Tickets for Mega Millions will be sold exclusively in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia.

The game will offer a minimum jackpot of $10 million, nine ways to win and overall odds of one in 43 of winning a cash prize. Ohio players are subject to the rules and regulations of the Ohio Lottery Commission.

Tickets for Mega Millions will go on sale at a cost of $1 per wager. The live drawings will be conducted every Tuesday and Friday in Atlanta. The first televised drawing will be conducted on Friday at 11 p.m.

Mega Millions succeeds The Big Game, which has been played across the country since September 1996. The final drawing for The Big Game will be held on Tuesday, May 14, 2002. If there is no top prize winner, The Big Game jackpot prize will roll into and become the jackpot for the first draw of Mega Millions.

The Ohio Lottery expects to generate $240 million in sales and an additional $40 million in profits to education in fiscal year 2003.

All profits generated in Ohio stay in Ohio and are transferred to The Lottery Profits Education Fund. Mega Millions is expected to generate total sales of approximately $2 billion among the nine member states in the next fiscal year.

Approximately $840 million will be awarded to the member states to support important state programs and institutions. More than $1 billion will be returned to Mega Millions' players in the form of prizes, the Ohio Lottery said.

Players select five numbers between one and 52, plus a Gold Mega Ball number from an additional pool of numbers between one and 52.

During the drawing, two lottery machines will mix separate sets of balls between one and 52. Five balls will be drawn from the first machine, and one Gold Mega Ball will be drawn from the second machine.

Players win if they match any three, four or all five numbers drawn. Players also win if they match only the Gold Mega Ball, or one, two, three or four numbers plus the Gold Mega Ball. Players win the jackpot if they match all five numbers and the Gold Mega Ball.

Five (5) white balls plus the Gold Mega Ball wins entire jackpot: Odds are one in 135,145,920
Five (5) white balls only wins $175,000: Odds are one in 2,649,920
Four (4) white balls plus the Gold Mega Ball wins $5,000: Odds are one in 575,089
Four (4) white balls only wins $150: Odds are one in 11,276
Three (3) white balls plus the Gold Mega Ball wins $150: Odds are one in 12,502
Two (2) white balls plus the Gold Mega Ball wins $10: Odds are one in 834
Three (3) white balls wins $7: Odds are one in 245
One (1) white ball plus the Gold Mega Ball wins $3: Odds are one in 152
Gold Mega Ball only wins $2: Odds are one in 88