I mean, it can't be that hard to win mega millions, can it? http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/2028322 Texans getting shot at Mega Millions Associated Press AUSTIN -- Texas lottery lovers may soon be able to try their luck in the high jackpot Mega Millions game. The Texas Lottery Commission voted today to join 10 other states in the multistate lottery. The Texas Legislature authorized the commission to join a multistate lottery during the last session as a source of additional state revenue. Lottery officials estimate that Mega Millions could bring in as much as $324.8 million in game ticket sales in Texas over 10 months after the lottery's start, probably in late October or early November. Mega Millions trumped PowerBall, played in neighboring states Louisiana and New Mexico, partly as a result of game nights that differed with Lotto Texas. PowerBall drawings could have interfered with Texas Lotto, both played Wednesday and Saturday. Mega Million drawings are Tuesday and Friday. The average jackpot over the last year is $42.3 million. The commission still must enter into a contract agreement with Mega Millions and adopt game rules, said Reagan Greer, executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission. "We are looking at a late fall timeline for having this process completed," Greer said. Greer said the commission is working to negotiate a "multiplier" feature in Mega Millions that would allow players to increase their winning prize amounts at lower prize levels than the jackpot. Since June, the commission had been studying whether to recommend that Texas join Mega Millions or Powerball. Multistate lottery games are designed to generate jackpots into the hundreds of millions of dollars, creating a frenzy of ticket purchases across the country. Participating states get a cut of the tickets sold within their borders. Texas statisticians estimated that the Mega Million jackpot would reach $100 million four times a year. The jackpot could reach $400 million every two to three years, Greer said. The overall odds in Mega Millions are 1 in 43, with jackpot odds 1 in about 135 million. The starting jackpot is $10 million. The push to join a multistate lottery comes as Lotto Texas, the state's signature game, continues to suffer from depressed ticket sales. This spring, lottery officials increased the odds against winning a jackpot from one in 25 million to nearly 1 in 48 million. Greer said other Texas lottery games won't be eliminated at this point, but Texas Two Step would likely be the first to go, if necessary, because it shares game nights with Mega Millions. Powerball and Mega Millions officials made presentations to lottery commissioners in June. Mega Millions is played in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Washington. Wednesday night's jackpot was estimated to be about $42 million.
damnit. this is soooo unfair. even though it makes the pot bigger, there's hardly anymore winners in georgia anymore after they opened it up to other states. (not that i'd win anyway). already have my tickets for today though.
Just don't do what this lotto winner did...Well, the money part anyway... CROSS LANES, W.Va. — Someone broke into Powerball winner Jack Whittaker's (search) sport utility vehicle outside a strip club Tuesday morning and stole about $545,000, but the money was later recovered. Whittaker, a Scott Depot resident who hit Powerball's richest jackpot on Christmas Day, arrived at the Pink Pony in Cross Lanes around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday and parked his Lincoln Navigator outside the main entrance. Someone broke out the driver's side window and took a black briefcase containing $245,000 in cash and three blank $100,000 cashier's checks, said Kanawha County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Phil Morris. The briefcase, cash and checks were later found behind a Dumpster on the property, Morris said. A window on a second vehicle parked on the lot also was broken, he said. Police have suspects but no arrests have been made, he said. Employees at the Pink Pony would not comment. "[Whittaker] gambles quite a bit, and we believe that's the reason that the large sum of money was in possession in at this time," an official told the Charleston Daily Mail (search). Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming in Nitro is about a mile from the Pink Pony, but it was not clear Tuesday morning if Whittaker had been at the greyhound track before going to the club. Whittaker claimed a $113 million cash option after winning a record $314.9 million jackpot on Christmas Day. Whittaker was at the club later Tuesday morning but left without commenting. His spokesman, Bill Bissett, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.
