There’s a one in more than 40 million chance that you’ll win the
Super Lotto Plus jackpot, which reached $44 million this week.
However, the odds shift in your favor for the smaller prizes of
a few hundred dollars.
There’s a one in more than 40 million chance that you’ll win the Super Lotto Plus jackpot, which reached $44 million this week.
However, the odds shift in your favor for the smaller prizes of a few hundred dollars. The odds you’ll get just three out of five numbers are one in 185, according to the California State Lottery’s Web site, www.calottery.com. Overall, there’s a one in 23 chance you’ll get lucky.
The rules of playing the lottery are simple: Buy a ticket, pick five numbers from one to 47, and a “Mega” number from one to 27. Or, go for the “QuickPick” and have a computer choose your numbers.
If all the numbers match, you win the jackpot. Even if just the Mega Number matches, you still get a prize. Just don’t get too excited – winners who matched Wednesday’s Mega number were awarded $1.
If you walk into The Gilroy Market at 401 East 10th St., you’ll see evidence of a lot of luck – at least 100 winning Lotto tickets and scratcher cards are taped up above the register. Owner Parlamjit Varyeh says he regularly pays winning tickets of $300 to $400. When a ticket wins more than $100, Varyeh posts it in his store.
“People bring it back, and I put it up,” he said.
While some retailers seem to be particularly lucky, it’s mostly random chance that causes one store to have more winners than others, said Norma Minas, of the California Lottery Public Information Office.
“The luck factor is not something we’re able to qualify in any way,” she said.
However, Minas also noted that a store that sells more tickets is more likely to have more winners, which is the case for The Gilroy Market. Varyeh said 20 to 35 people each buy 10 to 20 tickets per day.
The California Lottery is open to players 18 and older. Winning numbers are announced every Wednesday and Saturday night on local television stations, or online Thursday and Sunday mornings at www.calottery.com.
The largest jackpot awarded in California was $193 million in February 2002, and there were three winning tickets. In June 2001, a ticket bought in San Jose won the largest jackpot ever awarded to an individual: $141 million.
