By Todd Northrop
Well, that was quick.
Less than 12 hours after the initial estimate for Friday's Mega Millions jackpot was set early this morning, the already ground-shaking grand prize has now increased to an estimated $900 million.
The jackpot's estimated cash value has also been increased to $513.4 million.
Friday's $900 million Mega Millions jackpot is the largest in the game's history, and the 2nd-largest lottery jackpot in world history. The only larger lottery jackpot ever awarded was on January 13, 2016, when three tickets from California, Florida, and Tennessee shared a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
Combined with tonight's $345 million Powerball jackpot, players have more than $1.2 billion in lottery jackpots to play for this week.
Players should expect that the Mega Millions jackpot will increase again one or more times before the Friday drawing, and unless standing in long lines can be considered "fun", players should buy their tickets early.
Players looking for the nearest official lottery retailer — or maybe just a different store without such a long line — are urged to use the free Lottery Places app available for iOS, Android, and Windows. The app can find lottery stores in every Mega Millions state and can search across state lines — something even official state lotteries can't do.
Michigan lottery players can bypass the store completely and buy their Mega Millions lottery tickets online. Players outside the USA can try their luck with a reputable butler service.
Friday's jackpot started at $40 million on July 27, and is the result of 24 drawings with no jackpot winner. Mega Millions jackpots start at $40 million and roll until the jackpot is won. Players win the jackpot by matching five numbers from a field of 70 numbers and one Mega Ball number from a field of 25 numbers. Drawings are conducted each Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 pm Eastern Time.
Mega Millions lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com). The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States' two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.
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.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Friday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 2nd-largest lottery jackpot in world history. 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.
- Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $900 million, Oct. 19, 2018 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $393 million, Aug. 11, 2017 - Illinois
- 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 2nd-largest cash value in world history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $513.4 million cash, Oct. 19, 2018 ($900 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
- 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
Just went to get my tickets at my favorite lil country store and saw the electronic sign showing $900 Million...
WOW that was fast
Todd, great work, you may have to update it again.
You guys in New Jersey have a nice lottery to hit tomorrow night.
I Don't
Still waiting to here where the NJ million dollar ticket was sold. Here it was Madisonville, KY.
Don’t think like that... pick your own numbers, note, they were all odd, that’s half you don’t have to worry about...
time to scoop up powerball
Why not? It was raised $32,000,000.00 in several hours. I don't think a raise of $100,000,000.00 is out of the question by Friday.
One Ticket!
One Winner!
One Curmudgeon!
Let's go Mega Millions!
This raise wasn't due to people buying more tickets since the last drawing, its because the 868,000,0000 was under estimated. Im sure it will increase some from ticket sales but not 100M. Unless the amount of 900M was also underestimated.
Where do you get your data from? Do you work for MUSL? Just wondering. Still sticking to my story about $1 billion for Friday.
"Where do I get the data".
You cant play mega millions after 10:45 eastern time the day of the drawing time until Wednesday when the terminals go back online. So lets just say that the machines don come back online until 9am on Wednesday. That means that if you are playing on the east coast that means it went up 30 something million in like 4 hours instead of 12. That's just not likely especially if you look at the total amount spent on the jackpot over the 4 days from last Friday-Tuesday. There are sites you can visit like lotto report which will show you how much each state is spending on tickets as well as how much was spent overall from one jackpot to the other.
14. How late can I purchase a MEGA MILLIONS ticket on a draw night? On draw nights, you will be able to purchase MEGA MILLIONS tickets until game sales close at 10:00 p.m. ET, as adequate time is required to ensure that the draw data has been securely received from all 46 member lotteries before the MEGA MILLIONS drawing is held at 11:00 p.m. ET in Atlanta, GA.
There will be a 5-minute sales break between 10:00 p.m. and 10:05 p.m. ET on the night of the MEGA MILLIONS drawings, and sales after 10:05 p.m. ET will be for the next draw.