Along with Powerball, Mega Millions is an extremely successful multi-state lottery game. And since we just did a piece on Powerball, it is only fair to not leave Mega Millions out of the loop, and give you an account on how it came into being. Powerball lottery

It all started on August 31, 1996, when The Big Game was launched. It was the predecessor of the Mega Millions, and the first states to adhere were Virginia, Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia, Michigan and Maryland. The Georgia State Lottery actually has an interesting story concerning Powerball and Mega Millions. It was a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which coordinated Powerball, and it wanted to sell lottery tickets for both games. However, it was forced to withdraw from the Powerball game, and they were able to rejoin in 2010, with the cross-selling expansion. US lottery

Changes started happening in 2002. The game had three new members, New Jersey, New York and Ohio, and it changed its name to The Big Game Mega Millions. Several important changes were made, and the game later changed its name to Mega Millions.

To play at the Mega Millions game, one must first be over 18. Then one needs to choose 5 numbers from 1 through 56 and a Mega Ball number from 1 to 46. There are two different machines drawing the regular numbers and the Mega Ball number, so the Mega Ball can be a ball which was drawn before. Also, remember that Nebraska, Arizona and Iowa have an increased age limit for playing the Mega Millions game. You must be 21 or older to play in Arizona and Iowa, while in Nebraska you must be 19 or older. Lottery results

If you manage to win a prize at the Mega Millions game, you will have 180 days at your disposal to claim the prize. However, in some states you can claim your prize even after 1 year, while in others it will expire after just 60 days. The largest prize ever won at the Mega Millions was a $390 million annuity. However, it is not considered the largest prize ever won in the United States, as the lump sum option only offered $233 million.

The game is not as widespread as the Powerball game, being played in “just” 42 jurisdictions. However, it is still one of the largest and most popular in the world.