Mega Millions – A Thrilling Journey of Jackpots
Mega Millions NY drawing initially began in 1996. At the time, only six states in America participated in the lucky draw. However, with time the trend of the jackpot increased so much that people from all over America began participating.
Mega Million Florida has evolved quite a lot over the years. Let’s go through the game’s journey together to see what has changed in these past years.
The Big Game
When it was first introduced in 1996, Mega Millions NY was called The Big Game. Six years later, on January 30, 2020, it became a multi-state lottery game in the United States that is available in 45 states plus the District of Columbia and the United States Virgin Islands. In 2002, they held the first drawing for The Big Game.
The Big Game in 1996
On August 31, 1996, the first Big Game tickets went on sale in the states of Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia. After discussing the idea of a multi-state game with Rebecca Paul of the Georgia Lottery and Penelope W. Kyle of the Virginia Lottery, Michigan Lottery Director Bill Martin and Illinois Lottery Director Desiree Rogers came up with the concept for and developed The Big Game. When it first began, the Big Game was played every Friday.
The Georgia Mega Million drawing, at the point a member of MUSL, sought to offer both games for the rest of 1996 but was expelled from the league within days; it later re-joined and participated in the expansion in 2010.
Jackpot winners have had the choice of receiving their money in cash since January 1999. Before The Big Game’s rebranding as Mega Millions NY in 2002, New Jersey was the only participating state. That changed in May 1999.
Big Game Mega Millions
On May 15, 2002, the game was rebranded, The Big Game Millions NY, although the last name and “gold ball” emblem were kept for the time being since Ohio and New York had joined The Big Game collaboration.
Mega Ball
Mega Ball was the new name for the “Big Moneyball.” Until February 2003, when the recent Mega Millions design was unveil, the yellow ball in the emblem remained to read “The Big Game,” the last name of the lottery. After that, the ball was substituted with six stars, each representing one of the collaboration’s founders.
Two days later, on May 17, the first ever Mega millions florida drawing was placed in conjunction with (The Big Game). The Illinois Lottery owns the Mega Millions brand. In September 2002, the Washington Lottery, the Texas Lottery, and the California Lottery all joined Mega Millions, with California stock joining being the final state to do so in 2005 before the game’s cross-sell extension in 2010. Montana was the first state to join Mega Million NY after the cross-sell extension on March 1, 2010.
Megaplier in 2003
When Texas started participating in this lottery in 2003, it introduced a feature called the Megaplier, similar to Powerball’s Power Play. Still, it was originally only accessible to players of the Texas Lottery.
After the January 31, 2010, cross-selling date, the eleven Mega Millions Florida lotteries that did not offer the Megaplier option began rolling out the feature; by January 2011, all the lotteries, except California, provided players with the opportunity to multiply their winnings by 10. Megaplier is a registered trademark of the Texas Lottery.
In honor of California’s entry into Mega Millions NY, the lottery for that night took place in Hollywood with Carrie Underwood helping presenter Glenn Burns. This took place on June 24, 2005.
Single Jackpot Winning Ticket
The single jackpot-winning ticket, bought in Anaheim, California, was held by a group known as “The Lucky 7,” who won $315 million in the lottery held on November 15, 2005. They opted to receive their settlement in cash, sharing $175 million before taxes.
The third highest prize in U.S. history was won on March 6, 2007, when the jackpot hit $390 million. Two tickets, each with the numbers 16-22-29-39-42 and Mega Ball 20, split the prize. Both winners opted for the cash payout of $116,557,083 per share.
Cross-Sell Expansion
The unusual cross-selling arrangement among Mega Millions NY and Powerball entered into operation on January 31, 2010, bringing the total number of state lotteries participating in Mega Millions to 59.
At the beginning of 2009, among other lotteries, the New Jersey Lottery announced that it would seek approval to sell Powerball tickets in addition to the tickets. After reaching a deal in October 2009, Mega Millions and MUSL made it possible for all jackpots in the United States, such as the one in New Jersey, to provide both games.
The 2010 Lottery Extension
Mega Millions was extended to include the 23 countries of MUSL on January 31, 2010; as of that date, 35 states were playing in lottery. On the same day, ten lotteries already involved in the mega millions florida game started selling Powerball tickets. On April 16, 2010, Ohio became a member of Powerball.
After the cross-sell enlargement was implement. Montana became the first MUSL member to join the Mega Millions lottery on March 1, 2010. On March 20, 2010, Nebraska became the 37th state to participate in the Mega Millions lottery. March 28, 2010, Oregon became the 38th member, and on April 18, 2010, Arizona became the 39th member.
On May 9, 2010, Maine became the 40th state to participate in the lottery. On May 16, 2010, Colorado and South Dakota state lotteries joined Mega Millions NY, raising the total number of participating states to 42.
Recent Expansions of Mega Million Lottery
Recent expansions of the Mega Millions lottery include the inclusion of Louisiana in November 2011 and Virgin Islands in October 2010. On May 15, 2013, Florida participated in the Mega Millions lottery. The first lottery to also include tickets purchased in Florida took place two days later.
Since then, other lotteries have joined, bringing the total number of locations where Mega Millions is played to 47. These 47 locations include 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States Virgin Islands.
The Year 2012
When the Mega Millions jackpot reached $656 million on March 30, 2012, it became the largest won lottery worldwide. The lottery tickets were from Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland, and the share prise among the three.
The Final 2018 Record
This previous record in the lottery business remained for over four years till. It was surpasses by a Powerball jackpot of $1.586 billion in January of 2016. It entered the billion-dollar club on October 23, 2018.
Bottom-Line
Due to its huge success, Mega Millions as become one of the most famous lotteries worldwide. The journey of the jackpot has been overwhelming, and because of its huge success, the lottery is still succeeding.
Mega Million has been a huge success. Stay updated about jackpots and lotteries, and stay tuned to The General Time.
