Lottery ticket-buying frenzy throughout the USA

By Todd Northrop

Across the United States, lottery tickets are being sold at a frantic pace that the state lotteries are struggling to keep up.

Most of those sales are for the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game, which features a jackpot reaching into stratospheric heights only seen twice before in world history — and a lump-sum cash value worth three quarters of a billion dollars.

Just a day after the jackpot was raised to $1.1 billion, the state lotteries have once again raised the official Mega Millions jackpot estimate for the Fri., Jul. 29, drawing to $1.28 billion, with a lump-sum cash payout of $747.2 million.

And it may not stop there.

Players should watch for further jackpot increases before the Friday drawing. Long lines of ticket buyers across the nation are generating lottery ticket sales at unprecedented levels. Players are strongly urged to avoid waiting until the last minute to buy their their tickets.

The Friday Mega Millions winning numbers will be published at USA Mega (www.usamega.com) live as they are drawn. Lottery Post will also publish the winning numbers live — go to your state lottery results page for the drawing results.

The drawing happens Friday night at 11:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 pm Pacific Time).

Lottery officials estimate that if there is no winner tonight, Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot will be at least $1.7 billion, which would set the all-time world record for any lottery jackpot.

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.

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 use a reputable butler service that delivers scanned images of the lottery tickets to verify the ticket purchase and ownership. In the past, the lottery ticket service was used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.

Friday's jackpot started at $20 million on April 19, and is the result of 29 drawings with no jackpot winner.

When nobody won the jackpot on Tuesday night, the initial estimate for Friday's drawing was established at $1.02 billion, the game's 3rd-highest level. Less than 12 hours later, that estimate was raised to $1.1 billion. And now, less than 24 hours after the last increase, the state lotteries have again raised the official estimate, this time to $1.28 billion.

And it's still possible the official estimate will be increased again before the drawing Friday night.

Mega Millions jackpots start at $20 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 Millions number from a field of 25 numbers. Drawings are conducted each Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 Pacific Time).

All information about game rules, past drawings, statistics, news, and more can be found 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 45 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2 each.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Friday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 3rd-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: $1.28 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
4. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
5. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
6. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
7. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
8. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
9. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
10. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
11. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
12. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
13. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
14. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
15. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
16. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
17. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
18. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
19. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
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 6th-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. Mega Millions: $747.2 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.28 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
5. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
6. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
7. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
8. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
9. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
10. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
11. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
12. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
13. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
14. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
15. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
16. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
17. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
18. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
19. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
20. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
21. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
22. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
23. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
24. Mega Millions: $314.4 million cash, Sep. 21, 2021 ($431 million annuity) - New York
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