NEW YORK — Winter is bringing the heat to the Mega Millions jackpot! The prize money has soared to $862 million for the upcoming Friday drawing as no ticket matched all the numbers in Tuesday’s draw.
The winning numbers for Friday’s drawing were 2, 20, 51, 56, 67 and gold Mega Ball 19.
The jackpot prize has a cash value of $392.1 million.
This massive amount of $862 million marks the seventh-largest jackpot in the history of Mega Millions. The record for the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won stands at an astonishing $1.6 billion, claimed in August 2023.
Since its inception in 2002, a total of 13 Mega Millions jackpots have been won in the month of December. Out of these, three jackpots were won post-Christmas, with the remaining 10 being claimed before the holiday. Interestingly, there has never been a jackpot hit on Christmas Day, despite lottery drawings being held on six different Christmas days – specifically in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2020.
The Mega Millions jackpot was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10.
Before that Sept. 10 prize in the Lone Star State, the Mega Millions jackpot was won only twice earlier this year. A $552 million windfall was awarded to an Illinois online player on June 4, and a whopping $1.128 billion prize still awaits a ticket-holder in New Jersey; no one has yet come forward to claim that jackpot from March 26. If not claimed, this ticket will expire on March 26, 2025, and the unpaid prize will revert back to each participating Mega Millions jurisdiction.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play.
Top Mega Millions Jackpots
1. $1.602 billion, August 8, 2023 (one ticket in Florida)
2. $1.537 billion, October 23, 2018 (one ticket in South Carolina)
3. $1.348 billion, January 13, 2023 (one ticket in Maine)
4. $1.337 billion, July 29, 2022 (one ticket in Illinois)
5. $1.128 billion, March 26, 2024 (one ticket in New Jersey)
6. $1.050 billion, January 22, 2021 (one ticket in Michigan)
7. $800 million, September 10, 2024 (one ticket in Texas)
8. $656 million, March 30, 2012, (three tickets in Illinois, Kansas, Maryland)
9. $648 million, December 17, 2013 (two tickets sold in California, Georgia)
10. $552 million, June 4, 2024 (one ticket in Illinois)
Here is a look at the 10 largest U.S. jackpots that have been won and the states where the winning tickets were sold:
1. $2.040 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 (one ticket: California)
2. $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 (one ticket: California)
3. $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023 (one ticket: Florida)
4. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets: California, Florida and Tennessee)
5. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket: South Carolina)
6. $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket: Maine)
7. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket: Illinois)
8. $1.128 billion, March 26, 2024 (one ticket in New Jersey)
9. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July, 19, 2023 (one ticket: California)
10. $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket: Michigan)
ABC News contributed to this report.
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