Who won the $862 million Mega Millions prize?

NEW YORK — The Mega Millions jackpot continues to heat up, soaring to $862 million for Friday’s drawing. 

If won on that level, it would be the largest December prize and the seventh largest jackpot in Mega Millions history. 

The prize pool has been increasing since September 10th, when it was last captured in Texas for the amount of $810 million. Despite no ticket matching the winning numbers in the recent draw, Tuesday’s draw did produce multiple million-dollar winners.

Thus far this year, only three Mega Millions jackpots have been claimed, with one of them being a $1.1 billion winning ticket bought in New Jersey in March. The winner of that prize has yet to come forward, as winners in New Jersey have up to a year to claim their winnings. The highest Mega Millions jackpot on record, amounting to $1.6 billion, was sold in Florida in August of the previous year.

The winning numbers for Tuesday’s drawing were: 2-20-51-56-67 − 19 MegaBall, with 2x MegaPlier.

When a player matches all five numbers and the Mega Ball, they have the choice of receiving the full jackpot in annual installments over 30 years, or taking a one-time cash payment equivalent to approximately half of the total prize. The vast majority of winners opt for the cash payout.

Players who match only the first five numbers win at least $1 million. 

Mega Millions drawings take place Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.

1. $1.602 billion – August 8, 2023 – Florida
2. $1.537 billion – October 23, 2018 – South Carolina 
3. $1.348 billion – January 13, 2023 – Maine
4. $1.337 billion – July 29, 2022 – Illinois
5. $1.128 billion – March 26, 2024 – New Jersey
6. $1.050 billion – January 22, 2021 – Michigan
7. $862 million  – December 20, 2024
8. $810 million – September 10, 2024 – Texas 
9. $656 million – March 30, 2012 – Kansas/Illinois/Maryland
10. $648 million – December 17, 2013 – California/Georgia
11. $552 million – June 4, 2024 – Illinois