Those who feel lucky on Tuesday night have a chance to win an estimated $ 625 million prize in the Mega Millions lottery, the eighth largest prize in U.S. history. The reward has reached these heights because there has been no winner for months.
If there are no other winners, the maximum prize will only go up for the next draw on Friday night.
Each ticket costs $ 2 and winners must match all numbers, including the Mega Ball, to take home the full sum.
The only cash option for Tuesday’s award was at least $ 458 million. Taking the cash value of the overall prize payment is a preferred option for most winners. Otherwise, the prize will be distributed for 30 years.
Winning numbers of Mega Millions
- 12, 14, 26, 28, 33
- Mega ball: 9
- Megapplicator: 2x
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, the Powerball lottery prize has risen to $ 550 million, which is the twelfth largest prize in history. The winning numbers will be drawn on Wednesday night.
Even with the two awards combined, they are still pale compared to the larger prize, a $ 1.588 million Powerball Award won by three players in 2016. The Mega Millions award was last won in Wisconsin on September 15, 2020, when a single winner got a $ 120 million ticket. The game was won five times last year, with a higher June prize of $ 414 million, according to officials.
The odds of winning a grand prize are low: 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball.
Below are the top 10 Mega Millions prizes, along with where the tickets were purchased:
- $ 1.54 billion: a winning ticket in South Carolina (October 2018)
- $ 656 million: three winning tickets to Illinois, Kansas and Maryland (March 2012)
- $ 648 million: two winning tickets to California and Georgia (December 2013)
- $ 615 million: It is unknown if there are winners (January 2021)
- $ 543 million: a winning ticket in California (July 2018)
- $ 536 million: a winning ticket in Indiana (July 2016)
- $ 533 million: a winning ticket in New Jersey (March 2018)
- $ 522 million: a winning ticket in California (June 2019)
- $ 451 million: a winning ticket in Florida (January 2018)
- $ 437 million: a winning ticket in New York (January 2019)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.