No one won the grand prize for the Mega Millions lottery drawing on Friday, meaning that the estimated jackpot for Tuesday’s drawing is at $1.55 billion, the largest in the game’s history.
Whether or not the estimated jackpot continues to rise before Tuesday, it will set the all-time record for biggest jackpot if it hits.
The current estimate of $1.55 billion beats out the current all-time record holder, a $1.537 billion prize hit by a ticket purchased in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018.
The jackpot for Friday was initially estimated at $1.25 billion, which would have been the fourth-highest of all time for Mega Millions, and then jumped to $1.35 billion, which would have been the second-highest jackpot ever for the lottery game.
The cash option for a potential Tuesday winner comes out to $757.2 million; the other option, as always, is an immediate payout followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% every year.
The last jackpot winning ticket for Mega Millions was sold in New York on April 18 with a $20 million grand prize. Tuesday’s drawing will be the 32nd one since that win.
For those looking to try and win the big prize, the $2 Mega Millions tickets are available in D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 45 U.S. states; the tickets are not sold in Alaska, Alabama, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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