Mega Millions Jackpot Back Over $500 Million For Second Time In $5 Ticket Era

Closing in on the one-year anniversary next month of Mega Millions raising its per-ticket price from $2 to $5, Tuesday night’s jackpot represents a minor victory for those hoping and/or projecting that the higher price point would result in larger grand-prize amounts.

For the most part, those hopes and projections haven’t panned out. Mega Millions has not delivered a single billion-dollar jackpot in this new era, though it came close last November when a $983 million top prize was won by an anonymous player in Georgia.

But for Tuesday’s drawing, the grand prize is over $500 million again, for just the second time since tickets began costing $5.

The estimated jackpot is $533 million, with a lump-sum cash option of $244.2 million.

This, after last Friday’s drawing produced no perfect six-for-six tickets, marked the 27th consecutive rollover since the most recent jackpot was claimed for a relatively modest $90 million on Dec. 2.

The winning numbers Friday were 8, 19, 26, 38, and 42 with a gold Mega Ball of 24. Although the jackpot didn’t hit, two millionaires were minted. An Arizona customer matched all five white balls with a 2X multiplier to win $2 million before taxes, and a doubly lucky Florida player hit the Match 5 with a 4X multiplier to win $4 million.

An estimated 7.9 million tickets were purchased for Friday’s drawing, which had an advertised top prize of $496 million.

Relatively low-power Powerball

The Powerball jackpot is decidedly less enticing at the moment, thanks to a customer in Arkansas scoring a $251 million grand prize on March 2. The jackpot then reset to $20 million and has since rolled over three times, leading to Wednesday’s drawing for an estimated $58 million (cash value: $26.8 million).

On Monday night, the winning numbers were 22, 23, 28, 36, 54, and red Powerball 13, yielding no jackpots and no Match 5 winners. The largest prize scored Monday was $150,000.

An estimated 7.8 million tickets were sold for Monday’s Powerball drawing — nearly identical to the amount sold at the higher price point for the last Mega Millions drawing, despite the latter jackpot being about 10 times as valuable.

While tickets for Mega Millions now cost $5, Powerball tickets still 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. $1.82 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