Post-Thanksgiving Mega Millions Drawing For Friday Up To $514 Million

Well, we hope your Turkey hangover does not preclude you from second helpings, as there’s plenty of gravy to be had and tons more horrible Thanksgiving-themed puns to be made as Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is bursting out of the Tupperware at a cool $514 million (with a $241 million cash value).

Obviously, nobody took home the big prize Tuesday – winning numbers 5, 22, 24, 39, 42, with a gold Mega ball of 3 – though two ticket-buyers in California celebrated Thanksgiving with the good cranberry sauce as they hit the Match 5 for a million dollars each.

And one Louisiana ticket-holder did three times better, hitting the Match 5 on the Megaplier, which came in at 3x. Talk about putting the “green” in green bean casserole.

Lottery Geeks estimates some 21.4 million tickets were sold for Tuesday’s drawing.

Friday’s drawing will mark the 23rd drawing since the last time the jackpot was hit.

Powerball catching up

Powerball’s Saturday drawing is up to $214 million, and if the winner takes the cash prize, they may still have 99 problems, but money won’t be one of them. (Apologies to Jay-Z, as the cash value is an even $99 million.)

Wednesday’s winning numbers – 1, 6, 7, 13, 40 with a red Powerball of 5 – didn’t mint any Match 5 millionaires, and Lottery Geeks estimates a little less than 11 million tickets were sold for the drawing. 

This will be the 17th drawing since the last jackpot was hit.

Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1.

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. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey
10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California

And here’s 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. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $558.1 million, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California