The Mega Millions jackpot has gotten even bigger.
That's because no one won the big prize after Tuesday
night's drawing. The jackpot for that drawing was $1.1 billion.
With no tickets matching all six numbers drawn, the jackpot
now grows to an estimated $1.25 billion ($625.3 million cash), according to a
news release on the Mega Millions website.
The numbers drawn in Tuesday's drawing are:
8, 24, 30, 45, 61 and gold Mega Ball 12.
The next drawing is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 4.
If won, the mammoth jackpot would equal the fourth-largest
prize in Mega Millions' history, the lottery said in the news release.
A grand prize winner for Tuesday night's drawing could have
chosen to spread it in annual payments over 29 years, or take a lump-sum option
of an estimated $527.9 million, Mega Millions said.
The jackpot soared past a billion dollars after no ticket
matched all six numbers drawn Friday night. Tuesday's drawing was the 30th
since the jackpot was last won in New York on April 18, according to Mega
Millions.
Although no one scored the jackpot Friday, there were still
big winners. One ticket sold in Pennsylvania won $5 million by matching the
first five numbers and activating the optional Megaplier, which is available in
most states with an extra $1 purchase. Another four tickets sold in Arizona,
California, New York and Pennsylvania matched the first five numbers to win $1
million.
Though there wasn't a jackpot winner, there were also big
winners Tuesday night. Seven tickets matched the five white balls Tuesday night
to win the game’s second-tier prize. One, sold in Texas, is worth $4 million
because it included the optional Megaplier, according to the lottery's release.
Other Match 5 winning tickets were sold in California (two),
Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and Wisconsin, according to the news
release.
Across the country Tuesday night, 135 tickets matched four
white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the third-tier prize. Twenty-eight of
those tickets are worth $40,000 each, because they also included the optional
Megaplier. The other 107 win the standard $10,000 each, Mega Millions officials
said.
The top Mega Millions jackpot to date was $1.537 billion won
in South Carolina in 2018. It's followed by a $1.348 billion ticket that was
sold in Maine in January and a $1.337 billion prize last July.
In fourth place on Mega Millions' list is a $1.05 billion
prize won by a ticket sold in Michigan in 2021.
Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing for the massive prize comes
after a Powerball ticket sold at a convenience store in Los Angeles matched all
numbers to win a $1.08 billion prize – the third-largest Powerball jackpot.