The Mega Millions jackpot is nearing $1 billion after there was no winner following Friday night’s drawing, leading the massive prize to climb to $820 million.
The top award in the lottery game was previously $720 million before it was raised by $100 million after Friday’s drawing resulted in no winner. The current $820 million prize amounts to a payout of $422 million in cash, and if won, it would be the fifth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
The six numbers drawn Friday were white balls 29, 40, 47, 50 and 57, plus the gold Mega Ball 25. The next drawing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 25, which will mark the 28th drawing since the last jackpot was won in New York on April 18, Mega Millions noted in a statement.
“It was almost exactly one year ago when the jackpot reached similar heights, ultimately won at $1.337 billion on July 29, 2022,” the statement said. “That was the third time Mega Millions awarded a prize greater than $1 billion; there have now been four winning jackpots of $1 billion or more.”
Although there has been no jackpot winner for months, the number of winning tickets at all other prize levels continues to grow. From Friday’s drawing alone, there were 2,485,688 winning tickets, eight of which matched all five white balls to win the game’s second-highest prize of $1 million. Two each were sold in Florida, New Jersey and North Carolina, and one each was sold in California and Michigan, according to the statement.
Since the last jackpot was won in April, there have been more than 20.7 million winning tickets at all non-jackpot prize levels, ranging from $2 to $4 million. These include 39 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more won in 20 different states across the country, Mega Millions said.
Six people won jackpots within four months from the start of 2023. The first top Mega Millions prize won this year was worth $1.348 billion, marking the second-largest award recorded in the history of the game. The winning ticket was bought in Maine ahead of the Jan. 13 drawing.
Since then, there have been multiple other jackpot wins in New England. On Jan. 24, a $33 million top prize was won off a ticket bought at a Stop & Shop in Belchertown, Massachusetts, and on Jan. 31, a $31 million top prize was won off a ticket bought at a Gibbs gas station in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Mega Millions is the only lottery game that has awarded four jackpots that have exceeded $1 billion. On Wednesday, a Powerball ticket sold in California won the game’s $1 billion jackpot.
Tickets for Mega Millions are sold for $2 each in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In most jurisdictions, players can add the Megaplier for an additional $1 to multiply their non-jackpot prizes. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia.
Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold. The money goes toward designated good causes and retailer commissions, Mega Millions noted.
