Glickman, a senior lecturer of statistics at Harvard University.
"The best you can really do is just play lots and lots of times and that's the only way you're going to be able to increase your probability," Glickman told CBS News.
Odds of winning
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are approximately one in 302.5 million. With odds that slim, Glickman said it's best to focus on picking numbers that are completely random. That will help ensure you're not making the same picks as someone else — and that you won't have to split the prize money with anyone, should you win.
"You should just completely have patternless random numbers," he said. "No birthdays that have special meaning to you because other people are likely to make those same picks."
Has anyone won the Mega Millions?
No winning tickets were sold in Friday's Mega Millions drawing. Tuesday's drawing will most likely top the largest Mega Millions payout ever — which happened in October 2018 when a South Carolina resident won $1.5 billion.
The jackpot from 2018 and today have grown bigger by design, College of the Holy Cross economics professor Victor Matheson said earlier this year. The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a not-for-profit that coordinates the Mega Millions, has transformed it into a national game, made it more difficult to win the jackpot and increased the price of each ticket from $1 to $2.
As the Washington Post reported in 2018, the new rules gave participants more numbers to choose from, making it less likely they would guess the combination required to win the jackpot. Mega Millions is played in 45 states along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Four Americans have won a Mega Millions jackpot larger than $1 billion since the rule changes.
Higher ticket prices and lower odds of winning make the jackpot grow faster from week to week, Matheson said.
The eye-popping figures also induce more people to buy tickets, adding to the lottery pool. Americans are 15 times more likely to buy a ticket when the winnings inch toward $1 billion compared to when the prize winnings are just $20 million, he said.
What day is the mega millions drawing?
The next drawing is set for Tuesday at 11 p.m. Eastern time. The jackpot winner, should there be one, will be able to choose from a series of annuity payments across 30 years or a one-time cash option of approximately $757.2 million.
- In:
- Mega Millions
- Lottery
Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.
TwitterveryGood! (35213)
Related
- Demi Lovato opens up about how 'daddy issues' led her to chase child stardom, success
- Prince William's Cheeky Response to His Most-Used Emoji Will Make You Royally Flush
- Hidden junk fees from businesses can drive up costs. Biden, FTC plan would end it.
- Beavers reintroduced to west London for first time in 400 years to improve biodiversity
- Proposal to allow local police to make arrests near Arizona border with Mexico will appear on ballot
- Online hate surges after Hamas attacks Israel. Why everyone is blaming social media.
- Police say woman stabbed taxi driver on interstate before injuring two others at the Atlanta airport
- Watching the world premiere of 'Eras Tour' movie with Taylor Swift felt like a dance party
- Rob Schneider seeks forgiveness from daughter Elle King after 'fat camp' claims
- New York officer fatally shoots man in fencing mask who charged police with 2 swords, police say
Ranking
- Millions of kids are still skipping school. Could the answer be recess — and a little cash?
- Penguins' Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang set record for longevity as teammates
- Online hate surges after Hamas attacks Israel. Why everyone is blaming social media.
- By The Way, Here's That Perfect T-Shirt You've Been Looking For
- Hurricane Ernesto aims for Bermuda after leaving many in Puerto Rico without power or water
- USADA announces end of UFC partnership as Conor McGregor re-enters testing pool
- Syria says Israeli airstrikes hit airports in Damascus and Aleppo, damaging their runways
- Miley Cyrus and Boyfriend Maxx Morando Enjoy Rare Public Night Out at His L.A. Concert
Recommendation
-
Jim Harbaugh wants to hire Colin Kaepernick to Chargers' coaching staff. Will the QB bite?
-
For Indigenous people, solar eclipse often about reverence and tradition, not revelry
-
Man found dead in the 1980s in Arizona has been identified as California gold seeker
-
Scott Disick Reveals Why His Sex Life Is “Terrible”
-
State, local officials failed 12-year-old Pennsylvania girl who died after abuse, lawsuits say
-
Judge in Trump's New York fraud trial explains why there's no jury
-
EU orders biotech giant Illumina to unwind $7.1 billion purchase of cancer-screening company Grail
-
A possible Israeli ground war looms in Gaza. What weapons are wielded by those involved?