Georgia MegaMillions
Tuesday May 11th 2010A single Georgia Lottery ticket has scooped a MegaMillions jackpot of $270 million, according to unconfirmed reports coming in from the state. The Georgia Lottery itself won’t confirm any details of the winner the winning ticket is brought in for validation, but other reliable sources, including local television and press, say that the ticket was bought by Robert and Tonya Harris.
MegaMillions is played in Georgia and eleven other states, including California, New York and Texas. Players have to choose 5 main numbers from 1 to 56 and 1 Mega number from 1 to 46. To win the jackpot, a player must match all six of these numbers. If nobody achieves that, the jackpot fund is rolled over to the next draw, and it is this rollover feature that allows the MegaMillions jackpot to grow so large.
If the unconfirmed reports coming out of Georgia are true, Robert and Tonya Harris will have beaten odds of 1 in 176 million by matching five main numbers (7, 12, 13, 19 and 22) and the Mega number (10). Thirty six other players matched five main numbers only to qualify for a prize of $250,000. Now that the $270 million jackpot has been won, the MegaMillions jackpot for the next draw has been reset to $12 million.
The Georgia Lottery was formed in November 1992, and started selling its first ticked in June 1993. The lottery was created to help finance educational projects in Georgia, including the awarding of scholarships to deserving students and updating facilities and technology in schools and colleges throughout the state.
Previously, the biggest Georgia Lottery payout was in March 2007 when a resident won a half-share of a $390 million MegaMillions jackpot. If the Georgia Lottery confirm that the Harris couple have won, they will have beaten the previous record win by $75 million.
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