One Dollar Decision Costs Texas Lottery Winner $2 Million Payout

Someone from the Austin, Texas area is the latest lottery millionaire. Well, that is before taxes and other costs. Needless to say, it's a great day for that lucky person.

But...It Could Have Been A Whole Lot Better

Most of your big lottery games have options to increase your non-jackpot winnings. Lotto Texas has the 'Extra' feature, you can add 'PowerPlay' to your Powerball ticket, and with Mega Millions, you can opt for the 'Megaplier' feature. The cost is usually one extra dollar for each set of numbers.

The Megaplier drawn for the June 30 Mega Millions was 3. That means any non-jackpot winning amount was multiplied by 3. For example, match 3 numbers and your payout goes from $10 to $30, or match all 5 numbers (but not the Powerball), and your winnings go from $1 million to $3 million!

Or, should I say would have gone to $3 million?

Yup, this Austin-area resident decided to forego the extra buck and as a result, lost an extra $2 million.

Do You Choose the 'Bonus' Options?

I don't play the lottery very often, but when I do, I go ahead and add the bonus options to increase my winnings. It doesn't increase your odds of winning, but on the extremely off-chance that you win a big prize (like a 5, 6, or 7-figure payout), it sure would be a gut punch knowing that you missed out on a much bigger cash prize.

More on the June 30 drawing

Nobody won the $368 million Mega Millions jackpot for Friday's drawing. That means the next drawing on July 4 will be worth $400 million, before all the taxes and cuts.

The $1 million ticket was purchased at Players Cafe on North Lamar in Austin.