Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches $1.1 Billion After Friday Drawing Yields No Big Winner
Might be time to go snap up a ticket again!
The Mega Millions jackpot has reached a massive new sum of $1.1 billion after it went without a winner after Friday’s six-number drawing.
The latest jackpot marks the third-largest in Mega Millions’ history — following a $1.537 billion win in 2018 and a $1.337 billion win in 2022 — as well as the sixth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, per the New York Times.
Friday’s jackpot sat at an estimated $940 million, but with no winner, the prize has now reached $1.1 billion with a cash option of $568.7 million. Friday’s numbers were 3, 20, 46, 59, 63 and Mega Ball 13. The next drawing will take place on Tuesday to determine who — if anyone — will come out filthy rich.
With the odds of winning sitting at 1 in 302.6 million, some people did win something Friday. As Mega Millions shares, 4.4 million people took home somewhere between $2 to $1 million, with five tickets earning the $1 million second-tier prize. Of the five second-tier victories, two were sold in New York, one in Florida, one in Maryland and another in New Jersey.
“Mega Millions has just reached the $1 billion mark again. It’s especially nice to see the jackpot grow throughout the holidays and into the new year,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a release. “We are thankful for the support of our customers and retailers, which allows each of our 47 member lotteries to generate funds for good causes within their jurisdiction. As the jackpot grows, we encourage our players to keep within their entertainment budget and enjoy this jackpot run right along with us.”
Back in July, the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot ended with a winner in Des Plaines, about 20 miles northwest of Chicago.
The winner collected the jackpot-winning ticket of $1.337 billion for what at the time was considered the third-largest jackpot of any U.S. lottery game, according to the Illinois Lottery. The sum was split between two people who had agreed to do so and “stayed true to that word,” per the Illinois Lottery.
“They stopped into the Speedway in Des Plaines and grabbed a Mega Millions ticket while they were there,” Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays said, according to a press release. “That turned out to be an absolutely life-changing decision when a $3 line of Mega Millions with Megaplier turned into a $1.34 billion jackpot win.”
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the US Virgin Islands, where drawings are on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET. Tickets are sold online in Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and D.C., but the purchaser must be in that state.