The Mega Millions jackpot skirted players during the interstate lottery game s Friday night drawing, which marked the 29th consecutive drawing where a single ticket failed to match the six winning numbers.
The Aug. 1, 2023, Mega Millions drawing is tied for the seventh-richest lottery jackpot in US history. The Mega Millions jackpot hasn t been hit since April 18. (Image: AP)Following the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot hit during the game s July 19 drawing by a , Mega Millions is building up its own historic jackpot. After no player won the top prize, the for Tuesday night s drawing.
The estimated jackpot for the August 1 Mega Millions drawing is $1.05 billion, with a one-time cash option of $527.9 million. The odds of a ticket matching the six drawn numbers is one in more than 302.5 million.
Mega Millions is upwards of $1 billion for only the fifth time in the game s history. Mega Millions dates back to 1996 when it debuted as The Big Game.
The current jackpot has been rolling since it was last won by a player in New York on April 18.
Second-Half 2023 Drought2023 began with a series of life-changing Mega Millions jackpots being won. Six Mega Millions players overcome the dire odds between January through mid-April to claim jackpots.
This year started with six jackpot winners in less than four months a number far more typical of a full year and indicative of the truly random nature of lottery drawings, a statement from the Mega Millions consortium read.
2023 began in a big way for Mega Millions, as a ticket sold in Maine during the game s January 13 drawing. On the very next drawing, a player in New York matched all six numbers for the minimal $20 million jackpot.
Just two drawings later, the Mega Millions jackpot hit again, this time for $33 million by a player in Massachusetts. And then, just two drawings after the January 24 hit, the jackpot was won again for a $31 million prize, with another player in Massachusetts claiming the pot.
Another New York player then hit a $483 million Mega Millions jackpot on April 14. And just four days later, the top prize was hit again for $20 million, the winner again .
It s been more than 100 days since Mega Millions was last hit. But during the jackpot-less run, Mega Millions officials say more than 26.4 million tickets won some sort of prize on non-jackpot levels. Those prizes have ranged in value from $2 up to $5 million.
Fifth $1B JackpotPowerball has the distinction of being the only lottery in US history to issue an annuitized award of , but rival Mega Millions is the only lottery game to have offered four jackpots exceeding $1 billion. Those 10-digit jackpots came in 2018, 2021, 2022, and January of this year. The game will soon award a fifth jackpot of more than $1 billion.
The $1.05 billion prize on the line Tuesday night ranks tied for seventh all-time in US lottery history.
Top 10 US Lottery Jackpots$2.04B Powerball Nov. 7, 2022$1.586B Powerball Jan. 13, 2016$1.537B Mega Millions Oct. 23, 2018$1.35B Mega Millions Jan. 13, 2023$1.337B Mega Millions July 29, 2022$1.08B Powerball July 19, 2023$1.05B Mega Millions Jan. 22, 2021$1.05B Mega Millions TBD$768.4M Powerball March 27, 2019$758.7M Powerball Aug. 23, 2017