New Mega Millions Game: Better Odds, Larger Jackpots

By Susan Jenkins 

Have you bought a Mega Millions ticket for the Friday drawing? If so, you may have better odds of winning a prize—and a larger jackpot. The revisions made to the Mega Millions game, which is played in multiple states, are the first changes since 2005.

Changes to the Mega Millions game include:

• A jump in starting jackpots from $12 million to $15 million.
• A rollover of $5 million if a drawing doesn’t produce a winning ticket.
• An increase in second-tier prizes for matching five numbers from minimums of $250,000 to $1 million.
• Increased odds of winning any prize (odds improve from 1:40 to 1:15).

Mega Millions players in Georgia can benefit from these changes this weekend. No one hit the estimated $75 million jackpot in Tuesday’s drawing , so the big prize will grow again. As of Thursday afternoon, it had grown to an estimated $87 million—just a tad bit more growth than the regular $5 million rollover.

Community Editor Jon Gargis contributed to this article.