Mega Millions Hits 28 Years, But Doesn’t Celebrate With Jackpot
- 07 Sep 2024
- Gambling News
Last night, the gold Mega Ball was number 25, and the winning Mega Millions numbers were 6, 23, 41, 59, and 63. The jackpot was not hit by your ticket.
There were no jackpot winners from Friday, September 6's Mega Millions drawing. This was the 27th consecutive drawing in the game where no ticket matched the six winning numbers.
With a $401.8 million one-time cash option, the next jackpot for Tuesday, September 10 is now projected to be $800 million. Since 1996, the jackpot has increased to become the seventh-richest in Mega Millions history.
Only seven Mega Millions jackpots that were individually larger than ten figures were won before Tuesday's $800 million prize. The $800 million jackpot is the 13th largest in American history.
Top Mega Millions Jackpots
- $1.602B — 8/8/2023 — 1-FL
- $1.537B — 10/23/2018 — 1-SC
- $1.348B — 1/13/2023 — 1-ME
- $1.337B — 7/29/2022 — 1-IL
- $1.128B — 3/26/2024 — 1-NJ
- $1.05B — 1/22/2021 — 1-MI
- $800M — 9/10/2024 — ?
- $656M — 3/30/2012 — 3-IL, KS, MD
- $648M — 12/17/2013 — 2-CA, GA
- $552M — 6/4/2024 — 1-IL
Highlights of Friday Night
Players didn't win the jackpot on Friday, but it wasn't a complete bust because six tickets matched all five white balls but not the gold Mega Ball to win the $1 million second-tier prize in the Mega Millions. After the Megaplier landed on 2x, one of those players bought the optional $1 add-on, which doubled their winnings to $2 million.
To win $10,000, 49 tickets have to match the gold Mega Ball with four white balls. The Megaplier doubled the prize to $20,000 in ten of those plays. Over 1,000 tickets—223 of which included the Megaplier—hit four of the five white balls for $500 prizes.
During the Friday drawing, 1,699,484 tickets were awarded prizes. Of those tickets, about 1.12 million matched the Mega Ball to recover their $2 wager.
The Anniversary of Mega Millions
Mega Millions celebrated its 28th anniversary on Friday night. The interstate lottery operation has continuously operated since Friday, Sept. 6, 1996, when the game was first drawn as The Big Game.
28 years ago, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Virginia were the six original participating lotteries. The original six participating lotteries are represented by the gold Mega Ball with six stars in the Mega Millions logo. Currently, 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands play Mega Millions.
In addition to changing its name from The Big Game Mega Millions in 2002 to Mega Millions in 2003, Mega Millions has changed its gameplay over the years to make winning the jackpot more challenging. According to lottery authorities, jackpot-generating headlines boost sales because they increase the number of non-regular lottery players who enter and win rewards.
The most recent update to the game was made in October 2017, when the number of Mega Balls was raised from 15 to 25 and the cost to play was doubled to $2. When the number of white balls was lowered from 75 to 70, several people believed it would be simpler to win the jackpot.
In contrast, the odds of winning the jackpot increased from one in 258.89 million to one in 302.57 million.
