AP Explains: Why the world’s biggest lottery jackpot wasn’t
DES MOINES, Iowa — Call it the world’s largest lottery prize that wasn’t.
The Mega Millions jackpot that had been announced as the biggest ever at $1.6 billion ended up being the second-biggest at $1.537 billion. It’s a difference that likely means little to the lucky person who bought the ticket in South Carolina and won Tuesday night’s drawing, but it raises questions about how lottery officials make estimates and whether they were influenced by a desire to claim the jackpot amount surpassed all others.
HOW DO THEY ESTIMATE THE JACKPOT?
Although Mega Millions is sold in most states, 11 of them largely run the game and are in charge of determining the estimated jackpot, according to Gordon Medenica, director of the Maryland lottery, one of the key 11 states. When jackpots grow especially large , lottery officials from those states compare notes daily about sales figures and combine that information with historical data to make an initial estimate and then decide whether it needs updating.