No Winner In Tuesday's Mega Millions Drawing; Jackpot Grows To $508 Million
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- No jackpot-winning ticket was sold in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing, meaning the prize will increase to an estimated $508 million for the next drawing on Friday.
With slightly better odds than the Powerball game, it's rare that nearly four months passes without someone winning a Mega Millions jackpot. Tuesday marked the 34th time the jackpot has rolled over without a winner. The previous record was 22 rolls.
"This is our longest roll ever, by far,'' said Paula Otto, executive director of the Virginia Lottery and lead director for Mega Millions, which is managed by a consortium of lottery organizations.
Otto said there are several factors for the lack of a winner, and it includes fewer players. The highest jackpot drawn in the country was a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot won in January by players in three states.
"It takes much bigger jackpots to get players excited,'' she said. "It looks like the tipping point might be right about now.''
Players were back at a 7-Eleven in Fort Lee, New Jersey on Wednesday morning stocking up on tickets for Friday's drawing.
"I have to play my numbers," a sanitation driver told 1010 WINS' John Montone. "I'm going to keep on trying."
"If I had won I wouldn't be here this morning," a government employee said.
"That's a lot of money," a player buying his tickets at a Hell's Kitchen smoke shop told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
The prize increased slightly Tuesday morning to an estimated $454 million from a $449 million prize that was reached after no winner was selected Friday night. The jackpot was the largest since a $429.6 million Powerball prize won by a New Jersey family on May 7.
The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball in the Mega Millions game are one in 259 million. For Powerball, it's one in roughly 292 million. Revamps to the country's two big lottery games in recent years decreased the odds of picking all the numbers needed for the top prize, though officials point out it's increased the number of winners who score smaller prizes that range from $1 million to $5 million, depending on the game.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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