Megabucks is an in-state lottery game that first came out in 1985. After five years, it became the first lottery game in America to offer players the option between annuity payments and a lump sum cash prize for the jackpot. In Megabucks, the cash option awards 50% of the advertised jackpot after any deductions for taxes. The game is drawn three evenings per week with a starting jackpot of one million dollars ($1,000,000). The lottery tickets cost $1 for two plays with an additional option costing $1 for ‘The Kicker’ which is a four-time (4x) multiplier applied to lower-tier prizes. To win megabucks or a share in the jackpot, the players need to match all six of their numbers to all six drawn (6/6) from a pool of forty-eight (1-48).
The game offers players some of the best odds in the country to win at least a million dollars which include 1 in 6,135,756 for matching 6/6. According to the Oregon Lottery, the estimated prize amount or average jackpot is $8,951,227. Almost seventy-cents ($0.70) of every dollar (70%) of gross sales revenues are reserved for prizes. Even the second and third prizes are pari-mutuel, so the amount of the prizes is determined by the number of tickets sold and the number of winning tickets in each prize pool. Prizes above $600 are subject to state and federal taxes with prizes over $5,000 subject to withholding before prize disbursement.
How To Play And Be A Winner!
You can sign up with a lottery concierge or messenger service, or visit any of the lottery retailers in the state to buy tickets. Some of the locations also offer self-serve lottery terminals. You just need to fill out the ticket by marking six numbers in each field of forty-eight (1-48) or choose Quick Pick to let the machine randomly choose numbers for you. Or you can also ask your retailer for a Quick Pick or hand them your play slip(s), pay, and receive your ticket(s).
The drawings for Megabucks are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm PT. The tickets are sold till 7:29 pm and it resumes immediately after the drawing. You can pay an additional $1 to play the Kicker option. With this option, prizes for matching 3/6, 4/6, or 5/6 numbers will be multiplied four times.
You can win the Megabucks jackpot by beating the odds to match six of six (6/6) numbers drawn at random from the pool of forty-eight. If the winning ticket is sold more than one time, the winning prize is equally shared. If there is no winner for the jackpot, the prize rollovers for the next drawing.
If 5 out of 6 numbers match, the odds of winning are 1 in 24,348 and you will win about $800 on average. The odds of matching 4 of 6 numbers are 1 in 475 with a prize amount of $40. The odds of matching 3 out of 6 numbers is 1 in 27. If you opt for the Kicker option, the prize for matching 3, 4, or 5 numbers will be multiplied by four (4x).
