Tri State MegaBucks "The Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire Megabucks"
Tri State Lottery – Overview 
The Tri State Lottery is a USA lottery game that is offered by 3 states in North America. It was the very first multi-state lottery game offered in the USA. The 3 most northerly states in New England – Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire combined to form the Tri-State Lottery back in 1985. Tickets were first sold on September 3rd 1985. The first lottery draw for this Tri State Megabucks took place on September 14th 1985. All 3 of members of the Tri State lottery are also part of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) and as such - offer the Vermont Lottery Powerball, Maine Lottery Powerball and New Hampshire Lottery Poweball games – the Tri-State games themselves, though, are not a part of the MUSL games. The Tri-State lottery has 4 games that the 3 participating states offer and here we will be taking a good look at their main offering, the Tri State Megabucks…
Tri-State MegaBucks – Overview
Mega Bucks is the traditional draw-style, lotto jackpot game of the Tri State Lottery. It is the premier game and is still going strong today 24 years after it was first introduced. The game is offered by the 3 participating states with each state’s game being individually called the Vermont Megabucks, the Maine Megabucks and the New Hampshire Megabucks. The jackpot for this Tri State lottery commences at $500,000 and “rolls over” each time the top prize is not won. This is then added onto the following draw’s jackpot and increases in size by approximately $50,000 each draw until somebody wins it when it will revert to the starting jackpot sum of $250,000 once more. This game uses a matrix of 6/42 and drawings of the game take place twice per week on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7.59pm Eastern Time. We are more than happy to recommend this particular lottery for inclusion in your “worth playing” list, so do check out below how the Tri-State Mega Bucks works…
How It Works… 
The Tri State Megabucks Lottery uses what’s called a 6/42 matrix which means that when playing, you need to select 6 numbers from a pool of numbers from 1 to 42 – if you match all 6 numbers drawn then you will be a jackpot winner. There is also a 7th number – a Bonus Number – which is drawn from the remaining 36 numbers after the 6 main numbers have been drawn. This number is NOT on Mega Bucks lottery slips and is there as a Bonus Ball purely to provide additional ways in which you can win by matching your 6 numbers from the 7 that are actually drawn. You do not need to match the Bonus Number as well as the 6 main numbers to be a Tri State jackpot winner. In addition to the jackpot itself, there are 7 more ways in which you can win on the Mega Bucks, with prizes to be won if you match either 5 main numbers plus the Bonus Ball, 5 main numbers, 4 main numbers plus the Bonus Number, 4 main numbers, 3 main numbers plus the Bonus Number, 3 main numbers or just 2 main numbers plus the Bonus Ball. A “Easy Pick” facility is available when playing the Tri State Megabucks similar the “Lucky Dip” option that is used in the UK National Lottery or Europe’s Euro-Millions or the “Quick Pick” option on many other USA lottery games – which means that you can get the computer or online retailer to randomly select all your Megabucks numbers for you. With the “Easy Pick” facility you can ask for just some of your numbers to be randomly generated as well as all 6. So… playing the TriState Megabucks is simple…just select your own 6 numbers or request them to be randomly generated for you by using the “Easy Pick” facility. The cost of each entry into this TriState lottery is the standard charge of $1.00.
Random Number Generator
Unlike some of the in-state and multi-state USA lottery games who now use a Random Number Generator (RNG) to make their lottery draws, the Tri State Mega Bucks is drawn with the more traditional method of using numbered balls in a drum.
Who Can Play?
As with most USA lottery games, previously only citizens living in the 3 participating states were allowed to play in any of the VT Lottery, ME Lottery & NH Lottery games - including the Tri-State Megabucks - you used to have to purchase your Tri-State lottery tickets from an authorized retailer based in 1 of the 3 states. Nowadays, though, there are a good number of online lottery ticket sales companies such as TheLotter who are both authorized and genuine - you are able to select your Megabucks numbers online and purchase your tickets without worrying about where in the world you may be living. This is good news of course if you live outside of Vermont, Maine & New Hampshire & the USA but want to play the game and ensure your entry into the next drawing or just want to have the convenience and simplicity of being able to buy lottery tickets online for the Megabucks game. Once you have entered into the Tri State lotto draw, you can then easily check the Megabucks results online to see how you have done and to find out if you have become one of the lucky Mega Bucks winners. You will need to be 18 years of age to be eligible to purchase a ticket for any of the Tri State Lottery games. Click here to Play the Tri State MegaBucks PLUS Now
Information & Background
The Mega Bucks game from the Vermont Lottery, Maine Lottery and New Hampshire Lottery started off in 1985 using a matrix of 6/30 when it was draw just on Saturdays. The matrix has undergone various changes over the years, changing from its original configuration to 6/36 in January 1986. In January 1988, the matrix was altered again, this time to 6/40. Mega Bucks weekly draws increased to twice per week with a Wednesday draw being added in May 1990. The cash option “MegaCash” was introduced in June 1996 giving jackpot winners the option of taking their jackpot win as a one-off cash lump sum.
What Are The Odds? 
The odds of winning on the Tri State lottery are very competitive when compared to many of the US lotteries, especially the other Multi-State offerings of Mega Millions and Powerball. The chances of winning a Tri State Megabucks jackpot are 1 in 5.24 million – for these odds you could be a Mega Bucks jackpot winner. For one of the prizes on the second level, the odds come in at 1 in 874 thousand. The likelihood of winning a third tier prize comes in at 1 in 24,980 and for a prize on the fourth tier the odds are reduce right down to just 1 in 9,992. Fifth tier prize odds are 1 in 586 with odds for a sixth level prize being 1 in 441. With so many different ways to win, there are prizes also for tiers 7 and 8 – with odds for a seventh tier win being 1 in 53 and eighth tier odds coming in at just 1 in 40. The overall odds of you winning any prize are a very reasonable 1 in just 21. These are great overall odds for a jackpot game that produces thousands of cash winners every week.
Record Jackpots…
The biggest win on the Tri-State Megabucks has been the US$ 16.4 Million jackpot won in January 1992 which was shared between winners in Maine and Vermont. August 4th 2010 saw the largest win on the Tri-State Megabucks PLUS to date. A US$ 12.5 Million jackpot was won in New Hampshire which is the largest prize ever awarded to a single ticket holder in the history of either the Tri-State Megabucks or its replacement the Tri-State Megabucks PLUS.
How Are Jackpots Paid? 
As a Tri State Megabucks jackpot winner, you would have a choice in how you wish to receive your winnings. You could choose to have either a single cash lump sum payment or an annuity prize. You will need to make the choice as to whether you wish to receive the cash lump sum option or the annuity instalment payments option within 60 days of making your winning claim. If you make no decision, after the 60 day period, the jackpot will automatically be paid to you as an annuity. In terms of value, if you chose to take the cash lump sum payment as a jackpot winner, you would receive approximately 50% of the annuity value that you would be paid in installments. If you choose to receive your jackpot as an annuity, it would be paid to you in yearly instalments over a 25 year period. If your Tri State Lottery win is up to $500 you will be able to claim your prize from any of the lottery retailers across the 3 participating states. If your win is $500 or more then you will need to get a lottery claim form from one of the retailers and submit your claim. If you are a Mega Bucks jackpot winner, you will need to make your claim at the headquarters of the Vermont Lottery, the Maine Lottery or the New Hampshire Lottery. If you play lottery online however, whatever your win, this will not be a concern for you, as your accredited lottery ticket sales agency will take care of all this for you, whether it is TheLotter or whatever company you may use. You will need to claim any Tri State Lottery prize, including the jackpot, if you are a winner, within 365 days of the draw taking place.
How The States Benefit…
Citizens of the 3 states offering the Tri State game - Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, benefit in various ways from lottery proceeds… Primarily, funds generated by the Tri-State lottery games go towards the Education fund, helping to maintain the general welfare of the people. Click here to
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