Mega Millions July 21, 2023: Friday drawing jackpot among top prizes
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The estimated $720 million Mega Millions jackpot will be up for grabs Friday night and players around the country will tune in to see if they are the lucky winner.
No one has won the Mega Millions since April 18, when a ticket in New York won $20 million. If someone were to win the current jackpot at $720 million, it would be among the top 10 largest Mega Millions jackpots ever, according to the lottery.
The jackpot has a cash option of $369.6 million.
The most recent numbers from Tuesday's drawing were 19, 22, 31, 37 and 54. The Mega Ball was 18, and the Megaplier was 4X.
Whether you've played before, or if this is your first time trying your luck at the lottery, here's what you need to know ahead of the next drawing.
When are the Mega Millions drawings?
Drawings are every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. The next drawing is Friday, July 21.
How to play the Mega Millions
Mega Millions tickets cost $2 per play.
There are nine total ways to win a prize, from the jackpot to $2.
Players can pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers: five different numbers from the white balls numbered 1-70 and one number from the gold balls numbered 1-25.
- Five white balls + One gold ball = Jackpot.
- Five white balls = $1 million.
- Four white balls + One gold ball = $10,000.
- Four white balls = $500.
- Three white balls + One gold ball = $200.
- Three white balls = $10.
- Two white balls + One gold ball= $10.
- One white ball + One gold ball = $4.
- One gold ball = $2.
You can either pick your lucky numbers yourself or select Easy Pick or Quick Pick and have the numbers auto-drawn. If you can't make up your mind, the Mega Millions website has a random number generator.
What's the Megaplier?
Most states offer the Megaplier feature, which increases non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four and five times.
It costs an additional $1 per play. Before each regular Mega Millions drawing, the Megaplier is drawn. From a pool of 15 balls, five are marked with "2X," three with "4X" and one with "5X."
Where to buy Mega Millions tickets
You can play Mega Millions in 47 localities: 45 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To find locations, search the Mega Millions website.
In Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, you can buy a Mega Millions ticket at gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets until 10:45 p.m. on drawing night.
In Kentucky, residents can also purchase tickets online at www.KYLottery.com.
In Ohio, residents can use Lottery Card available in Kroger, Buehler’s Fresh Foods and Giant Eagle stores. It allows Ohio consumers to enter draw games on their phones and get notified and paid electronically if they win. You can also buy tickets online at www.OhioLottery.com.
What was the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever?
In 2018, one winning ticket in South Carolina sold for a $1.537 billion grand prize, which was the world's largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket.
In January 2021, a winning ticket sold in Michigan for $1.05 billion.
What happens if I win Mega Millions?
Mega Millions offers two options.
You can take annuity, in which you're paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5% bigger than the previous.
There's also the cash option, a one-time, lump-sum payment equal to all the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.
