Mega Millions jackpot grows to $565 million
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The Dec. 23 Mega Millions jackpot has an estimated $510 million jackpot. Photo: John Smith/VIEWpress via Getty Images
The Mega Millions jackpot grew to $565 million for the Dec. 27 drawing after nobody won the grand prize in Friday’s pre-Christmas drawing.
Driving the news: If Tuesday’s drawing has one or more winning tickets, the jackpot is estimated to be the sixth largest in the lottery's 20-year history, Mega Millions said in a statement Saturday.
- The cash option for the Dec. 27 drawing is now worth approximately $293.6 million cash, the lottery said.
Flashback: In late July, a ticket sold in Illinois was the sole winner of the year's largest Mega Millions jackpot of $1.34 billion, the game's second-largest prize ever.
- The last Mega Millions jackpot was won Oct. 14 when a $502 million prize was shared by winning tickets in California and Florida.
- The jackpot has been rolling since the Oct. 18 Mega Millions drawing that started with a $20 million grand prize.
Meanwhile, 2022 has been a year of big jackpots.
- The world's largest-ever lottery prize was won in November when one ticket won Powerball's $2.04 billion jackpot.
Mega Millions winning numbers
The winning numbers in Friday’s drawing are 15, 21, 32, 38 and 62 with the Mega Ball 8.
When is the next Mega Millions drawing
Mega Millions' drawings are held in Atlanta at 11pm ET Tuesdays and Fridays, which is 8pm PT.
- The drawings are posted on the Mega Millions YouTube page.
How it works: Two machines pick the numbers in the drawings with the first picking five white balls and the other selecting a gold “Mega Ball.”
Odds of winning Mega Millions
The odds of winning the grand-prize jackpot are about 1 in 303 million per ticket.
- Other odds vary by prize and range from 1 in 37 for matching the Mega Ball to 1 in 12.6 million for matching five balls without the Mega Ball.
By the numbers: There have been only six Mega Million jackpot winners so far in 2022.
- Since 2017, the number of jackpots won per year has ranged from five to seven.
Mega Millions lottery ticket price
A Mega Millions ticket costs $2, but players in most states can "add the Megaplier for an additional $1 to multiply their non-jackpot prizes."
Context: Out of each $2 ticket, roughly 35 cents goes to non-jackpot prizes, about 75 cents goes to fund the jackpot, and the remaining 90 cents goes to the government.
How to play Mega Millions game
Lottery players can pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers — five different numbers from 1 to 70 (the white balls) and one number from 1 to 25 (the gold Mega Ball).
- “Quick Pick” or “Easy Pick” tickets can also be purchased where numbers are selected automatically.
States that sell Mega Millions lottery tickets
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with drawings held each Tuesday and Friday.
- Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah do not participate in the lottery.
Mega Millions cut-off time: How late to buy tickets
The deadline to purchase tickets for Friday's drawing varies by state because Mega Millions tickets are sold by individual lotteries.
- Sales stop 15 minutes before the drawing in many states, including New York, Michigan, Virginia and Ohio, while Indiana sales on drawing dates cut off at 10:44pm ET.
- Lotteries in Florida and South Carolina end ticket sales an hour before the drawing, with Idaho ending the night's drawing sales an hour and five minutes prior.
Where to buy Mega Millions tickets online
Mega Millions tickets are available to buy online in 10 states and Washington, D.C.
- New York also has a subscription to purchase tickets online.
- Other states with online sales are Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
- In most cases, you need to live in one of these states to buy an online ticket, but in "all cases you must be physically within their borders when you make any online ticket purchases," the Mega Millions website says.
Mega Millions prizes: How much for matching numbers
Here are the prize amounts for matching numbers with and without the gold Mega Ball:
- Mega Ball: $2
- One number and Mega Ball: $4
- Two numbers and Mega Ball: $10
- Three numbers: $10
- Three numbers and Mega Ball: $200
- Four numbers: $500
- Four numbers and Mega Ball: $10,000
- Five numbers: $1 million
- Five numbers and Mega Ball: Jackpot
Between the lines: Amounts for non-jackpot prizes are higher for players spending $1 extra for the optional Megaplier.
Editor's note: This story was updated with the winning numbers for Friday's Mega Millions drawing and more information throughout.
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