Mega Millions jackpot soars to an estimated $800 million after no winners
The Mega Millions jackpot continues to swell after there were no winners Friday.
The jackpot rose to an estimated $800 million with a cash option of $401.8 million for Tuesday's drawing. It is the seventh-highest jackpot in the game's history. The six higher jackpots have been over $1 billion.
Mega Million said the jackpot was last won in Illinois on June 4, with a ticket valued at $552 million. Since then, there have been 27 drawings, but no jackpot prize winners.
Only two Mega Millions jackpots have been won so far this year. Before the Illinois winning ticket, a $1.1 billion winning ticket was purchased 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 conducted at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets are $2 each. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold.
The odds of winning the jackpot are one in more than 302 million. The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24.
The top Mega Millions jackpot ticket — $1.6 billion — was sold in Florida in August of last year.
Since 2018, Mega Millions has produced six jackpots of over $1 billion dollars, with its largest prize of a stunning $1.602 billion. Winners lived in South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, Florida and most recently, New Jersey.
Huge prizes are more common, and it's not by chance, College of the Holy Cross economics professor Victor Matheson told CBS News in 2023. The Multi-State Lottery Association, a not-for-profit that coordinates the Mega Millions game, has engineered it to create larger prizes, and the lottery's transformation to a nationwide game means more people pay into the jackpot. The ticket price has also been doubled, and there are more number options available, making it even harder to win.