{"id":36448,"date":"2024-12-27T01:04:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T07:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=36448"},"modified":"2024-12-27T05:33:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-27T11:33:06","slug":"another-jackpot-surpasses-1-billion-is-this-the-new-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=36448","title":{"rendered":"Another jackpot surpasses $1 billion. Is this the new normal?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Remember this moment because it probably won’t last: A U.S. lottery jackpot is projected to soar above $1 billion<\/a>, and that’s still a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday\u2019s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion, evoking headlines and likely luring more people to convenience stores with dreams of private spacewalks above the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn’t seem to matter that the nation’s top 10 jackpots<\/a> \u2014 not including this one \u2014 already have boasted 10-figure payouts. For many of us, something stirs inside when a number ticks one dollar above $999,000,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe question lurking is, what happens when $1 billion becomes routine and people don\u2019t care about it anymore?\u201d said Jonathan D. Cohen, author of the 2022 book \u201cFor a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s no easy round number after a billion,\u201d Cohen said. “But also, how much money can one person possibly, possibly, possibly need?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Mega Millions’ ticket prices will rise from $2 to $5 in April<\/a>. The increase will be one of many changes that officials say will result in improved jackpot odds<\/a>, more frequent giant prizes and even larger payouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s brief history of lotteries and why jackpots are growing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cohen notes in his book that lotteries have existed in one form or another for more than 4,000 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Rome, emperors and nobles held drawings at dinner parties and awarded prizes that ranged from terracotta vases to people who were enslaved. As early as the 1400s, lotteries were used in Europe to fund city defenses and other public works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweepstakes were common in the American colonies, helping to pay for the revolution against Britain. Cohen noted in his book that Thomas Jefferson approved of lotteries, writing that they were a tax \u201claid on the willing only.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lotteries began to fall out of favor in the U.S. in the 1800s because of concerns over fraud, mismanagement and impacts on poor people. But starting in the 1960s, states began to legalize them to help address financial shortfalls without raising taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLotteries were seen as budgetary miracles, the chance for states to make revenue appear seemingly out of thin air,\u201d Cohen wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Mega Millions started in 1996, it was called \u201cThe Big Game\u201d and involved only six states. It was meant to compete with Powerball, which then had 20 states and the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original payout for The Big Game started at $5 million. The value would be nearly twice that today accounting for inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024 dollars, the before-taxes prize could buy a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution<\/a> or cover Michael Soroka’s<\/a> $9 million contract to pitch next season<\/a> for the Washington Nationals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, the pre-tax winnings from Friday\u2019s Mega Millions prize could theoretically buy a Major League Baseball team. The Nationals would be too expensive. But Forbes recently valued the Miami Marlins at $1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A better comparison might be Taylor Swift’s tour revenue at the end of 2023. Her Eras Tour became the first to earn more than $1 billion<\/a> after selling more than 4 million tickets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swift, however, was expected to bring in a total of more than $2 billion<\/a> when her tour finally wrapped up Dec. 8, according to concert trade publication Pollstar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, Mega Millions and its lottery compatriot Powerball are sold in 45 states<\/a>, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is sold in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October, Mega Millions said<\/a> it hoped increased ticket revenue and less stratospheric odds would lead to more people winning, even as prizes grow extraordinarily high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Games with massive payouts tend to be more popular despite the slimmer odds. Larger jackpots also attract more media attention, increase ticket sales and bring in new players, Cohen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lottery officials have allowed the odds to become lower with a larger pool of numbers to pick from, Cohen said. And that has made games harder to win, leading to payouts rolling over into even larger prizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first billion-dollar jackpot was in 2016. Cohen said he expects the upward trajectory to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, he warned against the tropes of the troubled or bankrupt lottery winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-known example is Andrew \u201cJack\u201d Whittaker Jr<\/a>. He won a record Powerball jackpot after buying a single ticket in 2002 but quickly fell victim to scandals, lawsuits and personal setbacks as he endured constant requests for money, leaving him unable to trust others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most winners don’t turn out like him, Cohen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if we deny it, we all sort of believe in the meritocracy \u2014 this belief that if you won your money through luck, then you probably didn\u2019t actually deserve it,\u201d Cohen said. And yet various studies have shown \u201clottery winners are happier, healthier and wealthier than the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

abcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember this moment because it probably won’t last: A U.S. lottery jackpot is projected to soar above $1 billion, and that’s still a big deal. Friday\u2019s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion, evoking headlines and likely luring more people to convenience stores with dreams of private spacewalks above the earth. It doesn’t seem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":36449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1154],"tags":[22924,1936],"class_list":["post-36448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-jackpot","tag-lottery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36450,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36448\/revisions\/36450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}