New York — Get your tickets out, you could be the next Mega Millions winner if you matched all six numbers. Tuesday’s jackpot is an estimated $284 million. The estimated cash value is $167 million.
You must match all five white balls and the yellow Mega Ball to claim total victory.
Mega Millions winning numbers
- 13, 16, 22, 32, 69 and Mega Ball 9
- Megaplier 3x
Taking the jackpot’s cash value is an option favored by most winners. Otherwise, the jackpot is doled out over 29 years. If nobody matches Tuesday’s numbers, the next Mega Millions drawing will be Friday night.
A person in South Carolina won a record $1.5 billion jackpot this fall. It was sold in Simpsonville, South Carolina, in the northwest part of the state. The drawing took place Oct. 23, and state lottery officials said the winner has not yet stepped forward.
Mega Millions tickets are $2 and are sold in 44 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball will hold its drawing Wednesday night for a jackpot estimated at $262 million or an estimated cash value of $155.5 million.
Odds of winning
The odds of winning a jackpot remain abysmal at 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball.
Who buys lotto tickets?
About two-thirds of Americans gamble. Last year, they spent $72.97 billion on traditional lottery tickets, according to Gallup.
On average, that’s $206.69 per person. “Our obsession with lotteries, with gambling, is that unicorn feeling of, like, ‘maybe it’ll be me,'” CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger said. She points out that some people don’t necessarily play to win.
“They just want to take a moment out of their day to consider how to dream big,” Schlesinger said.
The average American spends about $223 per year on lottery tickets, according to a survey from LENDedu. Massachusetts residents have the biggest taste for playing the odds, spending almost $763 per year on lottery tickets, the study found. North Dakotans are on the opposite end of the spectrum, spending about $44 per year on the lottery, or the lowest average figure among residents of all 50 states.
