The jackpot for the coming drawing of the Mega Millions lottery has ballooned to more than $1 billion, the fourth highest prize ever, its US organiser announced on Wednesday.
The Mega Millions grand prize has been steadily growing, along with players' dreams of fortune, for more than three months, with no one correctly guessing the six magic numbers in 29 previous drawings.
Friday's estimated jackpot sits at a little more than $1bn, Mega Millions announced in a press release.
That represents an increase of about $200 million over Tuesday's top prize, which attracted so many players that the Mega Millions website was down for more than two hours, the group said.
Todd Graves, the founder and chief executive of fast-food chicken chain Raising Cane's, announced on Twitter that he had bought 50,000 tickets for the Tuesday drawing and planned to share any prize money with his 50,000 employees.
Since none of those tickets hit the jackpot, the company plans to again shell out $100,000 for the next drawing, co-chief executive AJ Kumaran told CNN on Wednesday.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are one in 303 million — far higher than the one-in-a-million chance of being struck by lightning, US government data show.
Friday's total is about half a billion dollars less than the world record, set in January 2016 by America's other national lotto, the Powerball, though that sum was split among three winners.
The second highest prize ever — and the highest won by a single person — was in an October 2018 Mega Millions drawing for $1.5bn.
The $1bn figure for Friday's drawing represents the total amount a winner would be entitled to if they accepted the prize split up over a 30-year annuity.
If the lucky person decided instead to take the winnings as a one-time cash payment, the total amount would decrease to $602.5m, Mega Millions estimates.
Winners are generally advised to immediately seek assistance from financial advisers, even before claiming the prize money.
Financial planner Robert Pagliarini also recommended that big winners “step outside the craziness of the situation for a moment”.
“Make a list of who and what you love about your life that you don't want to change,” he advised in a blog post.
Company%20profile
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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THE%20SPECS
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
57%20Seconds
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