Why Mega Millions Is Drawn in Atlanta: The Georgia Lottery's Role in the Game

Every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern, the Mega Millions numbers come out of a television studio in Atlanta, Georgia, even though the game is sold in dozens of states plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Georgia is neither the biggest state nor the biggest market. Its role goes back to the game's first days, and it explains a few things about how the draw works.

A six-state start

The game began as The Big Game, with tickets going on sale on Aug. 31, 1996 and the first drawing on Sept. 6, 1996. Six lotteries launched it together: Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia. It was designed by the Michigan Lottery commissioner and the Illinois Lottery director after discussions with their counterparts in Georgia and Virginia.

At first there was a single weekly drawing, held on Fridays. A Tuesday drawing was added in February 1998, which created the Tuesday and Friday rhythm that has stayed in place ever since.

The week Georgia had to choose

At the time, Georgia was also a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), the organization behind Powerball. It wanted to sell both games for the rest of 1996. Within a few days, it was removed from MUSL, and it stayed out until the cross-selling agreement of 2010 allowed lotteries to offer both games.

That episode tied Georgia to Mega Millions from the start. The Georgia Lottery is the game's flagship lottery, and that is the background to the draw being run from Atlanta.

Why the cameras are in Atlanta

Mega Millions drawings are held at the studios of WSB-TV in Atlanta and supervised by the Georgia Lottery. The original host was WSB's chief meteorologist, Glenn Burns. Georgia Lottery security staff oversee each drawing, and an outside accountant certifies the result.

Two machines, no software

Each drawing uses two mechanical machines, one for each ball pool. The model is the Criterion II, made by Smartplay International in New Jersey. Counter-rotating arms mix the balls, and the winning white balls drop one at a time, a few seconds apart, through an opening in the bottom of the drum.

When Atlanta was on national TV

Before the 2010 cross-selling agreement, Mega Millions was the only multi-state lottery whose drawings were carried nationally rather than only on stations in participating states. Chicago's WGN simulcast the drawing on its national cable feed. After cross-selling began, WGN carried Powerball too, and both disappeared from WGN America in late 2014.

The home state's own jackpot

In November 2025, a single ticket sold in Georgia matched all six numbers for a jackpot of about $983 million. The game's announcement described it as the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won in Georgia and the state's first since November 2016.

In summary

Mega Millions is drawn in Atlanta because Georgia was one of the six founding lotteries and ended up as the game's flagship. The studio, the supervision and the mechanical machines all trace back to that. It is a good reminder that a game sold across the country is, behind the scenes, run by one specific team in one specific building.game's flagship. The studio, the supervision and the mechanical machines all trace back to that. It is a good reminder that a game sold across the country is, behind the scenes, run by one specific team in one specific building.