Three Mega Millions Players Win $4 Million in Same Draw
Wednesday July 24th 2024As the Mega Millions jackpot rolled past the $300 million mark, the latest draw saw three players win $4 million despite not matching all the numbers.
The winning numbers for Tuesday July 23 were 3, 9, 14, 26 and 51, with a Mega Ball of 21. The jackpot proved to be just out of reach, but there were still 644,239 prizes paid out altogether.
Five ticket holders matched all five main numbers and just missed the Mega Ball. Surprisingly, three of these entries had added the Megaplier option, so their payouts were increased fourfold to $4 million.
These lucky tickets were sold in Indiana, New Jersey and Oregon. The other two Match 5 winners, who still landed $1 million having not played the Megaplier, were from Connecticut and Virginia.
Megaplier Magic
The Megaplier is an optional add-on that costs an extra $1 on top of a $2 play. If you play it and win a non-jackpot prize, your payout will be boosted by the value of the Megaplier number that is drawn on the night. This multiplier can be 2X, 3X, 4X or 5X.
It is similar to Power Play in Powerball, except that in Mega Millions you can win up to $5 million without actually getting all the numbers. In Powerball, the second-tier prize of $1 million is always automatically doubled regardless of the Power Play number.
The advantages to playing the Megaplier were demonstrated on Tuesday by the big winners from IN, NJ and OR, who otherwise would have received a quarter of their $4 million pay day. Even in the lowest prize category, those who added the Megaplier would have been pleased with their decision after banking $8 rather than $2.
It is unusual for more Match 5 winners to have had the Megaplier option than to have left it off, perhaps suggesting that more players are adding it to their tickets than was previously the case
However, across all the prize categories there were still around four times as many players without the Megaplier, so it seems to still be more common to go without.
The only drawback would be the cost, although there are reports that the ticket price for Mega Millions could be raised in 2025, perhaps to $5, with the Megaplier automatically included and potentially some other changes made to the game.
Whether you’re a fan of the Megaplier or not, you can carry on following the draws every Tuesday and Friday night.
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