Those enormous jackpots seem to be in the news a lot lately don’t they? The rollovers push the prize money to astronomical amounts more than they used to. It makes those of us who normally don’t buy a lottery ticket think “Why not?” But is it true? Are there more oversized jackpots now than there used to be? It’s not your imagination. There are. And it’s not coincidence.
Last October, Mega Millions made some changes to the rules and odds that most probably didn’t notice, according to TampaBay.com. The changes mean fewer winners. Instead of having 5 $100 million winners, it’s better for them to have 1 $500 million winner because that makes headlines. It gets those of us who aren’t really lottery players to get in on the action. That obviously drives those jackpot numbers way higher.
In one year since the change, HALF of the 6 biggest jackpots have been won.