Nobody won Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, which had a top prize of $687 million. That means the next drawing, on Tuesday, March 12, will be worth an estimated $735 million.
Second-tier Winners
Although no one matched all six numbers, two players were able to match the five non-Megaball numbers. Someone in Georgia and a player in Texas will each receive a $1 million reward.
Texas Mega Millions winner
The $1 million Texas winner purchased their Quick Pick ticket at a Circle K in Richwood, Texas.
Richwood, Texas, is located just north of Freeport and has a population of approximately 5,000.
How to Play the Megaplier Option?
Mega Millions players can add payouts to their winning tickets. Mega Millions costs $2 to play; for an additional $1, you can add the Megaplier option.
When you purchase, whatever prize you win (except the jackpot) will be multiplied by the Megaplier number picked, which might range from 2X to 5X.
The Megaplier for the Friday draw was ‘3’. The prize for matching three of the five non-Mega Ball numbers was $10, but anyone who chose the Megaplier option won three times that amount – $30.
Kiss $2 million, Goodbye
Neither of the $1 million winners in Georgia or Texas spent the extra money to activate the Megaplier option. If they had done so, the compensation would have been $3 million.
I’m sure both winners were overjoyed to win a million dollars, but I’m curious how they felt about losing an extra $2 million over a one-dollar decision.
Why not choose to play the Megaplier?
When given the choice of adding another dollar to the Megaplier, the vast majority of Mega Millions players decline.
One of the most popular arguments is that it is pointless to spend an extra dollar when the chances of winning any prize are slim. If that’s your argument, why even play the game?
Most consumers do not buy just one Quick Pick, thus using the Megaplier option on all of your orders might pile up, dollar after dollar. Still, it is difficult to understand why you’d want to save a few dollars when you could win a $30,000 payout instead of $10,000, or, as happened on Friday, a $3 million payout instead of $1 million.