Author: 1to90

Show your love for Southern Maryland by powering authoritative, in-depth reporting about your community, and keeping access free for neighbors who need it.
Your contribution is appreciated.
The Southern Maryland Chronicle
When News Matters, It Matters Where You Get Your News.
The Mega Millions jackpot swelled to an estimated $800 million annuity value, with a $371.7 million cash option, for the Tuesday, November 4, 2025, drawing after no players matched all six numbers in Friday’s contest. The winning numbers from October 31 were the white balls 2, 24, 52, 66 and 68, along with the gold Mega Ball 9, drawn under the lights at WSB-TV studios here at 11 p.m. Eastern time. This marks the 37th drawing in the current run, which began after a $348 million prize was claimed in Virginia on June 27.
The escalating prize pool has generated buzz nationwide, with tickets selling in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands at $5 apiece. Each ticket carries a built-in multiplier — randomly assigned as 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X — that boosts non-jackpot prizes. Friday’s drawing produced 557,912 winners across all tiers, awarding nearly $10.9 million in total payouts. Among them, six tickets secured the third-tier prize of four white balls plus the Mega Ball: three with a 2X multiplier for $20,000 each in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and three with 3X for $30,000 each in California, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. California prizes adjust under state pari-mutuel rules, which pool wagers to cover actual payouts.
This November drawing revives memories of past autumn windfalls, though the last jackpot win in the month came in 2016. Since Mega Millions launched in 2002, players have claimed 16 November jackpots, the biggest a $326 million haul on November 4, 2014, by a New York ticket holder. The game’s format, updated in April 2025 to include the multiplier on every ticket, has fueled faster rollovers and larger averages. Overall odds of any prize stand at 1 in 23, while the jackpot requires matching five white balls from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball from 1 to 24, yielding 1-in-290,472,336 chances.

The current streak traces to four jackpot hits in the first half of 2025: $112 million in Arizona on January 17, $349 million in Illinois on March 25, $112 million in Ohio on April 18, and the Virginia win that reset the clock. Over 36 drawings since June, nearly 11.1 million tickets have won something, with prizes topping $261.8 million. That includes 17 second-tier Match 5 prizes — eight at 2X in states including Arizona and Connecticut, seven at 3X in Florida and Georgia among others, and singles at 4X and 5X both in California. Third-tier wins reached 244, with payouts from $20,000 to $100,000 across 38 jurisdictions, from Alaska to Wyoming.
Mega Millions stands alone in delivering seven billion-dollar jackpots, each in a unique state. The sequence started with South Carolina’s $1.537 billion on October 23, 2018, followed by Michigan’s $1.050 billion in January 2021, Illinois’ $1.337 billion in July 2022, Maine’s $1.348 billion in January 2023, Florida’s record $1.602 billion on August 8, 2023, New Jersey’s $1.128 billion on March 26, 2024, and California’s $1.269 billion on December 27, 2024. These mega-prizes, paid as 30 graduated annual installments or a lump-sum cash equivalent, often spark claims processes involving trusts and financial advisors to navigate taxes and anonymity laws varying by state.
Half of every ticket’s proceeds stay local, funding education, infrastructure and other causes while compensating retailers. The multi-state consortium, operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association, conducts drawings twice weekly in Atlanta, ensuring transparency with independent auditors and bond-paper balls. Changes like the 2017 matrix shift to 70 white balls widened the pool, stretching jackpots longer and inflating values — a tactic that boosted average prizes by 50 percent in the first year. Yet critics point to the regressive nature of lotteries, where lower-income players spend disproportionately, though proponents highlight the voluntary funding model.
If claimed Tuesday, the $800 million would rank ninth all-time, surpassing the $810 million Texas win on September 10, 2024, but trailing the $1.050 billion Michigan prize. Past November claimants include a $315 million Georgia ticket on November 18, 2016, and a $202 million New York win on November 21, 2014. The full history logs 1,013 jackpot drawings since 2002, with 70 percent rolling over to build spectacle. Non-jackpot tiers offer fixed awards: $10 for three white balls, up to $1 million for Match 5 without the Mega Ball, multiplied accordingly.
As tickets flood convenience stores and apps, experts advise winners to sign entries immediately and consult professionals before publicity. The drawing airs live on select networks, with results posted instantly online. With odds steeper than lightning strikes — about 1 in 500,000 annually — the allure persists in the dream of life-altering wealth from a $5 slip.

Show your love for Southern Maryland by powering authoritative, in-depth reporting about your community, and keeping access free for neighbors who need it.
Your contribution is appreciated. Donate Now
David M. Higgins II is an award-winning journalist passionate about uncovering the truth and telling compelling stories. Born in Baltimore and raised in Southern Maryland, he has lived in several East… More by David M. Higgins II, Publisher/Editor
The Southern Maryland Chronicle(SoMDC) is an all-digital news source for SoMD. We cover all of Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s Counties; along with the Southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s County. SoMDC covers every aspect of the SoMD Region and will continue to grow with the community. SoMDC appreciates all feedback from the community, along with tips, pictures, articles contributed, and support.

Enter the code sent to your email.
Email address

Enter your password
Sign in by entering the code we sent to , or clicking the magic link in the email.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

source

$10,000 Lottery Prize Sold at Shoprite in Monmouth Junction  TAPinto
source

EuroMillions results LIVE: Lottery numbers for £14m draw on Tuesday, October 14  Manchester Evening News
source

Winning numbers drawn in Sunday’s Idaho Cash  Norwalk Hour
source

Investigators say millions in cash ends up being laundered in sectors where cash is king, like construction
An illegal lottery that is run nationwide and was first flagged during the arrest of the Caruana Galizia assassination middleman Melvin Theuma, is believed to be creaming off 30% of the legitimate market.
Financial investigators who follow the comings-and-goings of this lucrative game told MaltaToday the players behind this illegal ‘national’ lottery, have inherited the operation, or at least part of it, from Theuma himself.
Theuma turned State’s evidence after he was granted a presidential pardon to testify against the alleged mastermind in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, back in November 2019.
Theuma had been under the eye of financial crime investigators that same year, when a raid on his property found – according to some press reports – over €2 million in cash stashed away.
But sources who are investigating financial crime believe such amounts are not unrealistic. “We estimate that 30% of well over €30 million that gets played in the legitimate lottery market every year, could be played in the illegal lotto,” one source told MaltaToday.
The illegal game is a parallel lotto, which comes with tickets, in which pundits stand the chance to win large amounts of cash – even higher than previous lottery prizes until years back.
The lotto is pegged to the national one, with players placing bets on a string of numbers and waiting for the national lotto winning numbers to be announced at the end of every week.
“The major operators of this illegal lotto are a few, but they each have a corner of the island or ‘districts’ that fall under their control, with their runners taking the numbers in the village bars and każini,” said one source with knowledge of the parallel lotto.
Investigators say the operators of the illegal lottery tend to be closely connected to the world of construction or property speculation.
“They all have legitimate businesses – they are well known in town, they can be respectable types who get snapped with local politicos in the village festa. But construction is important to them because it is a world where cash transactions are constantly used. And with the volumes of cash they collect on a monthly basis… well it has to be cleaned somehow, or in some cases given to charity, if it enhances their respectability.”
MaltaToday understands that property transactions concerning the suspects in Malta’s parallel lotto are under the eye of financial investigators, but the lotto itself tends to be ignored by local police. “The parallel lotto is a fact of life in the village bars where it is played – regulars have a tab with the runners, where they always play the same numbers.”
Over the last three decades, the operators of the illegal lotto have built reasonable cash floats that allow them to pay out their prizes when players win the numbers, but also by playing the same numbers with the official lottery as a kind of insurance. “They know which numbers tend to be played the most, or which are usually returned more frequently than others… so just a way of ‘insuring’ themselves against successful players, they play the same numbers themselves in the legitimate lottery.”
A veteran social worker who spoke to this newspaper also spoke of clients with regular gambling patterns on both the legitimate, and illegal lottery. “In certain village bars, people play their numbers in both the illegal and legitimate lotto… some have accumulated debts with the runners, and hope they will pay off their loans, naturally at usurious interest, when they finally win the big prize.”

source

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for the National Lottery's Euromillions and Thunderball draws. We'll bring you the results live as they arrive. The jackpot for tonight's Euromillions is a whooping £14m. Whereas, you can win £500k on the Thunderball draw.
The Euromillions draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday and a ticket costs £2.50. That includes automatic entry into the UK Millionaire Maker draw which creates new UK millionaires every week. The overall jackpot can rise to £167m.
On Saturday, October 4, a single ticketholder managed to match all six main numbers in the Euromillions draw – 06, 12, 18, 25, 41 – with the Lucky Star numbers 02 and 06 and walked away with the entire £26m jackpot. This marked the third time this year that a single winner managed to take home the entire jackpot.
The Euromillions draw for Tuesday, October 14 will be held at 8:45pm, while the Thunderball draw will be held earlier at 8pm tonight.
If you bought a ticket for tonight's draw, you can check your numbers below. Good luck!
If you didn't win tonight, we wish you the best of luck for the next time!
The winning numbers for tonight's winning Euromillions numbers are: 5, 8, 14, 16, 18T
he Lucky Stars are: 3 and 10
The Euromillions draw will soon be held, and we will bring the winning numbers to you as soon as we have them.
The Euromillions draw is coming up next, and will begin at 8.45pm. We will bring you the winning numbers as soon as we have them.
The winning Thunderball numbers are: 18, 22, 3, 1, 32,
The Thunderball is: 3
The Thunderball draw tonight will begin at 8pm, and is about to get underway. We will bring you the winning numbers as soon as we have them.
The Euromillions draw tonight will be held at 8.45pm while the Thunderball draw will take place ealier at 8pm. We will get the numbers to you as soon as they're announced, and wish the best of luck to everyone who is playing!

source

The SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator, a player engagement solution, celebrates its fourth anniversary, expanding into new regulated markets amid strong business results.
Since its launch in 2021, the SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator has offered an engagement and retention tool for operators worldwide. By the beginning of Q4 2025, the solution powers over 100 active brands, with more than 520 jackpot campaigns launched and 68,000+ jackpot hits. 
In early 2025, the SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator obtained certifications in Brazil, Peru, and Estonia, strengthening its position in Latin America and Europe. These approvals allow operators in both markets to integrate the tool in full compliance with regulatory and technical standards.
Angelina Stasiuk, Head of Business Line at SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator, shared: “Four years of consistent growth show how powerful engagement mechanics can be when built on flexibility and trust.”
“Our recent expansion into new regulated markets marks an exciting new chapter, giving regional operators access to the same reliable and engaging jackpot solutions that have already proven successful worldwide. We’re proud to see the Jackpot Aggregator evolve into a solution that brings real value to both operators and their audiences.”
The flagship Prime Network Jackpot remains the key feature of the Jackpot Aggregator. The tool unites multiple operators under a shared prize pool. One of its campaigns paid out a record-breaking €1,368,013, while a recent win in September 2025 saw a lucky player take home €758,262.71. 
Rosaria Freitas, Director of Product at Kirgo Casino, commented: “Congratulations to SOFTSWISS on four years of the Jackpot Aggregator. At Kirgo, we emphasise real play, real rewards, and zero distractions. This partnership enhances what our players can win without compromising that focus.”
“By combining our local jackpots with the Prime Network, we're offering Kirgo players exclusive community rewards and access to major shared prizes: simple, transparent, and designed for real enjoyment value.”
This year, the solution introduced a major update, the Paid Participation Campaigns feature, which expands entertainment options for players and creates new revenue opportunities for operators.
In this format, players contribute an entry fee to join jackpots, prize drops, multi-prizes, or even the Prime Network Jackpot. The feature also encourages closer collaboration with game providers, driving mutual promotion and long-term player engagement.

source

(CNN) – The Mega Millions jackpot is climbing closer to $1 billion.
The numbers selected on Friday were 2, 24, 52, 66, 68 and the Mega Ball 9
No tickets matched all six numbers on Friday night, so the jackpot for the next drawing on Tuesday is an estimated $800 million.
That’s $371 million if a winner took the cash option.
The big prize has been growing ever since late June when a Virginia winner hit for $348 million.
Copyright 2025 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

source

Tesla Inc's (NASDAQ:TSLA) annual shareholder meeting this week is shaping up less like a corporate vote and more like a referendum on Elon Musk himself. At stake: a $1 trillion stock award that could make Musk the world's first trillionaire — if he hits a series of moonshot goals that would turn Tesla into an $8.5 trillion juggernaut.
The proposal, first floated in 2018 and now re-ratified after a legal challenge, would give Musk the right to earn up to 304 million Tesla shares over the next decade if he’s able to sixfold the company's market cap and meets targets like:
Tesla's board, led by chair Robyn Denholm, has been on a media blitz, arguing that dangling a massive equity prize is the only way to keep Musk focused on the automaker rather than his constellation of side ventures — from X to xAI to SpaceX. "He's driven by ambitious targets," Denholm said, warning that Musk could "walk away" if shareholders reject the deal, reported FT.
Read Also: Tesla’s EV Future Is Threatened By China’s ‘700-Pound Gorilla’
Not everyone's buying it. The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has already voted against the package, calling it "orders of magnitude" above peers and warning it would "further concentrate power in a single shareholder."
Proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis also oppose it — prompting Musk to fire back, branding them "corporate terrorists." Yet for every institutional critic, there's an army of retail shareholders ready to click "yes," many of whom see Musk's outsized pay as symbolic of Tesla's outsized ambition.
Whether the plan passes or not, the vote underscores Tesla's identity crisis — is it a carmaker, a robotics empire, or an Elon Musk personality cult?
Investors betting on Tesla's long-term story should remember: even if Musk wins his trillion-dollar jackpot, it only pays out if he can deliver on the biggest "if" in corporate history.
Read Next:
Photo: Shutterstock
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
A newsletter built for market enthusiasts by market enthusiasts. Top stories, top movers, and trade ideas delivered to your inbox every weekday before and after the market closes.

source