Mega Millions jackpot soars to $582 million, ninth largest in history

The climb continues for the Mega Millions jackpot, and now it has reached Top 10 status for tonight's drawing!

The ninth-largest jackpot ever

For tonight's Mega Millions drawing (Tuesday, August 27, 2024), the jackpot has made its way up to $582 million. This happens to be the game's second-highest jackpot of 2024, as well as the ninth-largest jackpot overall.

The Mega Millions jackpot has been growing since the June 4 drawing, when an online player in Illinois matched all six of the Mega Millions numbers to win the $552 million jackpot. That means we have had 23 consecutive drawings since that June 4 drawing without a jackpot winner.

Mega Millions drawings

For the Mega Millions draw game, the drawings take place twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET. For the drawings, five white balls, numbered 1 to 70, and one Mega Ball, numbered 1 to 25, are drawn. To win that $582 million jackpot, players must match all six numbers drawn. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million.

A winner in tonight's drawing would have the choice of taking home the jackpot as an annuity or $286.9 million in cash.

If you haven't purchased your tickets yet, you have until 10:45 p.m. ET before the ticket sales cut off. Tickets cost $2 per play, but for an additional $1, you can add on the Megaplier option and multiply any non-jackpot winnings by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times.

Big wins for North Carolina Lottery players already

While all lottery players are hoping to hit it big tonight and win that $582 million jackpot, players in North Carolina are already doing well on this current jackpot run. Lottery officials said North Carolinians gave these stats for the state players:

• 26,282: This is the total number of winning tickets in the Mega Millions drawing on Friday, August 23, 2024.
• $8 million: The amount of money estimated to have been raised for education during the current Mega Millions jackpot run.

Top 10 Mega Millions jackpots

While this current jackpot run has landed ninth on the list, the run is still active, and the jackpot could go even higher if no one wins tonight. For now, here are the top 10 Mega Millions jackpots in the history of the game and what state won the big jackpot:

1. $1.6 Billion – August 8, 2023 – Florida
2. $1.54 Billion – October 23, 2018 - South Carolina
3. $1.35 Billion – January 13, 2023 – Maine
4. $1.34 Billion – July 29, 2022 – Illinois
5. $1.13 Billion – March 26, 2024 – New Jersey
6. $1.05 Billion – January 22, 2021 – Michigan
7. $656 Million – March 30, 2012 – Kansas, Illinois, Maryland
8. $648 Million – December 17, 2013 – California, Georgia
9. $575 Million – August 27, 2024 - Still active
10. $552 Million – June 4, 2024 – Illinois

With the Mega Millions jackpot still growing, this current jackpot run could go higher up on the board, but we do wish everyone the best of luck in tonight's drawing!

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.