2 Mega Millions tickets worth $ 1 million sold in NJ as the jackpot rises to $ 970 million

Two $ 1 million Mega Millions tickets were purchased in New Jersey for Tuesday’s lottery draw, but again no one across the country hit the jackpot, bringing Friday’s top prize to around $ 970 million.

New Jersey tickets were among 11 nationally purchased second prize tickets, each corresponding to five numbers, but not the Mega Ball. New Jersey Lottery officials will disclose the retailers who sold the lucky tickets on Wednesday.

Friday’s jackpot will potentially be the third largest in the history of the U.S. lottery and will offer a cash option of at least $ 716.3 million.

Other $ 1 million tickets were sold in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and the state of Washington. A California ticket is valued at $ 1,401,723. California lottery prizes vary based on ticket sales and the number of winners. They differ from the second fixed prizes offered in other participating states.

In addition, two other Florida tickets are worth $ 2 million each because they were purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $ 1.

Tuesday’s winning numbers were: 10, 19, 26, 28 and 50. The Mega Ball drawn was 16 with a Megaplier of 2X.

Thirty-six draws have been held since Adrian Tongson of Racine, Wisconsin, reached the $ 120 million jackpot on September 15. He chose the cash option and earned $ 95.4 million before taxes.

Mega Millions tickets cost $ 2 each and in New Jersey they must be purchased by 10:45 pm on the night of the draw. The chances of a ticket hitting the jackpot when hitting five numbers and the Mega Ball is 302,575,350 to 1. Players have a 1 in 12,607,306 chance of winning the second prize of at least $ 1 million by hitting five numbers.

The game is played in 45 states, Washington DC and the US Virgin Islands.

Jeff Goldman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Meet NJ.com on Facebook.

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