Georgia’s Mega Millions rockets to $252 million

Mega Millions is on a mega roll: The jackpot for Tuesday’s drawing at an estimated $252 million to a single annuity winner.

What can Georgians do with $252 million?

  • Have a peachy keen day: Enjoy 181 million pounds of Georgia peaches.
  • Get nutty: Munch on 140 million pounds of Georgia peanuts.
  • Onion ring my bell: Deep-fry 157 million pounds of Vidalia onions.
  • Sweet dreams: Snack on 14 million delectable Claxton Fruit Cakes.

Mega Millions offers players two payment options: 26 annual payments in equal installments or a single check worth the cash value of the estimated jackpot. Any lucky Mega Millions player who matches all five white ball numbers, along with the Mega Ball number, could walk away with approximately $9.6 million a year (before taxes) for 26 years with the annuity option. Or a player could select the cash option and win a single check worth approximately $159 million (before taxes).

Any Georgia Lottery retailer who sells a winning Mega Millions jackpot ticket can earn the $25,000 retailer incentive bonus payment. If more than one winning jackpot ticket is sold in Georgia, the retailers selling the winning tickets will share the $25,000 retailer incentive bonus.

As with all other Georgia Lottery games, proceeds from Mega Millions will benefit education in the state of Georgia. Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $11 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program. More than 1.1 million students have received HOPE, and more than 940,000 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.

MEGA MILLIONS FAST FACTS

Draw Date

August 25, 2009
Estimated Jackpot Amount $252 MILLION
Annuity Amount Approximately $9.6 million/year for 26 years (before taxes)
Cash Option Amount Approximately $159 million (before taxes)
Date Jackpot Began Rolling July 10, 2009
Number of Rolls 13
Last Winning Ticket July 7, 2009 (New York)
Mega Millions Rank #9
Georgia Lottery Rank N/A
    · Mega Millions tickets went on sale May 15, 2002, when The Big Game, established in 1996, became Mega Millions.
    · The first Mega Millions drawing was held on May 17, 2002.
    · Mega Millions drawings are held live in Atlanta at 11 p.m. (ET) every Tuesday and Friday.
    · Mega Millions tickets are $1 each.
    · Georgia winners have 180 days from the draw date to claim their prize.
    · Overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are approximately 1:40.
    · Odds for winning the jackpot prize are approximately 1:175 million.
    · Mega Millions states include: Georgia, Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Washington state and California.
    · To date, there have been 101 Mega Millions jackpot winners.
    · There have been 11 Mega Millions jackpot winning tickets purchased in Georgia.
    · Georgia Lottery players can win $250,000 by matching the first five winning numbers.

GEORGIA LOTTERY TOP JACKPOTS

RANK DRAW DATE GAME JACKPOT LOCATION, JACKPOT WINNER(S)
1 3/6/07 Mega Millions $390,000,000 Dalton, Georgia; New Jersey
2 5/9/00 The Big Game $363,000,000 Illinois; Michigan
3 4/16/02 The Big Game $331,000,000 Dacula, Georgia; Illinois; New Jersey
4 8/31/07 Mega Millions $330,000,000 Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
5 11/15/05 Mega Millions $315,000,000 California
6 7/2/04 Mega Millions $294,000,000 Massachusetts
7 2/22/08 Mega Millions $275,000,000 Portal, Georgia
8 2/28/06 Mega Millions $270,000,000 Ohio
9 4/18/06 Mega Millions $265,000,000 Ohio
10 9/16/05 Mega Millions $258,000,000 New Jersey
Tags: lottery