How To Play Oregon Megabucks. Megabucks is an Oregon lottery game. Drawings take place Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. To play Megabucks you must select 6 numbers ranging from 1-48. You receive two plays for one dollar. The Megabucks Jackpot is pari-mutuel and starts at 1 million. Megabucks Odds: Match 1 = 1 in 3; Match 2 = 1 in 8; Match 3 = 1.
- Match your numbers to those drawn by the Lottery to win cash prizes! Win by having any one of these nine combinations. Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 5.9. Prize amounts based on a $2 play.
- To win Megabucks Plus, that means wheeling less than about 26 of the 41 total numbers. Otherwise, you'll be spending MORE money chasing a SMALLER guaranteed prize. You benefit more by wheeling a carefully selected group of lotto numbers.
- Select 5 numbers from 1 through 41 on the upper section and one number from 1 through 6 on the lower section; to Easy Pick (EP), mark the 'EP' box on the play slip and let the Lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers for you.
- Please sign your ticket immediately to show ownership. Cancellations are allowed in Tri-State Megabucks®. You may purchase a Tri-State Megabucks® ticket until 7:50 p.m. (ET) on the evening of the draw. The winning number results will be posted on our website and at all 1,400-plus retail locations shortly after the drawing.
Oregon’s Megabucks lottery is the biggest run in the state. Also known as the Oregon Lottery, the lotto is a member of the MUSL (Multi-State Lottery Association). Having been approved in the Oregon Constitution by voters in the 1984 election, this Oregon lottery came into being a year later in 1985, under the name of Megabucks.
Although the Oregon lottery has undergone many changes, with many new games first introduced, and later revoked over time; Megabucks has always been an important part of the lottery scene in the state. The lottery donates 1% of all its proceeds to tackle problematic gambling issues, and treatment operations. The current record for the biggest ever win in this lottery is $30 million. Megabucks is played every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
How to play Oregon Megabucks
Megabucks uses a total of 48 balls. Players must choose six numbers on their ticket, and a total of six numbers will be drawn to become the winning numbers for a particular draw. In recent years, a side-bet (known as the Kicker) has been added. For an extra-cost, players can multiplier their prize winnings by placing this side-bet.
Prizes
Wolf quest download. Players need to land at least 3 balls in this lottery game, in order to win a prize. The good news is that players have a 1 in 26 chance of winning something. The lowest prize for matching 3 balls is fixed at $1, although if you player with the Kicker, that prize rises to $4.
Players who match 4 balls can win either $40 without the Kicker, or $170 with the Kicker. As you can see, playing with the Kicker really does boost your winnings. Matching 5 balls with the Kicker can see you scoop winnings of roughly $1,600, whilst the same winning combination is only worth $400 without the Kicker.
Finally, if you matched all 6 balls, you will win the jackpot, with or without the Kicker. Jackpots vary, depending on whether there is a roll-over or not. As we’ve said, the biggest recorded jackpot with the Megabucks lotto is $30 million, to date. Over 230 millionaires have been created with this lottery game.
Lotto Atlas recommends playing Megabucks on The Lotter
Oregon’s Megabucks lottery is just one of many major worldwide lotteries which Lotto Atlas recommends using The Lotter to play. With The Lotter, you won’t even need to live in the state of Oregon. Players can purchase tickets from anywhere in the world via their Lotter account, and then if they win, withdraw the cash.
The Lotter allows players to purchase tickets in a variety of formats, for a cost of only slightly more than a ticket would cost you if you bought it from a shop in Oregon. This small cost if the only charge you’ll pay. With The Lotter, what you win remains yours in its entirety.
And finally…
Oregon’s Megabucks lotto has made countless millionaires, and rollovers are common enough. This lottery gives you very good odds of winning something, which for players who are keen on pocketing smaller sums of cash, is a dream come true. With The Lotter, you can play the very next Oregon’s Megabucks lottery game, if you join right now.
Megabucks is a Nevada state-wide slot jackpot network that is owned and run by the slot machine company, International Game Technology (IGT). Considered Nevada’s state lottery, Megabucks is extremely popular and has created quite a few millionaires in its 19-year history.
Thanks to a wonderful marketing strategy, Megabucks continues to ignite a firestorm every time the jackpot reaches ‘megabuck’ status. It is also a slot machine that generates a ridiculous amount of gossip and urban legend circulating on the game and its winners.
However, if you look at the real truth behind IGT’s Megabucks, even with all the myths and legends dispelled, it will become apparent that this progressive slot is a poor place to spend your money.
How Does Megabucks Work?
IGT’s Megabucks is a dollar coin slot machine that requires 3 coins or $3.00 to hit the jackpot. The jackpot is reset to a predetermined amount after every mega win. While the present reset amount is $10-million, there is chatter that this will be increasing to $11-million.
Megabucks is part of the company’s MegaJackpot slot system that connects about 750 machines in 136 Nevada casinos to one primary jackpot that builds from the base jackpot amount. International Game Technology owns the Megabucks machines and the casino gets a cut of the money that each machine wins from the players. It is common knowledge that IGT created Megabucks to compete with state lotteries.
Where Can You Play Megabucks?
Nevada is the true home of Megabucks and is found in nearly all of the casinos on the strip. Unlike multi-state lotteries, this game does not cross state lines. IGT runs Megabucks jackpots in the states of California, New Jersey and Mississippi, as well as some Indian reservations.
I’ve had the opportunity to throw a few dollars in the Megabucks ring on a trip to Mississippi. I noticed the jackpot was much lower than I have seen in Las Vegas and while I did feel like, by some magic formula, my odds were better because the stakes were lower I did not win.
However, these don’t include as many venues as the Nevada edition and their jackpots are usually only a fraction of the original. Each state that offers Megabucks has a separate jackpot system with individual meters and winners. If a jackpot is won in one state, it does not affect the progressive jackpot in another.
Each Megabucks machine has its own random number and hence chooses its own outcomes. These outcomes are then reported to a central location. When the jackpot is hit on one machine, the central station sends out a message to the other machines, resetting their respective meters.
How About the Odds of Winning Megabucks?
Statistics about the true odds of winning the Megabucks jackpot remain sketchy at best.
Some put the odds down as astronomical as 1 in 50-million, yet others, such as the Las Vegas Sun, put it at 1 in 17-million.
It is certainly understandable why the betting for the Megabucks sometimes reaches chaotic proportions and has people crossing over the state line just to have a shot at winning so many millions.
But do winners really receive what the games advertise? Let’s take the example of a $35-million win. Initially, for that amount of money, winners get a check of $1.4 million. They then have between sixty and ninety days to decide whether they want to take their money in annual installments over twenty-five years or a lump sum of 60% of the money.
For a $35-million win, that would result in $21-million before taxes. Obviously, most winners choose the former and take the lump sum payment.
Whichever option the winner chooses, he or she still needs to take into account the taxes payable to the IRS. They are subject to the maximum tax rate of nearly 40%, with state taxes also needing to be taken into account. When all is said and done, the prize money dwindles somewhat miserably after Uncle Sam takes a bite.
Of course, nobody has ever refused the money all together & taken $0. So, I suppose most people wouldn’t scoff at $14 million or so.
Megabucks Curse
No slot machine in the history of the world has had close to as many urban legends, myths and stories surrounding the game of Megabucks.
Did I Win Megabucks
Typically, these legends center around the unfortunate fate of Megabucks winners, which leads the masses to believe that winning the multi-million dollar jackpot will result in an ultimately unlucky death. While pretty much all of these stories have proven to be fabricated, Megabucks still has the obstinate reputation of being cursed.
Many believe that the genesis of the rumors hanging over Megabucks is based on the truly tragic story of a 37 year-old cocktail waitress named Cynthia Jay-Brennan. In 2000, Jay-Brennan, was the lucky winner of a $34.9-million Megabucks jackpot, played in the Desert Inn Casino in Vegas.
Less than 2 months after her win, Jay-Brennan was surprisingly involved in a car crash. Her sister was killed instantly and poor Cynthia, herself, was left a quadriplegic. The driver of the car that hit the pair was under the influence of alcohol and was eventually tried and sentenced to 28 years; however, this did not stop rumors flying that Megabucks was a cursed game to win.
The fact is that Jay-Brennan’s accident was not the first of these rumors, as they circulated well before the year 2000. However, since this event, stories continuously surface regarding the tragic fate of every winner of the latest Megajackpot win.
When another young man hit the jackpot in 2003, rumors spread like a virus of his untimely ‘death’ through various ends, including a fatal drug overdose in a casino hotel and in a gang fight as far away as Los Angeles. All these stories have, thus far, proven to be false and while the winner chose to remain anonymous, IGT has assured the public time and time again that the lucky young man is alive and well, and enjoying his new found wealth.
Other urban legends related to Megabucks spin stories of underage players who could not claim their winnings, employees of a casino who played Megabucks and couldn’t claim their prize because of a law prohibiting workers to gamble at their places of work and other tales along the same vein.
To date, none of these stories have come up as anything other than tall tales.
A rumor, which has not yet been dispelled, is one regarding the change in the Megabucks programming system. Some claim that IGT changed the programming of the system to make the jackpot hit less frequently but for more money. While IGT claims that they did not do anything of the sort, there are many experts in the gambling field who feel that some sort of change was made in the past.
Finally, a minor rumor that can be dispelled is one that says that the central station to which each jackpot machine reports chooses the winner. IGT assures its gambling public that each machine has its own RNG and thus every machine chooses its own outcome.
Conclusion
How To Play Megabucks
So, while you now understand that most stories flying around the industry regarding the curse of Megabucks are false, I cannot ignore the fact that this is simply a bad slot game to play for 2 reasons.
First is the house “hold”. Megabucks holds between 10% – 15% of every dollar played. Many slot machines in Nevada hold as little as 2% or 3%. The second reason that makes Megabucks a terrible play for the serious gambler is that you only receive 60% of your jackpot. There are many other progressive slots in your casino that pay big jackpots, but give you the whole thing.
When we strip Megabucks from all the pomp and glam that surrounds it, we find a middle of the road progressive slot game that doesn’t give you much for your money. And even if you do get incredibly lucky and win, you don’t exactly get the flashy numbers promised to you. Instead you will have to settle for a sum that is much more modest in nature, paid off to you over a period of 25 years. Final conclusion? Megabucks is not a mega hit. In fact, there are lots more fish in the proverbial gambling sea.