The Mega Millions prize pool is growing even after Friday’s drawing produced no winners.
As of Tuesday’s drawing, the jackpot has increased to an estimated $800 million, with a $401.8 million cash option. In the history of the game, this jackpot ranks eighth largest. There have been six prizes over $1 billion.
According to Mega Million, a $552 million ticket from Illinois was the last winner of the prize on June 4. There have been 27 drawings since then, but no one has won the grand prize.
Thus far this year, just two Mega Millions jackpots have been won.
A $1.1 billion winning ticket was bought in New Jersey in March prior to the Illinois ticket. That award has yet to be claimed. In New Jersey, winners have a year to claim their prizes.
In addition to Washington, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 45 states sell tickets. In Atlanta, Georgia, drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Each ticket costs $2. Each Mega Millions ticket sale generates half of the revenue that stays in the state where the ticket was purchased.
There is a one in over 302 million chance of winning the jackpot. There is a 1 in 24 chance of winning any Mega Millions prize overall. In August of last year, a $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot ticket was sold in Florida.
With six jackpots totaling more than $1 billion since 2018, Mega Millions has paid out a whopping $1.602 billion in prizes. The winners were residents of Maine, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, South Carolina, and, most recently, New Jersey.
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Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of Holy Cross, stated in 2023 that large awards are more common and are not accidental.
The Mega Millions game is designed to provide bigger rewards by the non-profit Multi-State Lottery Association, and as a result of the lottery’s expansion to a national level, more players are contributing to the jackpot.
It is now considerably difficult to win because the ticket price has increased and there are more number selections available.
