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Have you purchased your tickets for Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing? The multi-state draw game is offering its ninth-largest jackpot ever!
No jackpot winner on Friday
The last Mega Millions drawing took place on Friday, May 31, and there were no jackpot-winning tickets sold. The white balls drawn were 4, 11, 23, 33, and 49, and the Mega Ball was 23.
While no one won the $522 million jackpot that was available for that draw, there was a lucky ticket purchased in Chino Hills, California that matched the five white balls to win $508,408. For the state of California, they base their non-jackpot prizes on actual sales.
Ninth-largest Mega Millions jackpot
With no winner on Friday, the Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $560 million for Tuesday's drawing. This is the ninth-largest jackpot ever. The cash option would be an estimated $258.4 million.
The last jackpot winner took place on March 26, which is when a ticket in New Jersey won the $1.13 billion jackpot. That happened to be the fifth largest Mega Millions jackpot ever.
What is the cash option?
When it comes to the major lotteries in the United States, there are usually two jackpot payout options: annuity and cash.
For the annuity option, it is paid out over time. For Mega Millions jackpot winners taking the annuity option, there would be an immediate payment and then 29 annual payments after that, which increase by 5% each year.
For the cash option, it is paid in one lump sum payment. As mentioned above, the cash option for this estimated $560 million jackpot would be $258.4 million, so much lower than the advertised jackpot but you also don't have to wait decades for the money.
Where is Mega Millions available to play?
While Mega Millions is available to play in most states in the country, it is not available everywhere. You can currently play the game in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The states currently not offering Mega Millions are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.
Big jackpot, but what are the odds of winning?
When the jackpots get high in games like Mega Millions and Powerball, more and more people start buying tickets. We all get those hopes and dreams of winning the big jackpot. However, what are the odds of winning a jackpot in Mega Millions?
The odds of matching all five white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the jackpot prize are 1 in 302.6 million. The odds of matching only the five white ball numbers to win $1 million are 1 in 12.61 million.
Top 10 Mega Millions jackpots
While we have mentioned that Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot will be the ninth largest in the game's history, here is a look at the Top 10 Mega Millions jackpots ever:
- $1.6 billion - August 8, 2023 - Florida winner
- $1.54 billion - October 23, 2018 - South Caroline winner
- $1.35 billion - January 13, 2023 - Maine winner
- $1.34 billion - July 29, 2022 - Illinois winner
- $1.13 billion - March 26, 2024 - New Jersey winner
- $1.05 billion - January 22, 2021 - Michigan winner
- $656 million - March 30, 2012 - Three winners in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland
- $648 million - December 17, 2013 - Two winners in California and Georgia
- $560 million - June 4, 2024 - Upcoming drawing
- $543 million - July 24, 2018 - California winner
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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