Did you win? Numbers announced for $636 million Mega Millions jackpot

[Omaha Steve]

Source: CNN

By Jason Hanna

(CNN) -- Someone's life might have just changed forever.

The winning numbers for Tuesday night's Mega Millions jackpot, worth an estimated $636 million, are 8, 14, 17, 20 and 39, with a Megaball of 7.

Strong sales boosted the jackpot to $636 million from the previous estimate of $586 million, lottery officials announced late Tuesday morning.

That's tantalizingly close to the U.S. record -- a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot split by three winning tickets in March 2012. And if the jackpot isn't won Tuesday, it could be close to $1 billion for Friday's drawing.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/17/us/mega-millions/

[Tx4obama]

1. Possible winning ticket in San Jose. See link below

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024192122#post5

[alp227]

7. I didn't buy any lottery tickets lately, and I don't know if the other SJ-area DUers have. nt

[Rowdyboy]

2. I won $4!!!!!!! The number of tickets I bought in entirely irrelevent.....

But it was more than 4.....

[debunkthis]

3. "Did you win?"

No, the odds are much better that one would be killed by a car on the way to the store to buy a ticket than to actually win one of these lottery jackpots. Just sayin'

[jberryhill]

4. Yes

I asked my paralegal to go out "and buy me a winning ticket".

She went out and bought me a ticket.

The ticket is not a winning ticket as she had agreed to buy.

So, tomorrow, I'm suing her for $600M for breach of contract.

[PADemD]

5. Yes

Two numbers and the megaball.

[JI7]

6. do people win just for getting megaball number right ? since 7 is a common lucky

number i hope there are a lot of winners.

[Tx4obama]

8. A chart of the prize amounts in the middle of the page on the link below

Here: http://www.megamillions.com/how-to-play

[Vashta Nerada]

9. Gah. Looks like I'm going back to school tomorrow.

[question everything]

10. I don't understand why people prefer the high jackpot with such a low probability

instead of smaller amounts distributed to more people.

I would think that more people will purchase tickets with higher chances of winning, say, $10K, or $100K.

But, I suppose, most Americans don't like to share..

[ronnie624]

11. The game was recently reconfigured.

The odds went from 1:176,000,000 to 1:259,000,000 and the minimum payout went from $2 to $1.

But it has a FASTER GROWING JACKPOT!!

[Ace Acme]

12. As I understand it, when the pot is small, the ticket price exceeds your odds of winning.

So your $1 ticket has a less than 1:1,000,000 chance of winning a million.

But, I've been told, when the pot gets to 80 million or so, your $1 ticket actually has
a 1:80,000,000 chance of winning, so your ticket is worth its cost.

That's what I've been told.

[Sherman A1]

13. Distressing

I had planned on buying everyone donuts at a local donut shop (which I believe has the best ones on the entire planet) with my winnings. This development of course forces those well laid plans to be abandoned.

[a la izquierda]

14. Dang.

I was planning on paying of my student loans, my bills, then quietly disappearing to Central America.

[tavernier]

15. I was going to buy a politician

but i couldn't outbid the Koch brothers.

[russspeakeasy]

24. I am calling bullshit. You could buy 2 low level politicians with that amount.

[bigdarryl]

16. Shits FIXED!! your wasting your money

Notice most of the people who(supposed to have won) these BIG lotteries are senior citizens or someone who already has money.

[Omaha Steve]

23. Younger living check to check

I'll keep buying.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20131213/NEWS/131219345/1718

[bucolic_frolic]

17. Can you FEEL the EQUALITY??

My ticket had as much a chance of winning as all other tickets!!!

Then the states raked off a profit, and gave the winnings to 2 tickets
plus a few also rans.

Gambling addiction does not help income inequality.

Glad I only buy one ticket when the jackpots make headlines.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. I matched one number!

[Mz Pip]

20. Me too.

I got the Mega. So I won a dollar. 🎉

[freebrew]

19. WOW!

With all these tickets sold and jackpots ever-growing, the schools must be rolling in dough, right?


Does anyone investigate this shit?

[JackRiddler]

21. THIS IS NOT LATEST BREAKING NEWS - IT IS PROMOTION OF THE LOTTERY.

[NastyRiffraff]

22. Rats. I didn't win

But then again, I didn't buy a ticket. Must be the reason.

[russspeakeasy]

25. Your chances were approximately the same.

[NastyRiffraff]

29. Yeah I know

I only buy a (one) ticket if I happen to be passing by a store selling them IF there's no line.

[yuiyoshida]

26. YES!!!!

AND i JUST bought Democratic Underground ..bwahahahaha!



sorry no..kidding.

[RebelOne]

27. No, but someone here in the Atlanta area of Georgia did.

It's been all over the local news today.

[LiberalLovinLug]

28. I just wish one politically informed person with a progressive social concience would win

With that kind of money you actually could play and affect "the Washington Game". Best solution is of course finance reform and public financing of elections. But if you can't beat em......

You could help every more progressive candidate out there, or focus on a few like Elizabeth Warren and Alan Grayson. Hell, you could start a new progressive think tank with Paul Krugman.