Mega Millions jackpot soars to estimated $1.35 billion after no one wins $1.1 billion grand prize
No winning tickets were sold for Tuesday night's $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, so the pot of gold for the game's Friday night drawing will be at least an estimated $1.35 billion, Mega Millions says.
The $1.35 billion would be the second-largest Mega Millions grand prize ever and could grow as more and more people gobble up tickets for the Friday drawing.
Friday night's cash option will be at least an estimated $707.9 million.
Players will be hoping a day not usually associated with good luck is turned on its head: Mega Millions officials point out that Friday will be -- Friday the 13th!
The winning numbers for Tuesday's night's drawing were 7, 13, 14, 15 and 18 with a Mega Ball of 9.
The only Mega Millions jackpot larger than Friday's estimated prize was $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018.
In November, a single winning Powerball ticket sold in the Los Angeles metro area won a $2.04 billion jackpot, the largest in lottery history. That winner hasn't been identified yet.
There've been 25 drawings since the jackpot was last won on October 14. That one was $502 million and was split between holders of winning tickets in California and Florida.
The $1.35 billion is what a winner who takes the annuity option would get. That's paid out in 29 annual installments. But winners almost always choose the cash option.
Federal taxes are taken out and, depending on where the winner lives, state taxes are, as well.
And jackpots are split when more than one winning ticket is sold.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are a gargantuan one-in-302.6 million.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.