The bad news is no one won the Mega Millions jackpot in Tuesday's drawing. The good news is the prize rolled over and has soared to $1.35 billion, the second-largest prize in the game's history and fourth-largest in U.S. lottery history.
The numbers drawn Tuesday night were: 7, 13, 14, 15, 18 and gold Mega Ball 9.
The massive $1.35 billion prize is for a winner who takes an annuity option, paid out in 30 annual payments. Most players choose the cash option, which for Friday's drawing would be $707.9 million, of which about one-third would go toward federal taxes with possibly more for state taxes, depending on where the buyer lives.
The jackpot has been growing since Oct. 14, when two tickets — one in California and another in Florida — matched all six numbers and won split the $494 million prize. Since then, there have been 25 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, allowing the grand prize to grow week-after-week. A likely surge in ticket sales will surely push the jackpot higher before Friday's drawing.
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.
The current Mega Millions record is $1.536 billion, sold in Oct. 2018. Tuesday's jackpot will be the nation's fifth biggest lottery prize overall. Powerball holds the U.S. record for a jackpot worth $2.04 billion won by a California resident on Nov. 8, 2022.
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Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
