Mega Millions’ $1.55 billion jackpot draw on August 7 is the biggest in its history as players flock to buy tickets
- After no winning ticket was drawn on Friday, the Mega Millions jackpot reached $1.55 billion
- There hasn’t been a Mega Millions jackpot winner in over three months
- The previous largest Mega Millions jackpot was won in South Carolina in 2018
The Mega Millions jackpot for Tuesday night’s drawing has risen to $1.55 billion – the largest in its history.
It comes after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Friday night. Since April 18, there has been no Mega Millions jackpot winner for almost four months now.
Tuesday night’s jackpot could also be the third largest in US lottery history.
The winner of the ticket has the option to claim a one-time sum of approximately $757.2 million, or choose to claim the full prize in 29 annual payments.
The $1.55 billion prize is just bigger than South Carolina’s $1.537 billion Mega Millions winnings in October 2018, according to lottery officials.
The Mega Millions jackpot for Tuesday night’s drawing has risen to $1.55 billion – the largest in its history
Steven Tallant, 74, buys three Mega Millions tickets at a gas station in Minneapolis on Monday, August 7
A lottery ticket seller in Ohio told Spectrum News 1 that the unprecedented jackpot caused sales to more than quadruple.
“They’re spending a lot of money now because of the top amount,” said Mohamad Ramzeen, owner of Madison Quickstop.
“When the lotteries go up, especially the Powerball and Mega, people play a lot,” Ramzeen said. So everyone is trying. Everyone needs money, right?’
Mark Glickman, senior lecturer in statistics at Harvard, told CBS News that while nothing can be done to increase our chances of winning the jackpot, steps can be taken to maximize the size of the winnings in the event you win.
“Even though a single draw won’t increase your odds, what you can do is use a strategy that increases the odds of not splitting your prize money,” said Glickman.
Instead of picking regular numbers or patterns on cards, you should actually pick random numbers,” he said.
“You just have to have completely random numbers with no pattern, no birthdays that have special meaning to you, because other people are likely to make the same choices,” he said.
While there have been no Mega Millions jackpot winners in recent months, the year started off with a number of wins.
“This year started with six jackpot winners in less than four months – a number much more typical for an entire year and indicative of the truly random nature of lottery draws,” the lottery said.
Mega Millions tickets, which cost $2 each, are sold in all states except Alabama, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada.
The draw will take place at 11pm ET.