Get ready for a potential windfall! The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to a staggering $800 million after no one hit the lucky numbers on Friday.
If someone opts for the cash option, they will take home $401.8 million.
Even though no one bagged the $740 million last Friday, seven lucky players became instant millionaires. Six players from California, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Texas matched five numbers to claim $1 million each. Additionally, one player in Ohio matched five and chose the “Megaplier” option, doubling their winnings to $2 million.
The numbers drawn were 6, 23, 41, 59, and 63 with the gold “Mega Ball” being 25.
Mark your calendars! Tuesday’s drawing is set for 11 p.m. ET, and you can find the winning numbers on the Mega Millions website.
Tickets are just $2, and for an extra dollar, you can add the “Megaplier” option to boost your prize!
A Brief History of Mega Millions
Mega Millions first debuted in 1996 under the name The Big Game, with its inaugural drawing on September 6 of that year. Initially, tickets were sold only in a handful of states including Georgia, Illinois, and Virginia.
By 1998, a second drawing on Tuesday was introduced. New Jersey jumped on board in 1997, followed by New York and Ohio in 2002, when the game was rebranded as Mega Millions.
Today, it’s a favorite in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, though the odds of snagging that jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million!
Record Jackpots
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever came in at a whopping $1.602 billion on August 8, 2023. Following closely is a $1.537 billion win from South Carolina on October 23, 2018.
Another major win took place on January 13, 2023, when a player in Maine celebrated a $1.348 billion jackpot, making history as the state’s first jackpot winner. Just a year earlier, a player in Illinois won $1.337 billion on July 29, 2022. Most recently, $1.128 billion was awarded to a lucky New Jersey player on March 26, 2024.
Last Jackpot Win
The last jackpot was won on June 4 by an online ticket purchaser in Illinois, with a whopping value of $552 million. Before that, the $1.128 billion jackpot won in New Jersey was also a historic win!