Two Winners Split $333m Mega Millions Jackpot - 09-03-09

September 3 - As a multi-state lottery, it is not surprising that the Mega Millions lottery has become one of the biggest and undoubtedly one of the most popular lotteries in participating states across the United States. Especially last week, when due to a series of rollovers, the Mega Millions jackpot was $333 million.

However, after last Friday's draw, the hopes and dreams of millions of Mega Millions lottery fans flew out the window when two lucky lotto ticket holders picked the right numbers, each winning themselves a cool $166.5 million. The winners hailed from the Bronx, New York and San Gabriel, California respectively.

The winning Mega Millions lottery numbers were 1, 17, 31, 37, 54 and Mega Ball number 31. Incredibly, after all those weeks of rollovers, it seems that the Mega Millions spell had been broken, because in the very next draw last night (Tuesday, September 1) a single lucky ticket holder scooped the $12 million jackpot.

Tuesday's $12 million ticket was reportedly bought in Georgia. And while the lucky winner is no doubt dreaming about what they will do with their new windfall - particularly in this harsh economic climate - 9 other Mega Millions lottery players from across the U.S. are also celebrating after they each won $250,000.

The winning numbers from last night were: 2, 9, 28, 51, 53 and Mega Ball number 19. Mega Millions lottery and state officials will be hoping that the Mega Millions lottery jackpot starts rolling over again. The reason is that the bigger the jackpots, the more people buy tickets which means greater revenues for the states.

Take last week's $333m Mega Millions jackpot, participating states would have enjoyed a massive increase in revenues which are not only used to top up emptying state coffers, but also for good causes. Take West Virginia for instance. Thanks to the huge jackpot, it generated $17.5 million for its public school system.

Mega Millions lottery can be played by citizens of California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Mega Millions draws are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00pm Eastern Time, 10:00pm Central Time and 8:00pm Pacific Time.