Lottery

A Homestead man claimed a once-in-a-lifetime prize after buying and playing a Florida Lottery scratch-off ticket.

Lottery players are going to have a shot at more jackpots and slightly better odds under new Mega Millions rules, but improvements come at a cost.

But the starting jackpot doubles, too. And your odds of winning actually increase.

A Hialeah couple snagged a $5 million prize after playing the lottery Crossword Cash scratch-off. NBC6’s Jamie Guirola reports

Talk about a lucky break – one couple just turned pocket change into a fortune!

The man whose card was stolen is offering to split the cash with the lucky winners.

A Southern California man realized he won $1.2 million in the California Lottery Mega Millions after a coworker jokingly texted him about winning.

A single ticket sold in California won Friday’s $1.22 billion Mega Millions jackpot, the lottery announced Saturday morning.

If someone wins the jackpot Friday, it will be the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history. Who wouldn’t want to get in line for a chance to win?

NBC6’s Johanna Torres tells us the odds you’ll take home the money.

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.

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.

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

Increased costs for necessities might have helped lead to consumers dialing back purchases of scratch-off lottery tickets, as state economists reported Florida Lottery sales decreased during the past fiscal year.