A mega number, also known as a powerball, mega ball, or bonus ball, is a number drawn in a

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

game that comes from a second number field, rather than among the game's "regular" numbers.Nicolae Sfetcu A Gambling Guide 2014 FOUND INSIDE " For the game which is currently offered in California under the name Super Lotto, the first five numbers drawn are from a set of 47 white rubber balls, which are selected by one machine, and the mega number is chosen as just one ball ..." As of 2015, forty-six U.S. lotteries offer

Mega Millions Mega Millions (originally known as ''The Big Game'' in 1996 and renamed, temporarily, to ''The Big Game Mega Millions'' six years later) is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery game; as of January 30, 2020, it is offered in 45 states, the Di ...

and

Powerball Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). From its inaugural drawing on April 19, 1992, unti ...

. These games each use two sets of numbers. Mega Millions draws five rubber balls from a machine containing 70 balls. A sixth number, the "Mega Ball", then is drawn from a second drum, of 25 numbers. Powerball draws from two sets of numbers as well. The double matrixes are chosen so that both the jackpot odds and the overall odds of winning can be controlled. In either game, all six numbers must be matched to win or share a jackpot; however, matching the number drawn from the second drum automatically wins. The order in which the five ''regular'' numbers are drawn does not matter. A player holding a ticket with 1-2-3-4-5 in one game matches all five regular numbers if the order in which the machine selects these numbers is 5-2-4-3-1. To win a jackpot, the player must match not only the first five numbers drawn(in any order) but also match the "mega number" from the second machine. Some U.S. lotteries also offer a smaller "mega-number" game. For example,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

offers ''SuperLotto Plus'', where the first five numbers are drawn from a set of 47 white balls; its ''Mega number'' is drawn from a set of 27 purple balls by a second machine.

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

once offered a jackpot game where the order drawn did matter. Its ''Mix & Match'' required players not only to match 5 of 19 numbers, but also the order of the numbers drawn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mega Number Lottery games in the United States