Mega Millions Up To $800 Million Jackpot For Tuesday Night Drawing

Will Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing be the “lucky seven” for one ticket buyer? Time will tell, but on the morning of the draw, the jackpot — an estimated $800 million (or $371.7 million in cash) — ranked as the seventh largest in Mega Millions history.

People are starting to notice. Consider: On Oct. 21, the drawing was for $650 million, and a little over 10 million tickets were sold, according to Lottery Geeks estimates.

The next drawing, on Oct. 24, saw ticket sales rise to a shade over 11 million for the $684 million jackpot.

The Oct. 28 drawing resulted in 11.5 million tickets sold for a $714 million top prize, and on Halloween, 12.8 million tickets — the most in the $5 Mega Millions era — were sold for the $754 million top prize.

If history is our guide, it’s safe to assume Tuesday night’s drawing will exceed 13 million tickets sold.

And clearly, if no one wins Tuesday — and probably the next two drawings — we will have to start thinking about billion-dollar jackpots.

This drawing will be the 36th consecutive rollover since the Mega Millions jackpot hit on June 27 in Virginia.

Last Friday’s drawing — when the winning numbers were 2, 24, 52, 66, 68, and a gold Mega Ball of 9 — yielded the sum total of zero Match 5 winners. In fact, the largest prize was a paltry $30,000, which three people won by matching four of the white balls with the Mega Ball.

Powerball powers up

It’s not exactly pauperville in Powerball land as the jackpot there has grown to $438 million for Wednesday’s drawing. 

Nobody won Monday night’s drawing for an estimated $421 million, and much like the Mega Millions drawing, no one matched all five balls. Lottery Geeks estimates 11.5 million tickets were sold.

The Powerball jackpot has been rolling over since it was last won on Sept. 6 when worth an almost-record $1.787 billion. The winners in Missouri and Texas have claimed their prizes anonymously.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, and Powerball tickets cost $2. Most states offer the multiplier option for Powerball, which impacts any prize won except the jackpot, for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.79 billion, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
3. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
4. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
6. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
7. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
8. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
9. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California

Here is the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $820.6 million, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
5. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
6. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
7. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
8. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
9. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
10. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon