Mega Millions Breaks Through $300 Million Barrier For Friday Drawing

And here … we … go.

Friday night’s Mega Millions jackpot is up to an estimated $302 million as the top prize continues to grow. This is the biggest jackpot in the $5 era, and we’re watching it closely as more people are starting to pony up the five bucks.

Tuesday night’s drawing generated a shade under 6.6 million tickets sold, according to our estimates, up from 6.3 million last Friday.

Common sense would suggest that, as the jackpot grows, so will ticket sales. And as ticket sales grow, so will the jackpot.

At $2 a ticket, it starts jumping fast once Lotto Fever hits.

At $5 a ticket, it should jump even higher once everyone has the fever.

We want the fever! 

At any rate, this will be the 18th drawing since the last time the jackpot hit.

On Tuesday, while nobody won with numbers 16, 23, 39, 46, 55, and a gold Mega Ball of 12, one Colorado ticket-buyer hit all five white balls, along with a 2x Megaplier, and is now $2 million richer.

Powerball powering up

Nobody won Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing — numbers 23, 29, 50, 64, 67, and a red Powerball of 11. There were also no Match 5 winners.

Saturday’s jackpot is up to $118 million and marks the ninth drawing since the last winner was crowned.

Lottery Geeks estimates 8.3 million tickets were sold for Monday’s drawing.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, while Powerball tickets cost $2, with most states offering 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. $1.76 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. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California
10. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey

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. $571.9 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California