lottery

Mega Millions is played in 45 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The five states that do not participate in this lottery are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.

Larger payouts attract more media attention, increase ticket sales and bring in new players.

Depending on where you live, you could miss out on $125 million of your winnings due to state taxes.

A lucky lottery player in a small Central California town came away with a nice Christmas surprise: a Mega Millions ticket worth nearly $1.8 million.

There was no jackpot winner on Christmas Eve, raising the pot to $1.15 billion for the Friday drawing.

The jackpot has been growing for more than three months.

The Mega Millions jackpot has increased to an estimated $944 million after another drawing without a big winner Friday night.

An $862 million Mega Millions jackpot is up for grabs Friday night, giving a lucky player the chance to stuff tons of stockings this holiday season.

A lucky Powerball lottery player in Northern California is holding a ticket worth $1.4 million after matching the first five numbers in Wednesday night’s draw, according to the California Lottery.

A pair of lucky lottery players, one in the East Bay and one in the North Bay, combined to win $7.8 million on Scratchers tickets, according to the California Lottery.

A lucky Powerball player in San Jose is holding a ticket worth more than half a million dollars after matching the first five numbers in Wednesday night’s draw.

“We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they’ve got,” Jerry Hicks said.

A lucky lottery player in Stockton turned a tedious trip to the dump into a lucrative venture after he stopped off and bought what turned out to be a $2 million Scratchers ticket.

A quintet of lottery players in Northern California, including a few in the Bay Area, combined to win $5 million on Scratchers tickets, according to the California Lottery.

A lucky lottery player in Northern California is holding a winning Powerball ticket worth more than $1.1 million after matching the first five numbers in Saturday’s draw, according to the California Lottery.

A lucky lottery player in Northern California is holding a winning Powerball ticket worth more than $1.1 million after matching the first five numbers in Saturday’s draw, according to the California Lottery.

A winning Mega Millions ticket sold in the East Bay just missed hitting the $358 million jackpot Friday night but is still worth $460,000, according to the California Lottery.

A lucky Powerball player in San Francisco bought a ticket matching the first five numbers in Wednesday night’s draw and worth nearly $1 million, according to the California Lottery.

A lucky lottery Scratchers player in the East Bay is $10 million richer after buying a jackpot ticket recently while stopping at a gas station, according to the California Lottery.

A lucky lottery player in Northern California is holding a Superlotto Plus ticket worth $54 million after matching all six numbers in Saturday night’s draw, according to the California Lottery.