Mega Millions drawing: Tuesday jackpot is $830 million, lottery's third largest prize
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The jackpot for Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing has grown to an estimated $830 million, the lottery game's third largest prize.
The big picture: Strong sales of the $2 tickets ahead of Tuesday's drawing have pushed the jackpot up $20 million from $810 million Monday, which is up an estimated $170 million from Friday's drawing, according to Mega Millions.
- The July 26 jackpot has a cash value of $487.9 million, according to a news release.
- Mega Millions' tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with drawings held each Tuesday and Friday.
Why it matters:The gamification of gambling, in all its forms, has become increasingly big business fueled by governments, professional sports and venture capital — all eager to usher in a newer, younger group of bettors, Axios’ Pete Gannon reports.
Zoom out: The reason for the third largest Mega Millions jackpot is that no one has matched all six numbers since April, which is 28 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner.
Flashback: The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.537 billion on Oct. 23, 2018, lottery officials said.
- The winning ticket was sold in South Carolina and is the world's largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket.
What time is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions' drawings are held in Atlanta at 11pm Tuesday and Friday, which is 8pm PT.
Lottery jackpot odds are slim
Mega Millions jackpots start at $20 million and grow based on game sales and interest rates, the lottery says.
- The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 303 million, Mega Millions said in Tuesday's release.
- There are better odds — one in 12.6 million — of winning a smaller payoff like $1 million for matching five regular numbers but missing the Mega Ball, the Associated Press reports.
