Jackpots for America’s two big lotteries reach a combined $2.2bn

By THE DATA TEAM

LOTTERY fever has swept America. The jackpot for the Mega Millions, a lottery offered in 44 states and the District of Columbia, has soared to $1.6bn, the largest in history. The jackpot for Powerball, another nationwide contest, currently stands at $600m. The Mega Millions pot has been climbing steadily since July, and ticket sales have been brisk. Punters in Florida are reportedly buying $2 tickets at a rate of 33,000 per minute.

The odds of winning are dismal. Mega Millions, which involves selecting five numbers between 1 and 70 and one number from 1 to 25, has more than 300m potential number combinations. (The odds of a European roulette table landing on red 27 times in a row are around 280m-to-1.) Multiple winners of either game have to share the earnings. This is what happened in 2016 when ticket holders in three states—California, Florida and Tennessee—split a record $1.59bn Powerball jackpot. Each took home $528m.

No matter what, the eventual winner may be somewhat disappointed. Most winners opt to take a reduced amount in a lump sum, rather than the whole amount in payments over 30 years. For Tuesday’s Mega Millions, that would amount to about $905m. After taxes, the lucky winner might pocket just half of that cash. Maybe that roulette streak isn’t such a bad option after all.