The Mega Millions jackpot has continued to rise, with no ticket matching all six numbers drawn on Friday night. The next drawing, which will be held on Tuesday, April 11, will feature an estimated prize of $441 million, with a cash option of $238.8 million. If won at that level, it would be the 14th largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
Since the last jackpot was won in Massachusetts on January 31, there have been more than 12.3 million winning tickets at all other prize levels. On Friday night alone, 879,631 tickets won prizes ranging from $2 to $1 million. One ticket, sold in Pennsylvania, matched the five white balls to win the second-tier prize of $1 million. Across the country, 17 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the game's third-tier prize. Four of those tickets are worth $20,000 each, while the other 13 third-tier winning tickets are worth $10,000 each.
The optional Megaplier, available in most states with an extra $1 purchase, was 2X on Friday night. Four of the third-tier winning tickets included the Megaplier, bringing the prize to $20,000 each.
In this jackpot run, there have been 17 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more, won in 14 different jurisdictions from coast to coast: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Already this year, four Mega Millions jackpots have been awarded, all of them won in January. On January 13, a $1.348 billion prize was won in Maine, the game's second-highest prize ever. It was followed by a $20 million jackpot won in New York on January 17, and then two jackpots won in Massachusetts – $33 million on January 24 and $31 million on January 31.
Despite the high number of winners, it is important to remember that the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are one in 302.6 million. The odds of winning any prize are one in 24. The Mega Millions game is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
As the jackpot continues to climb, more and more people are lining up to purchase tickets. One person hoping to win big is John Robinson, a man from Tennessee who won a $528.8 million Powerball jackpot in 2016. When asked what he would do if he won the Mega Millions jackpot, Robinson said he would "take care of my family, take care of my friends, and make some charitable donations."
The next drawing for the Mega Millions jackpot will be held on Tuesday, April 11, at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
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