Mega Millions Winning Numbers for August 5, 2016 – Live Results for $30 Million Jackpot Drawing, Schedule
The Mega Millions Jackpot increased to an estimated $30 million with a cash option of $20 million, since no one won the jackpot in the previous draw last Tuesday.
The winning numbers for the previous draw on August 2, 2015 was 3, 12, 36, 54 and 70 for the white balls and 12 for the Mega Ball. Nobody won the jackpot prize of $25 million dollars. One person won the $1 million dollar 5+0 prize, 23 persons won the 4+1 without the Megaplier, winning $5,000 each, while 5 players won the 4+1 with a Megaplier (5x), winning $25,000 each.
Hoosier Lottery proclaims $536 million Mega Ball Jackpot Winner
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Sarah Taylor, executive director of Hoosier Lottery, announced the winner of the $536 million Mega Millions Jackpot, the third largest jackpot prize in the history of Mega Millions.
The winner is from Indiana, and according to a spokesperson for the family, Lauren Littlefield, "The family was headed out of state on a trip… made a quick stop at a gas station just off the I-70 exit in Cambridge City for gas and a few other items. On a whim, they purchased five Mega Millions tickets after seeing the jackpot was so high."
The family couldn't believe they had won. When they held their winning ticket next to the computer screen showing the winning numbers in the Hoosier Lottery website, they even restarted the internet browser thinking there was an error.
The family decided to hide their identity for the safety of their children. The money will be used to pay their debts and for their future welfare in general.
How to Play
Mega Millions tickets are $1 each. Players choose six numbers, 5 silver numbers and 1 gold number. The numbers are written in balls, with the golden ball called the Mega Ball.
The silver balls are chosen between numbers 1-75, while the mega ball is chosen between 1-15. If you're too lazy to choose your numbers, there's always the Easy Pick option, where a computer will randomly generate number combinations for you.
Payment Options
If you win, you can get paid using the annuity option or the cash option. The annuity option breaks down your prize money into 30 annual payments. To compensate for the increasing cost of living, each annual payment is bigger by 5% than the previous. With the cash option, you can get a one-time lump sum payment.
The chances of winning in Mega Millions is actually 1 in 14.7. That's because the Jackpot is not the only way to win. There are smaller prizes, with the smaller prize being $1, if you match the Mega Ball without any match among the silver balls, and the second highest being $1,000,000, when your ticket matches all five silver balls and not the Mega Ball.
