Jackpot Fever: How It Ruins Your Lottery Game And 2 Ways To Cure It

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This $448 million Powerball jackpot was shared between 16 players.

When you look at the large prizes played all over the world, there's one thing that stands out. People go crazy when the jackpot rises.

I call it Jackpot Fever, because being attracted to large prizes makes them spend more than they should.

Another downside of this obsession? Sharing the giant prize with others.

For example, one of our Silver Lotto multi-million dollar jackpot winners had to share their prize with 9 others.

I can increase the rate at which you win the lottery, but sharing the prize is one problem that's harder to control. 

Every other winner in your game's division reduces the total prize amount you get. In the photo above, each of the 16 Powerball winners received only $3.8 million after taxes - for a $448 million jackpot.

That's quite a drop.

In the example below, a 1st Division jackpot in our local game was shared by 6 winners. That brought the total $1 million prize down to only $166,667 each.

So what's the solution? There is one way you can get around it:

Play on less popular days.

Many lotteries play two games a week, sometimes more. Usually one of these games is less popular than the others for a variety of reasons.

  • The main prize amount will attract fewer players if the prize amount is low.

  • The weather may alter the popularity of the game. Bad weather keeps players from traveling to the lotto store.

  • A competing multi-state game with greater prizes will reduce the appeal of local games. For example, in the USA, a large Powerball jackpot will take attention away from other smaller prize games around the country.

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Three winners shared the 2012 Mega Millions $656 million jackpot prize. Illinois resident Merle Butler holds up his $218.6 million ticket.

How do you find these less popular days for your game? The best way is at the local level.

Visit several lotto stores in your area, buy a ticket or two from them, and ask what their most popular days are.

After a few visits, you'll pick up on what days are the most or least popular.

Then play the game on the least popular days.

While this strategy is not a guarantee of reducing the number of sharing winners, when you put it together with the other strategies I recommend, it will help.

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