Mega Millions Jackpot Crosses $500 Million For Just Third Time In $5 Era

There was no grand prize awarded in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing with its estimated jackpot of $489 million (cash option: $220.9 million), making Tuesday’s game a minor milestone: For just the third time since Mega Millions raised its price from $2 to $5 per ticket in April 2025, the jackpot has crossed the $500 million barrier.

The first time came on Oct. 3, 2025, when the jackpot reached $520 million on its way to $983 million, the value at which a player in Georgia hit a perfect six-for-six ticket on Nov. 14.

On March 10 of this year, the Mega Millions jackpot broke $500 million again. It was promptly won in that very same drawing by an Illinois player for $536 million.

When Friday’s numbers of 5, 13, 30, 33, 52, and gold Mega Ball 6 didn’t precisely pair with any customers’ tickets, the top prize ballooned to an estimated $511 million for Tuesday (cash option: $231 million).

It’s been growing slowly, however. Friday’s drawing was the 28th rollover since the last time the jackpot was claimed, a journey of about 3½ months to get from the $50 million base to 10 times that amount. The move from the $2 price point to $5 has largely backfired in terms of sales and jackpot size, and that trend keeps inching in the wrong direction. Last October, when the jackpot surpassed $500 million for the first time in the $5 era, it got there after 27 rollovers, one draw faster than this time around.

Does $1 billion beckon?

So, if the streak of drawings without a grand prize winner continues, how long will we have to wait for the first $1 billion jackpot at the current price point?

Well, last fall, after the top prize hit $520 million on Oct. 3, it reached $983 million on the 12th drawing after that, when a winner was crowned. So it would have broken the billion-dollar barrier on the 13th drawing after crossing a half-billion — and the 41st drawing overall since the previous jackpot win.

If it again takes 13 rollovers to break $1 billion, that means the magic number will be reached on Tuesday, Aug 11. But given the slightly slower pace of growth this year and the fact that the current jackpot is $9 million less than that Oct. 3, 2025, amount, maybe Friday, Aug. 14 is a more sensible projection for when lottery players can expect that “M” to turn into a “B.”

Of course, you never know quite when “jackpot fever” will kick in and sales will begin to spike. As Erik Swett, then the head of operations at Lottery Now, told Lottery Geeks last September, “The line is around $800 million, $900 million — that’s when you really see a shift in customer behavior and orders of magnitude in growth in people buying tickets.” Mega Millions jackpots are likely to get into that range in late July — provided nobody wins between now and then.

Meanwhile, Powerball, with its lower price point, is closing the jackpot distance on Mega Millions and is now at an estimated $360 million (cash value: $163.8 million) for Monday night’s drawing. Powerball has gone from $20 million to that current $360 million in 24 drawings and draws three times each week, compared to twice a week for Mega Millions.

In the most recent Powerball drawing Saturday, nobody hit the estimated $346 million jackpot but two tickets — one sold in Arizona, one in Tennessee — scored $2 million apiece by pairing all five white balls (3, 16, 28, 30, and 59) while missing on the red Powerball (11).

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. $1.82 billion, Powerball, Dec. 24, 2025, won in Arkansas
3. $1.79 billion, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
4. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
5. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
6. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
7. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
8. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
10. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon

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. $834.9 million, Powerball, Dec. 24, 2025, won in Arkansas
5. $820.6 million, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
6. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
7. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
9. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
10. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine