Mega Millions: Best strategies for winning the $1.1 billion jackpot, according to a Harvard statistician

The Mega Millions jackpot has reached its highest amount in the draw’s history. After no one won during Friday’s draw, the total prize has grown to $1.11 billion, with the option of taking a lump sum of $525.8 million. The next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Tuesday, March 25th at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT. If you’re interested in purchasing a ticket for a chance to win the billion-dollar prize, below are some tips and the odds of winning the jackpot.

In each Mega Millions draw, ticket buyers must choose six numbers from 1 to 70, corresponding to the white balls, and one number from 1 to 25 for the golden ball, also known as the Mega Ball. You must hit all five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win the jackpot. The probability of this happening is extremely low: 1 in more than 300 million.

While some people recommend mixing odd and even numbers when buying a ticket and high and low numbers, statistically, some numbers appear more than others.

What numbers appear the most?

When looking back at the history of lottery numbers between 6 September 1996 and 1 August 2023, the white ball numbers that have appeared the most are 31, 17, 46, 20, and 10, while the most repeated Mega Ball numbers are 9, 15, 3, 10 and 1.

According to Mark Glickman, a senior statistics lecturer at Harvard University, another tip to win the jackpot is to choose completely random numbers without patterns of any sort.

“No birthdays that have special meaning to you because other people are likely to make those same picks,” he told CBS News.

More tickets = more chances of winning

The Mega Millions, like any lottery, is a game of chance. Glickman suggests that the best way to increase your chances of winning is to buy more tickets, within reason. For example, if the probability of winning the jackpot is 1 in 302,575,350 with one ticket, it becomes 2 in 302,575,350 if you buy two.

However, it’s important to remember that even if you mathematically increase your odds of winning by purchasing more tickets, the probability of actually winning the jackpot remains extremely small. It would require a significant amount of money to substantially increase your chances.

If you want to win a payout, your best strategy is to buy several tickets with different Mega Ball numbers on each of them. Matching the winning Mega Ball is the most likely way to get a return on your money. However, one should keep in mind that the lottery is a deeply addictive form of gambling and that the odds of obtaining a life-changing sum of money from playing is next to impossible.