$940M Mega Millions prize just latest of massive jackpots
Call it the Golden Age of lottery jackpots DES MOINES, Iowa -- Call it the Golden Age of lottery jackpots . Or to put it another way, what’s up with all the massive lottery prizes? The latest haul up for grabs is a $940 million Mega Millions jackpot, with a drawing set for Friday night. The prize ranks as the sixth largest in U.S. history. That comes less than two months after a player in California won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot. Players also won lottery prizes topping $1 billion earlier in 2022 and in 2021. “It’s thrilling to see the Mega Millions jackpot grow throughout the holidays, and now, into the New Year," said Pat McDonald, the director of the Ohio Lottery who also leads the state lotteries overseeing the Mega Millions Game . But while it may seem the lottery gods are showering players with repeated chances at hard-to-fathom riches, the credit for the big prizes is actually due to math -- and more difficult odds. In the fall of 2017, lottery officials appr...