Those who feel lucky have a chance on Tuesday night to win Mega Millions’ estimated $ 865 million jackpot, the biggest in the game in at least two years. The reward has reached those heights because there has been no winner since mid-September.
A $ 865 million payout would be Mega Millions’ second largest, behind just $ 1.54 billion in bonuses earned in 2018.
Each Mega Millions ticket costs $ 2 and winners must match six numbers, including Mega Ball, to take home the total sum.
The single cash option for Tuesday’s jackpot was at least $ 638.8 million. Taking the cash value of the fixed jackpot payment is an option preferred by most winners. Otherwise, the jackpot is distributed over 30 years.
If no one hits all the winning numbers on Tuesday night, the next Friday night draw will have an estimated $ 970 million jackpot, according to Mega Millions.
Tuesday’s Mega Millions winning numbers
- 10, 19, 26, 28, 50
- Mega Ball: 16
- Megaplier: 2x
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington, DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, the Powerball lottery prize has increased to about $ 730 million. The winning numbers will be drawn on Wednesday night.
Even with the two jackpots combined, they are still pale in comparison to the highest jackpot, a $ 1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three players in 2016. The Mega Millions jackpot was last won in Wisconsin on September 15, 2020, when a single winner secured a $ 120 million ticket. The game was won five times last year, with a $ 414 million jackpot in June being the biggest jackpot, according to authorities.
The chances of winning a jackpot are minimal: 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball.
The following are the 10 biggest Mega Millions jackpots of all time, along with where the tickets were purchased:
- $ 1.54 billion – a winning ticket in South Carolina (October 2018)
- $ 656 million – three winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland (March 2012)
- $ 648 million – two award tickets in California and Georgia (December 2013)
- $ 615 million – unknown if there are winners (January 2021)
- $ 543 million – a winning ticket in California (July 2018)
- $ 536 million – a winning ticket in Indiana (July 2016)
- $ 533 million – a winning ticket in New Jersey (March 2018)
- $ 522 million – a winning ticket in California (June 2019)
- $ 451 million – a winning ticket in Florida (January 2018)
- $ 437 million – a winning ticket in New York (January 2019)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.