Mega Millions jackpot soars to nearly $1 billion. Here’s what to know
The winning numbers for a Mega Millions lottery prize of nearly $1 billion will be drawn Friday evening, bringing sudden wealth to any lucky player who matches it, and almost certain disappointment to everyone else.
Since three months have passed without a winner, the Mega Millions jackpot has grown to an estimated $977 million. That big prize reflects the incredibly high odds of winning the jackpot, because the longer the stretch without a winner, the more the prize grows.
The jackpot is the 10th largest in US lottery history – about half of the record $2.04 billion Powerball prize won in November 2022.
Players can purchase tickets for $2 and select six numbers from separate pools. Five of the selections come from one pool, with different numbers from 1 to 70, and the other is for the Mega Ball, with numbers from 1 to 25. Some states also give players the option to pay more for different options that increase the payouts increase or give people extra sets of numbers.
People can choose their own numbers – and some play the same numbers every time – but most players choose the quick dial option, which allows a computer to generate random numbers.
Mega Millions holds drawings twice a week, at 11:00 PM EDT on Tuesdays and Fridays, broadcast from a television studio in Atlanta. The numbers will also be posted on the game’s website soon.
A lot, but probably a lot less than you might think.
Primarily, that’s because the advertised $977 million jackpot is for one winner, paid through an annuity, with an initial payment and then annual checks for 29 years. In fact, almost all winners prefer a cash payout, which for Friday night’s drawing would have been an estimated $461 million — less than half the amount that ended up on billboards and neon ads in convenience stores.
Before distributing the money, lottery officials would also deduct 24% for federal taxes. However, the final tax bill could end up being higher because some of the profits could fall under the highest federal tax bracket of 37%. State taxes may also be assessed depending on where a player purchased the winning ticket.
There’s also a chance that more than one person will purchase a winning ticket – as in 2016, when there were three winning tickets for a $1.6 billion lottery jackpot. Whatever the jackpot amount is, it can be divided into smaller prizes.
Focusing on the amount of a jackpot prize ignores the bigger point: that you almost certainly won’t win.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million, and it’s those low odds that allow the game to go on for months without a winner. If the odds were better, people would win jackpots more often, so the top prizes wouldn’t be so big – and wouldn’t entice as many people to play. Mega Millions has even increased its chances of creating bigger jackpots in 2019.
During the current period, there has not been a jackpot winner since December 8, 2023. That’s 29 consecutive draws without anyone finding all the numbers.
That said, lottery officials note that there have been millions of winning tickets during that period, with prizes ranging from $2 to $1 million. The key, they say, is to play for fun and take the chance to dream a little, but not with the expectation of getting rich.
And of course, eventually someone will hit the jackpot.
Mega Millions and Powerball, the other major lottery game, are run separately, but both are supervised by state lotteries. Mega Millions is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball also operates in 45 states plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The games are not active in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada or Utah.
Both games raise money for the jurisdictions where they operate, along with winnings from other lottery games, such as scratch cards. Some states shift the money to their general fund, while others use it for specific purposes, such as funding college scholarships or state parks.