Mega Millions Players in California, New York, and New Jersey Are the Most Lucky

Posted on: June 3, 2024, 03:08h. 

Last updated on: June 4, 2024, 09:48h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing has an advertised jackpot of $560 million, the 9th-richest prize the interstate lottery game has ever offered. A new study finds that players in California, New York, and New Jersey are the likeliest to win the life-changing payout.

Mega Millions lottery research Powerball
Mega Millions is drawn on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. New research reveals that certain Mega Millions numbers and gold Mega Balls have been drawn more often than others in recent years. (Image: Mega Millions Consortium)

Adwise Research, a New York-based intelligence agency specializing in iGaming and lottery insights, analyzed Mega Millions data from October 2017 through January 2024 to determine where the majority of the jackpots and secondary major prizes are won.

The review concluded that Mega Millions players in California experienced the greatest number of wins during that timeframe, followed by players in New York and New Jersey. Florida came in fourth.

California leading isn’t necessarily a surprise, as the state is home to more people than any other in the union. New York is home to the fourth-most people and Florida is third. New Jersey, however, ranks 11th in population.

Eight tickets sold in California and another eight sold in New York have won the Mega Millions jackpot since 2017. Five Mega Millions tickets sold in New Jersey matched the six drawn numbers while four tickets sold in Florida hit the jackpot.  

Mega Millions Lucky Numbers

The odds of a Mega Millions ticket matching the five white balls and gold Mega Ball are a meager one in 302,575,350. The six balls are drawn at random, but the Adwise deep dive found that certain numbers are drawn more often than others.

The researchers relayed to Casino.org that since 2017, the Mega Ball has most often landed on higher numbers in the 18-25 range. Mega Millions tasks players with picking five numbers from a lot ranging between one to 70 and a gold Mega Ball from a pool of numbers from one to 25.

The number 22 has hit more than any other Mega Ball — 35 times since 2017. The next most popular Mega Ball digits by number of times hit are 11, 18, 24, and 25.

Adwise CEO Andriy Nezdopa says though higher Mega Ball numbers have paid off for some lucky Mega Millions players in recent years, he reminds the public that the randomness of the lottery means that might not be the case in the years ahead.

Despite the fervor and the strategies that some players employ, the essence of Mega Millions remains rooted in luck and chance. Each draw is an independent event, with every number combination having an equal probability of being selected,” Nezdopa said.

“While it’s tempting to believe that studying the game can yield better results, the reality is that no method can guarantee a win,” he concluded.

Mega Millions, Powerball Jackpots to $731M

Tuesday night’s $560 million Mega Millions drawing comes with a one-time cash option of an estimated $248.4 million. The drawing will take place at 11 pm ET from the WSB-TV studio in Atlanta.

Each Mega Millions play costs $2, though speculation continues to swirl that the Mega Millions Consortium is mulling a price increase to $5 per ticket. In Virginia, lottery machines are limiting how far out in advance Mega Millions tickets can be purchased. That could suggest that the consortium is nearing a price hike.  

Powerball will next be drawn Monday night at 10:59 pm ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. The estimated jackpot is $171 million, with a cash value of $79.5 million.

The odds of a ticket winning the Powerball jackpot are slightly better than Mega Millions at roughly one in 292.2 million.