New Record for Mega Millions lottery

This Friday will see Americans betting on what is being claimed as the world’s biggest ever lottery prize; Mega Millions has reached $476 million, and the action is likely to be hectic on March 30 as lottery bettors across several states go after the tempting prize.

Despite the phenomenal odds against winning, that sort of wagering frenzy could well drive the prize even higher by Friday’s draw, observers opine.

To give a sense of the power of a big money jackpot, they point to the Mega Millions jackpot estimate that raised a staggering $113 million in just one drawing. It normally takes at least 9 consecutive drawings to raise the jackpot by that amount.

The lump-sum cash option of Friday’s jackpot is $341.4 million — an increase of $81.6 million from Tuesday.

Friday’s record Mega Millions jackpot is the result of an unprecedented 18 consecutive drawings without a top-prize winner. The jackpot started off as a $12 million grand prize on January 27th, and has continued to be drawn without a winner for two months.

Although the jackpot was not hit on Tuesday night, 47 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $250,000 prize apiece.