Already the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history, the Mega Millions jackpot climbed again to an estimated $970 million after no winners were declared in Tuesday night’s drawing.
The winning numbers drawn at 8 p.m. PT were 10, 19, 26, 28 and 50 with the Mega Ball 16.
The next drawing is set for Friday at 8 p.m. PT.
The jackpot began the day at an $850 million, but increased another $15 million before noon, according to the California Lottery.
A single-winner would have had the option to take the entire sum over 30 years or pick a one-time payment of more than $638 million.
Though no one won the top Mega Millions prize on Tuesday, nearly a dozen others won seven-digit amounts. Eleven tickets were worth at least $1 million dollars, including one in California. Two of those tickets had the Megaplier number, meaning their award was doubled to $2 million.
Nearly 5.2 million tickets were worth at least $2 in Tuesday’s drawing.
In last Friday’s drawing, more than 4.6 million tickets won money, including eight worth at least $1 million, according to a news release on the Mega Millions website. Of those, one ticket was sold in California.
And there will be another chance to win one of the largest jackpots in American history when Powerball is played Wednesday night.
Currently, the jackpot in that game stands at $730 million, marking the first time ever that the top prizes in both games have been above the $700 million mark at the same time.
Neither has had a grand prize winner since mid-September.
Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot is the largest lottery prize on the line since a lucky woman in South Carolina matched all six numbers to win the $1.537 billion jackpot. She opted to take the lump-sum payment, walking away with a cool $878 million — the biggest lottery payout to a single person ever in the U.S.
That Mega Millions jackpot from October 2018 was just America’s second-largest top prize ever; the biggest of all-time was a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot in January 2016 that was split three ways, including a couple who purchased their winning ticket at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Chino Hills.
Both are played in 45 states plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball is also played in Puerto Rico.
