13th-largest jackpot in US lottery history

By Todd Northrop

After 21 drawings without a jackpot winner, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game now boasts a swelling jackpot of nearly a half-billion dollars that could instantly put someone among the wealthiest people on the planet.

When nobody won Friday night's grand prize, the Mega Millions jackpot grew to an estimated $470 million — the biggest since a $543 million Mega Millions jackpot from the July 24 drawing was claimed by a group of 11 California bank workers.  (See California office pool claims $543 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot, Lottery Post, Aug. 3, 2018.)

The next Mega Millions drawing is on Tuesday night at 11:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 pm Pacific).

Tuesday's $470 million Mega Millions jackpot is the 6th-largest in the game's history, and the 13th-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time (see full list below).

The lump-sum cash value of $265.3 million is the 17th-largest on the all-time US lottery jackpot cash value list.

The current jackpot run-up started on July 27 as a $40 million grand prize — it has been more than 2 months since Mega Millions has had a jackpot winner.

Lottery players wondering what all the cash will look like in their bank account after federal and state taxes are taken out can see an after-tax analysis of the current Mega Millions jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page.

The rush of ticket sales over the next few days likely will propel the jackpot to an even higher amount before the drawing takes place Tuesday. Lottery Post and USA Mega will update the jackpot tallies displayed if such an increase occurs.

In Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 2 lucky players from California and Kentucky matched the first 5 numbers for a second-prize win.  The Kentucky second-prize player will claim a $1 million prize, but the California player will claim a $638,267 prize, due to California's unique lottery law requiring pari-mutuel prizes for all games.

The Kentucky player did not purchase their ticket with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play.  If they had, their prize would have been increased to $2 million, because the Megaplier number drawn was 2.

The Megaplier option is not available in California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered with the Megaplier is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts. By law, California awards all lottery prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold and the number of tickets that won at each prize level.

Also, a total of 30 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 3 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $20,000, and 6 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $8,126.

The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, October 5, 2018, were 27, 28, 32, 41, and 69, with Mega Ball number 12. The Megaplier number was 2.

Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $50 million from its previous amount of $420 million. The cash value was raised by $28.2 million from its previous amount of $237.1 million. 

Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.

The Mega Millions winning numbers are published at USA Mega (www.usamega.com) minutes after the drawing takes place.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 13th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States.  That position may rise before the drawing, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

1. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
3. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
4. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
5. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
6. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
7. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
8. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
9. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
10. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
11. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
12. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
13. Mega Millions: $470 million, Oct. 9, 2018 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
14. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
15. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
16. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
17. Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
18. Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
19. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
20. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
21. Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
22. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
23. Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
24. Mega Millions: $393 million, Aug. 11, 2017 - Illinois
25. Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey

For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 15
• Mega Millions: 10

Top 25 cash value jackpots

Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth.

Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the 17th-largest cash value in U.S. history.

1. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
3. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
4. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
5. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
6. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
7. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
8. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
9. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
10. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
11. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
12. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
13. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
14. Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
15. Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
16. Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
17. Mega Millions: $265.3 million cash, Oct. 9, 2018 ($470 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
18. Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
19. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
20. Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
21. Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
22. Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
23. Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
24. Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
25. Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California

The number of cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 11