The Mega Millions jackpot has crossed the $1 billion mark. Lottery officials said the grand prize in Friday night’s drawing will be $1.02 billion, though that is sure to grow as more tickets are bought as the drawing approaches.
The cash option for that gold pot is $602.5 million.
No winning tickets were sold for Tuesday night’s drawing, which boasted an $830 million jackpot. It would have been the nation’s fourth-largest lottery prize and the third-largest mega-million prize.
The winning numbers for Tuesday night’s drawing were: 29, 63, 66, 7, 60 and the “Mega Ball” of 15.
“It takes a long time for this type of jackpot to grow to this level, so we’re excited,” Mega Millions spokeswoman Maria Kilbane told CBS News.
At this stage, there have been 29 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner. No one has matched six numbers in the game since April 15.
Biggest Lottery Payday Ever A $1.58 Billion Powerball Jackpot Won in 2016.
People eager to find out if there were any winners resulted in “unprecedented” traffic Mega Millions websiteGilbane said in a statement. Several attempts to reach the site resulted in error messages before it was determined that there were no grand prize winners.
Kilbane said traffic slowed after the map results were released Tuesday night, but there were 62 million attempts to reach the site in a 24-hour period.
Seen this year Three big jackpot wins: Mega Millions reports a $426 million pot in California in January, a $128 million ticket in New York in March and a $110 million prize in Minnesota in April.
The odds of winning the jackpot are vanishingly small – 1 in 302.5 million. You have better chances of getting a small payout, such as winning $1 million for matching five regular numbers, but missing the Mega Ball. But that too is one in 12.6 million.
According to the nonprofit National Safety Council, the chance of dying in a car accident — something to consider when going to the mini-mart for a lottery ticket — can be put into perspective as one in 101 over a lifetime.
How much is the payment after tax?
Meanwhile, even if you somehow beat the odds, you won’t get $830 million. First, the amount for winners who take the annuity option will be paid over 30 years. But winners usually opt for cash, which is worth an estimated $488 million for this drawing.
“Some people like the idea of having something consistent over time,” Kilbane said, but in recent years “everyone has opted for a cash discretionary gift.”
Then there are federal taxes, which he said would leave a $351 million hit. State taxes may also be deducted on that amount depending on where the winner resides. Still a fortune, but a small fortune.
It also doesn’t take into account the possibility that someone else will match the winning numbers, which means that depending on how lucky players are they have to split the small wins in half or more.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. The game is coordinated by state lotteries.
“Lifelong social media lover. Falls down a lot. Creator. Devoted food aficionado. Explorer. Typical troublemaker.”