Stay ahead of the curve as a political insider with deep policy analysis, daily briefings and policy-shaping tools.
Request a DemoMega Millions jackpot ratcheting up to its weightiest bounty ever
ATLANTA — That groaning sound you hear is the Mega Millions jackpot ratcheting up to its weightiest bounty ever.
With $1.58 billion up for grabs, tonight’s jackpot is in line to be the largest Mega Millions jackpot in history.
While the ultimate prize has remained elusive, the Mega Millions drawing has yielded over $6.4 million in prizes for some lucky Georgians since last Friday’s drawing. It’s also generated more than $27.3 million for education in Georgia from the time the jackpot started growing through the last drawing.
All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship program and Georgia’s Pre-K program. Over 2.1 million students have received HOPE and more than 1.7 million 4-year-olds have attended the state’s voluntary prekindergarten program.
There hasn’t been a Mega Millions jackpot winner since January when a single ticket was sold in Lebanon, Maine. The Maine winner, who chose to remain anonymous, won an estimated $1.35 billion.
Should you win tonight’s jackpot, you have the choice between a one-time lump sum worth $757.2 million or 30 annuitized payments. Both options are pre-tax estimates.
Your odds of winning tonight’s Mega Millions? Roughly 1 in 302.6 million.
Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on Twitter @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
Twitter @StateAffairsGA
Instagram @STATEAFFAIRSGA
Facebook @STATEAFFAIRSUS
LinkedIn @StateAffairs
related stories
- Georgia Lottery Powerball up to $1 billion, but what does that mean for you?
- The bulging lottery jackpot is once again feeding players’ dreams and education coffers
- Is Georgia’s Zell Miller Scholarship still worth the effort?
- HOPE scholarships may be fully funded for a year, but what happens next?
- How much of Georgia’s Lottery goes to education?
- Georgia has Lost Thousands of Preschool, Daycare Teachers. Can the Lottery Help?
Know the most important news affecting Georgia
Get our free weekly newsletter that covers government, policy and politics that impact your everyday life—in 5 minutes or less.
Election administrators ‘in limbo’ over new voting rules, top official says
If you plan to hand-deliver your absentee ballot to your local election office this year, you’ll have to show identification and sign a form stating whose ballot you’re dropping off, under a new rule recently passed by the State Election Board. If you fail to show your ID or don’t complete the form, your ballot …
Weekend Read: State Election Board marks its 60th year mired in controversy. Here’s what happened.
In 1964, Georgia lawmakers retooled the state’s election process to create a “one person, one vote” system after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the “county unit system” that held sway over Peach State politics for nearly half a century. Until then, politicians hoping to win primaries in Georgia had to capture entire counties, not just …
State lawmakers: Atlanta, give detention center to Fulton to fix problem-plagued jail
Atlanta city officials need to give the Atlanta Detention Center to Fulton County to ease overcrowding in the county’s violence-prone jail, a bipartisan panel of state lawmakers said in its final report, released Friday. “A big part of the solution is that the City of Atlanta needs to turn over the Atlanta Detention Center to …
Georgia plays a prominent, although louder, role at this convention, too
As the second of the two biggest political party events wraps up this evening in Chicago with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, all eyes in Georgia are turning to the grand finale — the Nov. 5 election. “We are all energized because we know we are bringing back hope for our …