News writer
It may feel like all eyes are on Powerball as its jackpot rockets into historic territory, but Mega Millions is quietly making moves of its own. With its jackpot on the rise and a lucky North Carolina ticketholder already cashing in big, the game is setting the stage for a showdown worth watching. Could Mega Millions be gearing up for its own headline-grabbing moment?
Mega Millions jackpot rolls on
While the Powerball jackpot has grown to its tenth-largest in the draw game's history, the Mega Millions jackpot is not rolling too far behind. There was no jackpot winner during the Friday, August 22, 2025, drawing. That meant the jackpot climbed to $253 million for Tuesday's drawing with a cash option of $113.8 million.
The winning white ball numbers for Friday's drawing were 18, 30, 44, 48, and 50, and the Mega Ball was 12.
The biggest prize was won in North Carolina
While no one won the jackpot on Friday night, there was one lucky ticket purchased in North Carolina that won the biggest prize of the night — $2 million. The lucky winner bought the $5 ticket at the Harris Teeter, located at 431 Peninsula Drive in Davidson.
The ticket matched all five of the winning white ball numbers drawn, but missed out on the Mega Ball to win $1 million. With the new built-in multiplier, the prize doubled to $2 million.
This was the largest prize won nationally for Mega Millions players during Friday's drawing. The odds of matching all five of the white balls drawn are 1 in 12.6 million. This lucky winner now has 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.
Mega Millions vs. Powerball
Everyone is definitely talking about the Powerball jackpot, as it has made its way to $750 million. That happens to be the draw game's tenth-largest jackpot in the game's history. However, I wanted to look at how Mega Millions and Powerball have been stacking up for this current year. Let's compare the jackpot wins, so far, in 2025.
Mega Millions
We have seen the following jackpot wins in 2025 for Mega Millions players:
- June 27, 2025 – $348 million won by a ticket purchased in Virginia.
- April 18, 2025 – $112 million won by a ticket purchased in Ohio.
- March 25, 2025 – $349 million won by a ticket purchased in Illinois.
- January 17, 2025 – $112 million won by a ticket purchased in Arizona.
Powerball
Now let's look at the jackpot wins in 2025 for Powerball players:
- May 31, 2025 – $204.5 million won by a ticket purchased in California.
- April 26, 2025 – $167.3 million won by a ticket purchased in Kentucky.
- March 29, 2025 – $526.5 million won by a ticket purchased in California.
- January 18, 2025 – $328.5 million won by a ticket purchased in Oregon.
While both of the multi-state draw games have had four jackpot winners each in 2025, Powerball is definitely paying out bigger jackpots, including the current $750 million jackpot for tonight.
For Mega Millions, the average jackpot size for 2025 has been $230.3 million, and the average jackpot size for Powerball in 2025 has been $306.7 million. This current Powerball jackpot is going to increase those numbers big time, but maybe Mega Millions won't be far behind with a huge jackpot of its own.
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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