$530 million jackpot features cash option of more than $300 million

By Todd Northrop

After 26 drawings without a jackpot winner, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game now boasts a swelling jackpot of $530 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 $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot from the Jan. 22, 2021 drawing was won by a single ticket sold in Michigan. That ticket was claimed two months later by the four-member Wolverine FLL Club. The club elected to receive the massive prize as a lump sum cash payment totaling $776 million.

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

Tuesday's $530 million Mega Millions jackpot is the 8th-largest in the game's history, and the 19th-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time (see full list below).

The lump-sum cash value of the jackpot is worth $304.7 million — the 24th-largest on the all-time US lottery jackpot cash value list.

(Lottery Post has a helpful video explaining the difference between the annuity and cash values, and how they are calculated.)

The current jackpot run-up started on April 19 as a $20 million grand prize — it has been 3 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.

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.

Some state lotteries offer online ticket purchases, allowing players to bypass the store completely. Such is the case with Michigan and Virginia. Other states such as Minnesota, Orgeon, and Texas use a state-licensed courier service to enable online purchases. 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 1 lucky player from California matched the first 5 numbers for a second-prize win of $973,668.

Also, a total of 28 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 $50,000, and 3 were sold in California, where the prize awarded in Friday's drawing was $17,181.

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.

The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, July 15, 2022, were 8, 20, 26, 53, and 64, with Mega Ball number 15. The Megaplier number was 5.

Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $50 million from its previous amount of $480 million. The cash value was raised by $28.7 million from its previous amount of $276 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 July 15, 2022 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

Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 19th-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. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
4. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
5. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
6. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
7. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
8. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
9. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
10. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
11. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
12. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
13. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
14. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
15. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
16. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
17. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
18. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
19. Mega Millions: $530 million, Jul. 19, 2022 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
20. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
21. Mega Millions: $516 million, May 21, 2021 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Pennsylvania
22. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
23. Powerball: $473.1 million, Apr. 27, 2022 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Arizona
24. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Pennsylvania
25. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida

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

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 11

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 24th-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. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
4. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
5. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
6. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
7. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
8. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
9. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
10. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
11. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
12. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
13. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
14. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
15. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
16. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
17. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
18. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
19. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
20. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
21. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
22. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
23. Mega Millions: $314.4 million cash, Sep. 21, 2021 ($431 million annuity) - New York
24. Mega Millions: $304.7 million cash, Jul. 19, 2022 ($530 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
25. Mega Millions: $292.9 million cash, Jan. 28, 2022 ($426 million annuity) - California

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

• Powerball: 12
• Mega Millions: 13