Mega Millions Jackpot North Of $1 Billion
So you or your loved ones drove all the way to stateline and Santa came up empty. The Mega Millions jackpot didn’t hit and you’ve still got credit card debt. Well, that’s OK. Just another chance to throw money down on another absolutely infinitesimally unlikely to hit jackpot this Friday, and this time it is north of $1 Billion!
On Christmas Eve, December 24th, the drawing for the interstate Mega Millions jackpot didn’t hit with the numbers 11, 14, 38, 45, 46, and the Mega Ball of 3. 2, 20, 51, 56, 67 and a Mega Ball of 19. Four people hit the $1 million dollar consolation prize, one number short of nearly 1000x the money. But hey, a million is a million.
Now the Mega Millions jackpot increases to an estimated $1.15 Billion with an after tax payout on the lump sum of $516.1 million. Which option should you choose? Installments or the lump sum? More on that in a second.
You’ll have to buy your ticket by 7pm on Friday, December 27th to have it in time for the drawing at 8pm. Unfortunately for you, it isn’t as simple as walking down the street to the local convenience store as it is for the vast majority of states in the country. So you’ll need to take a hike to either California or Utah if you hope to cash in big.
Your Chances Are Low
Just know that your odds of winning the whole thing are beyond small. The odds of correctly getting five balls between 1-70 and the gold Mega Ball between 1-25 exactly correct are quite literally 1 in 302,575,350. To put that in perspective, you have a 1 in 3.7 million chance of being bitten by a shark.
But if you stay out of the water you can’t get bitten, and if you don’t play, you can’t win. So, take that for what you will.
Say You Do Win The Mega Millions Jackpot: How Do You Take It?
When you hit Mega Millions (because of course you will, you’re lucky, right!?), you have two options. You can either take the money as a “lump sum,” in which case you’ll get the cash option which is around half of the actual jackpot. You can also take the payment in installments. But they aren’t as clear cut as you’d think.
Sure, taking the cash option is quite the shave. But getting the Mega Millions jackpot over 30 years is a slow drip as well. According to Mega Millions, if you take the installment plan you’ll be given a check right away, with 29 annual checks to follow. Each check will increase by 5 percent, which means your checks to start would be kind of light.
If you don’t trust yourself to do the right thing with the money to start, maybe it is best to take the annuity. If you mess up and splurge too much one year, it is nice to know a fat check will be coming in months. But if you think you can make more money with your money than 4.3% every year (which, barring a disaster, most will be able to do this,) you might be better off taking the lump sum.
