The jackpot for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing has topped $1 billion as the third-largest prize in the game’s history and fifth-largest in U.S. lottery history sparked a surge of ticket sales.
The massive $1.1 billion prize is for a winner who takes an annuity option, paid out in 30 annual payments. Most players choose the cash option, which for Tuesday’s drawing would be $$568.7 million, of which about one-third would go toward federal taxes with possibly more for state taxes, depending on where the buyer lives.
The drawing is set for 11 p.m. EST but it usually takes a couple hours before it’s clear if there is a winner.
The jackpot has been growing since Oct. 14, when two tickets — one in California and another in Florida — matched all six numbers and won split the $494 million prize. Since then, there have been 24 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, allowing the grand prize to grow week-after-week.
Even as the big prize has increased, the odds of winning all that money have remained the same — a staggering one in 302.5 million.
And while someone could theoretically spend $600 million to buy all 302.5 million possible number combinations at $2 a ticket, they’d still need a team of people to somehow coordinate their request of each number combination and payment. Given the odds of winning it all, it’s a bit surprising that anyone wins a jackpot, but it will happen.
The current Mega Millions record is $1.536 billion, sold in Oct. 2018. Tuesday’s jackpot will be the nation’s fifth biggest lottery prize overall. Powerball holds the U.S. record for a jackpot worth $2.04 billion won by a California resident on Nov. 8, 2022.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is overseen by state lottery officials.
