Top Strategies for Winning the $1.1 Billion Jackpot: After no one won Friday’s draw, the Mega Millions jackpot has reached its highest amount in its history. In addition to the $1.11 billion jackpot, $525.8 million can be taken as a lump sum.
The next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Tuesday, March 25th at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT. Here are some tips and odds for winning the billion-dollar prize if you’re thinking of buying a ticket.
In each Mega Millions draw, ticket buyers must choose six numbers from 1 to 70, corresponding to the white balls, and one number from 1 to 25 for the golden ball, or Mega Ball. For you to win the jackpot, you need to hit all five numbers plus the Mega Ball. This is extremely unlikely: 1 in 300 million.
Some people recommend mixing odd and even numbers when buying a ticket, as well as high and low numbers, but statistically, some numbers appear more frequently than others.
How many numbers appear most frequently?
In the history of lottery numbers between 6 September 1996 and 1 August 2023, the most repeated white ball numbers are 31, 17, 46, 20, and 10, while the most repeated Mega Ball numbers are 9, 15, 3, 10 and 1.
A senior statistics lecturer at Harvard University suggests choosing completely random numbers without any patterns to win the jackpot.
According to CBS News, he advised people not to pick birthdays with special meaning for themselves.
Top Strategies for Winning the $1.1 Billion Jackpot: Purchase More Tickets
As with any lottery, Mega Millions is a game of chance. Glickman suggests buying more tickets, within reason, to increase your chances of winning. A one-ticket lottery has a probability of winning 302,575,350. If you buy two tickets, you have a probability of winning 302,575,350.
Even if you purchase more tickets, you will still have a very low probability of winning the jackpot, even if you mathematically increase your chances of winning. The chances of winning would be substantially increased if you spent a considerable amount of money.
If you want to win a payout, your best strategy is to buy several tickets with different Mega Ball numbers on each of them. Matching the winning Mega Ball is the most likely way to win. It is important to realize, however, that the lottery is an addictive form of gambling, and that there are few chances of winning a life-changing amount of money.
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