If a Marylander wins the $220 million Mega Millions jackpot drawing Friday, it will be the largest award anyone in the state ever won from organized betting.
“When it gets this high, the greatest sales are along the border areas,” said Maryland Lottery Director Buddy Roogow.
He pointed out that the current jackpot for Powerball — available in Pennsylvania and Delaware and was scheduled for a drawing Wednesday — is tied with Mega Millions, and many people who live near those borders play both.
“I don’t remember when two big games had the same jackpot” so close together, Roogow said.
The last Maryland Mega Millions jackpot winner was Bernadette Gittka, of Essex, lottery officials said. She won a $183 million jackpot in June 2003.
Roogow acknowledged that the chance is slim: The odds are 179 million to 1 for winning the big jackpot, and they don’t statistically change if you buy more than one ticket. The odds improve for smaller payouts, with about one winner for every 39 tickets sold.
“This is not where you want to bet the farm. This is a fantasy,” Roogow said. “Somebody will win. The odds are just as good for you as for anybody.”
Payout options
» $220 million over 20 years at $8.5 million a year
» $125 million onetime payout
