CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Lottery Director said changes to the Mega Millions game should make jackpots grow faster and will significantly increase the prize amounts for the lower tier winnings for each drawing.
The changes in the multi-state game took effect last week. West Virginia Lottery Director John Myers said the changes are aimed at bolstering ticket sales amid what he called “jackpot fatigue.”
“People don’t buy the tickets like they did years ago. When it got to $200 million we had people lining up to buy the tickets, today it has to reach $600 Million. An increase in the price will make those jackpots rise much faster,” said Myers.
The cost of the Mega Millions ticket jumped from $2 to $5. But Myers added there will now be a randomly generated multiplier assigned to every set of numbers. The multiplier could be 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times the amount you won. Myers said in the first game under the new system last week the prize money jumped exponentially.
“After the first drawing we had $4.3 million dollars of prizes awarded below the jackpot. If it had been the old game it would have equated to $840,000, so it’s quite a change,” he explained.
With the $5 Mega Millions tickets and their automatic multiplier it gives players a range of price options. Powerball tickets are $2 or $3 with a multiplier option for the extra dollar. Lotto America tickets are just a dollar. Myers said it presents various options of price and prizes to lottery players.