SACRAMENTO – With President’s Day just around the corner, California Lottery players have the chance to extend their vacation, permanently, if they win tonight’s MEGA Millions jackpot worth $130 million. Plus, Saturday marks the first preliminary draw for the Lottery’s Million Dollar Raffle when ten Raffle numbers worth $10,000 each to be selected as winners. Only Raffle numbers purchased before 6:00 p.m. tomorrow will be eligible to win!
The $130 MEGA Millions jackpot for Friday, February 16, 2007, is currently the largest lottery jackpot in the world. Since California joined MEGA Millions, four MEGA Millions jackpots totaling $472 million have been won by Californians. In November 2005, the largest jackpot ever in the history of California was won when seven lucky players shared a MEGA Millions jackpot worth $315 million! The winner of the $130 million MEGA Millions jackpot would receive annual payments of $5 million for the next 26 years (before taxes) or could choose the cash option and receive a lump sum of roughly half the jackpot amount.
Time is also running out for players to have the chance at winning up to five times in the Lottery’s new Million Dollar Raffle! On Saturday, February 17, the first of the Million Dollar Raffle’s four preliminary draws for ten $10,000 cash prizes will be held. All purchased Raffle numbers, even winning ones, will remain eligible for the three remaining preliminary draws on February 24, March 3 and March 10, as well as the Grand Prize drawing on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 for up to ten $1 million cash prizes. Players must purchase their Raffle tickets by 6:00 p.m. Saturday night for the chance to win in all five drawings.
Million Dollar Raffle offers players the best odds of winning a million bucks ever offered in a California Lottery game. The Million Dollar Raffle is played just like other “raffle” style games and there are only a limited number of tickets available and only for a limited time. Sales end on St. Patrick’s Day or when all Raffle numbers are sold, whichever comes first. A maximum of five million unique seven digit Raffle numbers are available for sale at $5 per number. If all 5 million numbers sell out, ten $1 million prizes will be awarded on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Odds of winning a $1 million Grand Prize if all five million Raffle numbers are sold are 1 in 500,000 and prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw in which the prize was won.
Both MEGA Millions and the Million Dollar Raffle are sold at the Lottery’s approximately 19,000 retail locations statewide. The MEGA Millions draw takes place each Tuesday and Friday night at 8:00 p.m. Players may purchase MEGA Millions tickets until 7:45 p.m. on the night of the draw.
Public education receives at least 34 cents of every dollar players spend on Lottery products. The California Lottery contributed a record $1.28 billion to public education in 2005-06 out of historic sales of $3.58 billion, the sixth year in a row the Lottery has provided more than $1 billion in supplemental funding for education. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $18 billion to California schools.