BOSTON — The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $800 million with a cash option of $401.8 million for Tuesday’s drawing after no one matched all the winning numbers in Friday night’s drawing.
The last time the jackpot was won was on June 4 in Illinois, when the ticket value was $552 million.
Only two Mega Millions jackpots have been won so far this year. Illinois’ winning ticket was purchased for a $1.1 billion winning ticket in New Jersey in March. That prize is still unclaimed. Winners in New Jersey have one year to claim their winnings.
Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets cost $2 each. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket stay in the state where the ticket was sold.
The odds of winning the jackpot are one in over 302 million. The overall odds of winning a Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ticket, worth $1.6 billion, was sold in Florida last August.