Mega Millions Lottery Grand Prize Set to Surpass $1 Billion Friday Night, with Tickets Available Worldwide

The multi-jurisdictional US Lottery Mega Millions grand prize has now grown to a historic nine-figure total.

Jackpot Heights

With no one winning the Mega Millions jackpot in last Tuesday's drawing, the prize is up to $1.025 billion.

Cash Option

The Mega Millions website further indicates the cash option for Friday's grand prize drawing is $602.5 million.

Historical Significance

These totals represent the third largest jackpot ever for Mega Millions and the fourth time any United States jackpot has surpassed the billion mark--sparking a ticket-buying frenzy of some 62 million trying to reach the site over 24 hours.

Traffic Jam

The traffic was so heavy to the Mega Millions website Tuesday evening that the site for one of America's major lotteries was down for over two hours in pursuit of what was at the time an estimated $830 million jackpot.

Numbers

Alas, with the numbers drawn on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, as 7 - 29 - 60 - 63 - 66 and Megaball 15, with a Megaplier of 3x, nobody won the jackpot.

Six Figure Awards Tuesday

Some million-dollar tickets were awarded.

All five white balls Tuesday night matched to nine tickets, including Ohio ($3 million Megaplier); California ($2,912,502). Even $1 million wins were awarded twice each in New York and New Jersey; plus individual awards in Florida; Illinois; Ohio; Florida; Illinois; New Jersey (2); New York (2); and Ohio (2) to win $1 million plus.

Last Jackpot

The Mega Millions grand prize jackpot has not been won since April 15 in Tennessee, when a $20 million winning ticket marked the second time in two drawings that a lottery ticket hit the grand prize.

Mega Millions Background

Originally introduced to six states as the Big Game in 1996 and known as The Big Game Mega Millions from 2002 until the beginning of 2020, the Mega Millions is now offered in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.

Mega Millions is drawn at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday and Friday evenings in Atlanta.

Ticket Costs

The cost of each Mega Millions ticket is $2/prize, with additional Megapliers available for $1 to multiply all potential prizes, excluding the jackpot up to five times the original prize.

Play Format

Players select five numbers from 1 to 70 to match the white balls and another number between 1 and 25 for the Mega Ball. Players also have the option of allowing the lottery machine to generate a random Quick Pick.

Global Availability

Tickets for Friday's Mega Millions big event can be purchased globally at TheLotter.