The Mega Millions jackpot has reached a staggering $627 million, with no winners for the grand prize in the latest draw. This Friday’s drawing will mark the ninth time the jackpot has crossed the $600 million threshold since the lottery began in 2002. The hefty prize amounts to $309.1 million in cash if taken as a lump sum.
In the draw on Tuesday night, no ticket holder matched all six numbers — 16, 18, 21, 54, and 65, plus the Mega Ball 5. Despite the absence of a jackpot winner, there were over 1.2 million winning tickets at various prize levels for the same draw. Two lucky tickets sold in South Carolina won the second-tier prize; one ticket won $2 million due to the added Megaplier, while the other won $1 million.
Further, 30 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball, with 10 of them earning $20,000 each due to the Megaplier, and the other 20 winning $10,000 each. This jackpot run, which began after a $552 million win in Illinois on June 4, has seen more than 16 million winners across all prize levels in 24 draws.
Historically, 2023 has seen only two Mega Millions jackpots won: the previous mentioned Illinois win and a massive $1.128 billion jackpot in New Jersey that remains unclaimed. Winners in New Jersey have one year from the draw date to claim their prize.
Mega Millions holds the record for producing six of the largest jackpots in lottery history, all surpassing $1 billion and each won in different states. The record for the largest jackpot stands at $1.602 billion, won in Florida on August 8, 2023.
Tickets for Mega Millions are available in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, costing $2 with an additional $1 for the optional Megaplier. The drawings take place in Atlanta, Georgia, every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24, and the jackpot odds are 1 in 302,575,350.
