Mega Millions Starts To Get Interesting; Jackpot Up To $223 Million

OK, here we go.

Friday night’s Mega Millions jackpot is up to an estimated $223 million, with a $99.4 million cash option. Nobody won Tuesday night’s drawing — the 13th in a row without a winner.

The numbers Tuesday were 16, 24, 29, 36, 45, and a gold Mega Ball of 13. No one hit all five white balls, and Lottery Geeks estimates some 6.4 million tickets were sold.

Based on our estimates, this was the biggest-selling Mega Millions drawing in the $5 per ticket era. Additionally, the jackpot has gone up a little more than 10% since Tuesday.

This is nowhere near the biggest jackpot in Mega Millions history. Yet the combination of the higher ticket price and decrease in ticket sales — to compare, Powerball sold nearly 15 million tickets for last week’s $204.5 million jackpot — means we are starting to get into big money territory.

More tickets sold = bigger jackpots = more tickets sold = bigger jackpots.

While we’re not privy to the Mega Millions algorithm, we know this much: This stuff gets exponential as we go along. And we’re in new territory with the $5 price point.

Here’s hoping nobody wins in the next few weeks. We’re pretty jazzed to see where this thing is headed.

Powerball powering back up

Nobody won the top prize in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing, the second since the jackpot was claimed last Saturday.

The numbers for Wednesday were 5, 17, 23, 35, 45, and a red Powerball of 24.

Two ticket-buyers — one from Maryland, the other from New York — matched all five white balls and took home $1 million each.

Lottery Geeks estimates 6.6 million tickets were sold for Wednesday’s draw.

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