Nobody may have won the Mega Millions jackpot in Tuesday's drawing, but a lucky few in New York and New Jersey celebrating anyway.
The contest announced there was no first-place winner from Tuesday's drawing, pushing the jackpot for the next upcoming drawing on Friday, July 29, up to $1.02 billion, with a $602.5 million cash option.
However, there were nine Match 5 winners, which means five white balls matched the winning numbers, and one Match 5 plus Megaplier winner. Two of those winners were in New York, while another two were in New Jersey, according to the Mega Millions site.
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One of the stores that sold a million-dollar ticket is located on Staten Island, within a shopping plaza on Forest Avenue in the Graniteville neighborhood, according to the NY Lottery site. The other New York winner came from a Cumberland Farms store in Saratoga, in upstate New York.
It was not immediately clear where in New Jersey where the other two $1 million tickets were sold. Ither winners were in California, Florida, Illinois and two in Ohio.
The winning numbers for Tuesday's $830 million Mega Million jackpot drawing were 29, 63, 66, 7 and 60 with a Megaball of 15.
The estimated $830 million prize would have been for a winner who takes an annuity option, paid out in 30 annual payments. Most players choose the cash option, which for Tuesday's drawing would be $487.9 million, of which about one-third would go toward federal taxes with possibly more for state taxes, depending on where the buyer lived.
The record Mega Millions prize is $1.536 billion, sold in Oct. 2018. Powerball holds the world record for a jackpot worth $1.586 billion, which was shared among three winning tickets on Jan. 13, 2016.
Even as the big prize has increased, the odds of winning all that money have remained the same — a staggering one in 302.5 million.
And while someone could theoretically spend $600 million to buy all 302.5 million possible number combinations at $2 a ticket, they'd still need a team of people to somehow coordinate their request of each number combination and payment. Given the odds of winning it all, it’s a bit surprising that anyone wins a jackpot, but it will happen.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is overseen by state lottery officials.
