XPost: rec.gambling.lottery, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, or.politics   
   From: nospam@ix.netcom.com   
      
   THE Mega Millions lottery chief has insisted the recent ticket price hike   
   will benefit players but they're not happy about the new cost.   
      
   The price of a ticket more than doubled as a single Mega Millions play   
   will now cost you $5.   
      
   Mega Millions, played in 45 states, Washington, DC, and the US Virgin   
   Islands, used to cost just $2.   
      
   The new price kicked in with Tuesday's drawing and lotto bosses insist   
   it'll lead to more revenue, which means bigger jackpots.   
      
   Washington state lottery director Joshua Johnston, who heads the Mega   
   Millions game, said the change is meant to spark excitement.   
      
   “People really want big jackpots,” Johnston told the Associated Press.   
      
   “We expect to see a sales lift on this.”   
      
   With the new price, the minimum jackpot will now start at $50 million   
   instead of $20 million.   
      
   And the odds of winning the jackpot have improved, moving from 1 in 302.6   
   million to 290 million.   
      
   Each time the grand prize rolls over, it will now jump more significantly,   
   with billion-dollar jackpots expected more often.   
      
   Other prizes have also increased as players who don't match all six   
   numbers will now win at least $10.   
      
   A multiplier, which used to be a $1 add-on, is now built into the base   
   ticker, boosting non-jackpot prizes up to 10 times.   
      
   But while officials are banking on a bigger jackpot to bring in more   
   players, many long-time buyers are pushing back.   
      
   "I will no longer buy Mega Millions tickets. $5 a draw is too expensive,"   
   one furious player said on X.   
      
   Another user slammed it as a "free tax for the government with no need to   
   provide services," while calling it a distraction.   
      
   Sun PollIs $5 a draw too much?   
   Yes, I won't be playing anymore   
   VOTED   
   94.6%   
   No, it's still worth the gamble   
   4.0%   
   I never played anyway   
   1.3%   
      
   "Good luck with that...going from $2 to $5 is outrageous! I AM OUT!” said   
   another lotto player.   
      
   "Guess I'll be poor," yet another frustrated user wrote.   
      
   Lottery officials say the new structure is meant to fight "jackpot   
   fatigue," which is when players only tune in for massive prizes.   
      
   These days, even $300 million prizes don't move the needle like they used   
   to.   
      
   Officials now expect the average winning jackpot to rise from $450 million   
   to $800 million.   
      
   "When you get to a billion, people are like, ‘Whoa, that’s a whole lot of   
   money,'" Johnston said.   
      
   Still, not all players are chasing the billion-dollar dream.   
      
   "I’d be satisfied with $1 million, and so would others," Sandie Yeaman of   
   Omaha, Nebraska, said.   
      
   "One person winning $50 million is ridiculous."   
      
   Mega Millions is now the most expensive lottery draw game in the US.   
      
   By comparison, Powerball still costs $2 per play.   
      
   But some scratch tickets in Texas cost up to $100.   
      
   Internationally, Spain’s El Gordo Christmas lottery charges nearly $22 for   
   a partial ticket, and over $200 for a full one.   
      
   Saeedith Williams of East Point, Georgia, said the price hike might make   
   him pull back.   
      
   "Maybe I’ll buy one ticket a week now that it’s $5 a ticket," he said.   
      
   Despite the backlash, the game still brings in major revenue for public   
   services like education scholarships.   
      
   And for many, it's still about spending a few dollars to dream big, even   
   if the odds remain steep.   
      
   https://www.the-sun.com/money/13965790/mega-millions-price-increase-   
   larger-jackpots-odds/   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
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