For the best experienceDownload the Mobile App
App Store Play Store
The next Mega Millions jackpot will be among the lottery's 5 largest jackpots
The next Mega Millions jackpot will be among the lottery's 5 largest jackpots
The next Mega Millions jackpot will be among the lottery's 5 largest jackpots

Published on: 12/26/2024

Description

Who wants to be a billionaire? Friday's Mega Millions jackpot will be an estimated $1.15 billion, making it the fifth-largest jackpot in the lottery's history. Friday's jackpot is also Mega Millions' largest of 2024.

Friday's jackpot is also the second-largest of 2024 among all U.S. lotteries, behind Powerball's April 6 drawing, which had a top prize of $1.326 billion.

Between Powerball and Mega Millions, Friday's top prize of $1.15 billion would make the drawing the ninth-largest in U.S. history.

The jackpot has grown thanks to an over three-month streak without a jackpot winner. Tuesday's drawing had white balls 11, 14, 38, 45, and 46, plus the gold Mega Ball 3. Although no one claimed the top prize, there were a total of 4,292,338 winning tickets for prizes ranging from $2 to $3 million. Four players hit all five white balls, winning prizes of at least $1 million.

The jackpot has steadily grown since September when a winning ticket worth $810 million was sold in Texas. The Sept. 10, 2024 drawing marked the seventh largest in the history of Mega Millions.

RELATED STORY | Changes are coming to the Mega Millions lottery. Here's what to know

If someone wins Friday's top prize, they can choose $1.15 billion paid over 29 years or a one-time lump sum of $516.1 million.

The lottery launched in 1996 with 1-in-52.9 million odds. Drawings then had 50 white balls and 25 gold balls. By 2013, the lottery had 1-in-258 million odds by having 75 white balls and 15 gold balls.

In 2017, Mega Millions actually reduced the number of white balls — a first among multi-state lotteries — to 70, but increased the number of gold balls to 25. This has made Mega Millions the toughest lottery to win, with 1-in-302 million odds.

Tickets are $2 each. The odds of winning a smaller prize are about 1 in 24.

RELATED STORY | $1 million lottery ticket stolen and returned back to the winners' hands

Eighteen states allow winners of large lotteries to stay fully anonymous, shielding winners from the attention claiming such a prize can draw.

News Source : https://www.kbzk.com/life/good-news/the-next-mega-millions-jackpot-will-be-among-the-lotterys-5-largest-jackpots

Other Related News

Montana musher trains for upcoming sled dog season
Montana musher trains for upcoming sled dog season

12/26/2024

Clayton Perry a musher from Power and his team are currently training 34 Alaskan Huskies a...

Pablo man dies in Christmas Day shooting in Polson
Pablo man dies in Christmas Day shooting in Polson

12/26/2024

Prev Next Officer Matthew Timm will make his initial appearance in La...

Kwanzaa, a celebration of African culture, begins today
Kwanzaa, a celebration of African culture, begins today

12/26/2024

Kwanzaa is a seven-day celebration created in the 1960s during the civil rights movement t...

Bird flu kills 20 wild cats at a sanctuary in Washington
Bird flu kills 20 wild cats at a sanctuary in Washington

12/26/2024

Bird flu has killed 20 wild cats after it infected more than half of the animals living at...

Rosters released for 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game
Rosters released for 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game

12/26/2024

BILLINGS Rosters for the 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game have been unveiled The 2025 g...

ShoutoutGive Shoutout
500/500