For the first time in Canadian lottery history, the Lotto Max jackpot has surged to an astonishing $80 million for Tuesday night’s draw.
This record-breaking grand prize swelled by an additional $5 million after last Friday’s unprecedented $75 million jackpot went unclaimed. Earlier this month, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) increased the maximum jackpot size from $70 million. The jackpot cap has now been expanded in $10-million increments three times since its initial introduction in 2009.
In addition to the whopping $80 million prize, tonight’s draw will also feature approximately 18 Maxmillions prizes, each worth $1 million.
Tickets for the draw can be purchased at any participating retailer until 10:30 p.m.
Despite the enormous potential winnings, the probability of hitting the jackpot remains exceedingly slim. Jeffrey Rosenthal, a statistics professor at the University of Toronto, explained just how daunting the odds are in an interview on Tuesday.
“If you look at the probability, the chances that you’re going to match those seven numbers that they’re going to pick for the jackpot are just really not that high, and your chances of winning are really very low,” Rosenthal noted.
According to the OLG, the odds of landing the main jackpot are a staggering 1 in 33,294,800. A single $5 ticket provides three sets of seven numbers that could match those randomly chosen in tonight’s draw. There are nearly 100 million different combinations of numbers that could potentially be drawn, Rosenthal explained.
“The reality is, every choice of seven numbers has the same chance of matching [the draw], because they’re picking them randomly. So it doesn’t really matter if you pick it yourself or if you use the QuickPick,” he said.
Rosenthal suggested one strategy to improve one’s chances of not having to share the prize if they do win: avoid common numbers, such as those associated with birthdays (1-31). This minimizes the likelihood of another player having selected the same winning combination.
