Largest Mega Millions jackpot in a year

By Todd Northrop

After 33 drawings without a jackpot winner, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game now boasts a swelling jackpot of $410 million that could instantly put the winner among the wealthiest people on the planet.

When nobody won Friday night's grand prize, the Mega Millions jackpot grew to its biggest amount since a  $522 million Mega Millions jackpot  from the June 7, 2019 drawing was won by a single ticket sold in California. That ticket was claimed three months later by Laarni Bibal of San Diego. (The jackpot was initially estimated to be $530 million, but was later decreased when the final sales figures were counted.)

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

Tuesday's $410 million Mega Millions jackpot is the 11th-largest in the game's history, and the 27th-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time (see full list below).

The real gem is the cash value, which is larger than normal compared to the annuity, due to depressed interest rates during the coronavirus lockdown. The lump-sum cash value of $308.2 million is the 17th-largest on the all-time US lottery jackpot cash value list.

The current jackpot run-up started on February 14 as a $40 million grand prize — it has been 4 months since Mega Millions has had a jackpot winner. The decreased starting jackpot for Mega Millions triggered by cratering sales during the coronavirus lockdown has not been seen by players so far.

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.

If you're not sure where to buy your tickets, head right over to the Lottery Places website to download the free app on your iOS or Android phone or Windows computer. Lottery Places is the only app on the market that will locate lottery retailers in every state and jurisdiction throughout the United States.

Michigan lottery players can bypass the store completely and  buy Mega Millions lottery tickets online.  Players outside the USA can play online through a reputable  butler service  that delivers scanned images of the lottery tickets to verify the ticket purchase and ownership.

In Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 3 lucky players from Connecticut, Florida, and New Jersey matched the first 5 numbers for a second-prize win.

None of the second-prize winners purchased their ticket with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play.  If they had, their prize would have been increased to $3 million, because the Megaplier number drawn was 3.

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 21 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 6 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $30,000, and 3 were sold in California, where the prize awarded in Friday's drawing was $10,546.

The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, June 5, 2020, were 32, 35, 37, 47, and 55, with Mega Ball number 22. The Megaplier number was 3.

Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $32 million from its previous amount of $378 million. The cash value was raised by $10.6 million from its previous amount of $297.6 million.

Additional information about the drawing, including drawing video and all prize payout information, can be found on USA Mega's  Mega Millions drawing detail for June 5, 2020  page.

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

The following list actually shows the top 27 lottery jackpots of all time in order to include Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot, which currently stands as the 27th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States.

1. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
3. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
4. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
5. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
6. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
7. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
8. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
9. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
10. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
11. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
12. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
13. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
14. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
15. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
16. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
17. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Pennsylvania
18. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida
19. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 (12 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
20. Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
21. Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Indiana
22. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
23. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
24. Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New York
25. Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $10 million) - Tennessee
26. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 (20 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida, Maryland
27. Mega Millions: $410 million, Jun. 9, 2020 (33 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet

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

• Powerball: 16
• Mega Millions: 9

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. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
3. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
4. Powerball: $476.9 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
5. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
6. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
7. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
8. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
9. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
10. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
11. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
12. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
13. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($530 million annuity) - California
14. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
15. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
16. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
17. Mega Millions: $308.2 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($410 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
18. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
19. Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
20. Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
21. Powerball: $276.5 million cash, Jan. 29, 2020 ($396.9 million annuity) - Florida
22. Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
23. Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
24. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
25. Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee

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

• Powerball: 16
• Mega Millions: 9