(NEXSTAR) — Your odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot have always been slim, but thanks to new changes to the national lottery game, they just got better.
Mega Millions officials unveiled sweeping changes to the game, meant to create bigger prizes, a faster-growing jackpot, and improved odds.
Tuesday’s drawing will mark the first since those changes took effect. If you have purchased since Friday night’s drawing, you may have already noticed the Mega Millions’ new look, new number pool, and the new price.
There are now fewer Mega Ball numbers — 24 instead of 25 — to select from, which improves your odds of winning any Mega Millions payout from 1 in 24 to 1 in 23. Officials have also removed the Megaplier (and the Just the Jackpot option available in some states) and replaced it with a built-in random multiplier.
“Every non-jackpot win will multiply its base prize by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X automatically,” game officials said last month. This also expands the range of payouts. Instead of $2 to $1 million, the current non-jackpot prize range, the Mega Millions will have payouts between $10 to $10 million.
Possible payouts have also shifted. The lowest possible prize is now $10, up from $2. (The base prize is technically $5, but the built-in multiplier will at least double that.)
You can see the new prizes below compared to the current payouts:
The increased payouts are partially thanks to the rising cost of playing Mega Millions. A line of Mega Millions numbers will now set you back $5.
“This is only the game’s second price adjustment since the first ticket was sold more than 20 years ago and the first change since the current game matrix was adopted in 2017,” Mega Millions officials said in March.
Below is a look at the new Mega Millions ticket style:
According to Mega Millions officials, the new game structure will give way to a faster-growing jackpot that becomes larger more frequently.
Instead of starting at $20 million, the Mega Millions will reset to $50 million every time the jackpot is won. The higher starting point for the jackpot, combined with rising ticket prices, is expected to lead to even more enticing jackpots for players.
Just like your odds of winning any payout have increased, so have your odds of winning the jackpot. Instead of having a roughly 1 in 302.58 million chance of hitting the Mega Millions jackpot, your odds are now about 1 in 290.47 million.
While vastly better than the odds Mega Millions players had a week ago, you’re still more likely to be eaten by a shark, be attacked by a grizzly bear, hit a hole-in-one, find a pearl in an oyster, or shake the president’s hand.
If you aren’t deterred by your slim odds of winning, the next Mega Millions drawing is set for 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The current jackpot sits at an estimated $54 million with a cash option of $25.7 million.
Mega Millions is available in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to Tuesdays, drawing are held at 11 p.m. ET on Fridays.