Mega Millions continues to roll, jumps to $493 million!
RELEASE DATE: 7/21/2018
The Mega Millions momentum continues to build! Strong sales pushed the July 20 jackpot higher than originally estimated, but still no ticket won the $433 million prize Friday night. That means that next Tuesday’s jackpot closes in on the magical half-billion mark! The estimated jackpot for July 24 is $493 million ($296.0 million cash)! If won at that level, it would be the fifth largest jackpot in the 16-year history of the game.
The winning numbers for the July 20 drawing are the white balls 1, 14, 30, 44 and 62, plus the gold Mega Ball 1.
While the jackpot keeps rolling, there were plenty of winners Friday night. Two tickets matched the five white balls to win $1 million each; they were sold in Illinois and Pennsylvania. Forty-seven tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball for the game’s $10,000 third prize. Five of those are actually worth $20,000 each because they included the optional Megaplier (available in most states for an extra $1 purchase), which was 2x Friday night.
In total, there were 1,801,687 winning tickets Friday night at all prize levels. Since the last jackpot was won on May 4, there have been more than 14.2 million winning tickets at all prize levels, including 26 worth $1 million or more.
The jackpot was last won in Ohio on May 4, when the ABC XYZ Trust collected $142 million. Two other jackpots have been awarded this year – $451 million on January 5 (in Florida) and $533 million on March 30 (in New Jersey). The latter prize is the fourth largest in the history of Mega Millions.
On March 30, 2012, the record Mega Millions jackpot of $656 million was shared by winners in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland. Just behind that is a $648 pot won in California and Georgia on December 17, 2013. The third largest prize in the game’s history was won by an Indiana family on July 8, 2016, and that remains the largest jackpot won by a single ticket.
The top Mega Millions jackpots to date:
Amount
Date
Winning Tickets
$656 million 3/30/2012 3-IL, KS, MD $648 million 12/17/2013 2-CA, GA $536 million 7/8/2016 1-IN $533 million 3/30/2018 1-NJ $493 million(est) 7/24/2018 ? $451 million 1/5/2018 1-FL $414 million 3/18/2014 2-FL, MD $393 million 8/11/2017 1-IL $390 million 3/6/2007 2-GA, NJ $380 million 1/4/2011 2-ID, WA
Mega Millions media contacts
LANSING, MI – The Mega Millions jackpot is worth nearly half of $1 billion as there was no winner of the $33 million jackpot for the drawing held on Friday, July 20.
That means the jackpot for Tuesday, July 24 will be worth $493 million with a cash option of $296 million. The $493 million jackpot will be the fifth largest in the history of Mega Millions.
© REUTERS A ticket is seen ahead of the Mega Millions lottery draw in Manhattan, New York, July 1, 2016.
The winning numbers drawn for Friday's Mega Millions jackpot are 1, 14, 30, 44 and 62 and the Mega Ball number is 1. The jackpot is $433 million, with a one-time cash option of $260 million.
Tickets cost $2. Sales time cut-offs vary by state but are usually one to two hours before the drawing.
There will be a Powerball drawing Saturday. The jackpot is up to $150 million.
But don't get your hopes up yet: Even with more options for giant payouts, the odds of winning a jackpot remain abysmal at 1 in 258.9 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball.
The odds of winning both jackpots are one in 75 quadrillion -- that's 15 zeros -- according to data scientists at Allstate.
The average American spends about $200 a year on lottery tickets, though residents of some states spend far more. According to a study by LendEDU, the average Massachusetts resident spends $735 annually on lottery tickets. Rhode Islanders plop down $514 a year. And if you live in Delaware or New York, you're likely spending about $400 a year, or $33 per month (see map below).
The odds of winning "scratchers" -- those little instant winning tickets that you can buy for prices ranging from $1 to $50 -- are better, but it's still no way to get rich.
EMBED >More News Videos Here's what you should know if you're thinking of playing the Mega Millions.
There was no jackpot winner for Friday's $433 million Mega Millions drawing.Friday night's winning numbers are:The jackpot for next Tuesday's drawing has surged to $493 million, with a cash option of $296 million.This is the seventh time the jackpot has exceeded $400 million and it is the sixth-largest prize in the game's history.Tickets can be purchased until 9:45 p.m.Jackpots start at $40 million. Overall odds of winning the jackpot are 1:302,575,350Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.For more information, visit: illinoislottery.com
