Colorado & South Dakota New Mega Millions States
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Lottery proceeds benefit ecological interestsThis Sunday, Colorado will be adding Mega Millions to its roster of state and interstate lotteries. The well-known jackpot game will join Powerball as the other big payout game offered by the Colorado Lottery. The state lottery had been workign on adding Mega Millions since October. The new game will give Colorado residents and the many Wyoming citizens that travel to the state’s border stores a chance to score a big jackpot four nights a week (Mega Millions drawings are Tuesdays and Fridays, while Powerball draws are Wednesdays and Saturdays). According to Erika Gonzalez, spokeswoman for Colorado Lottery, Mega Millions should generate an estimated additional $27 million in the state. The proceeds will go to GoCo, the Great Outdoors Colorado, along with other state parks and the Conservation Trust Fund. Both Powerball and Mega Millions are now available in 39 states, as South Dakota was also recently added to the list of Mega Million playing states. Mega Millions starts with a jackpot of $12 million, with many other prizes ranging from 2$ to $250,000. Players pick 5 numbers from 1 to 56, and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 46. Matching all five numbers plus the Mega Ball means a jackpot win. Recently, players have been given the option to spend an extra dollar on each ticket for a “Megaplier” chance, which would multiply their non-jackpot prizes by up to four times. Mega Millions draws are Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. EST. The drawings will be aired on the Altitude network in Colorado.