Mega Millions Jackpot Hits Tuesday For $90 Million, Just Five Drawings After Last Win

Welp, that was quick.

A mere five drawings after a $983 million Mega Millions jackpot was won by a ticket-buyer in Georgia, a New Jersey lotto player hit all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball to take down the $90 million prize Tuesday night.

The numbers — 17, 25, 26, 53 and 60, plus the gold Mega Ball 16 — proved lucky for the New Jersey customer. According to NJ.com and per the New Jersey Lottery, the winning ticket was purchased at Garden State News on Bergenline Avenue in Union City. The cash value of the ticket is $41.9 million.

This marks the sixth Mega Millions jackpot won this year, and according to Mega Millions, this is the quickest jackpot turnaround since August 2023, when a Florida ticket-buyer won $39 million just two drawings after another Florida ticket took home a record $1.602 billion.

Lottery Geeks estimates 4.2 million tickets were sold for Tuesday’s drawing.

No other millionaires were crowned, as no other ticket matched all five white balls. The next Mega Millions drawing will be Friday night, and the top prize will be reset to $50 million.

Powering along

Meanwhile, Powerball is nearing lotto-fever territory, as Wednesday’s drawing will be for $775 million (with a cash value of $362.5 million) after nobody won Monday’s drawing. 

This will be the 38th drawing since the last winning ticket was drawn, back on Sept. 6, when a pair of tickets — one in Texas, one in Missouri — split the $1.8 billion jackpot. That drawing occurred on a then-record 42nd attempt to pick a winner.

On Monday, the winning numbers were 5, 18, 26, 47, 59, and a red Powerball of 1. While there was no jackpot winner, there were three Match 5 winners, one each in California, Georgia, and Illinois.

Lottery Geeks estimates 19.5 million tickets were sold for Monday’s drawing.

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