16th-largest jackpot in US lottery history
By Todd Northrop
After 23 drawings without a jackpot winner, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game now boasts a swelling jackpot of nearly a half-billion dollars that could instantly put someone among the wealthiest people on the planet.
When nobody won Friday night's grand prize, the Mega Millions jackpot grew to an estimated $475 million — the biggest since a $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot from the October 23, 2018 drawing crowned a single anonymous lottery winner from South Carolina as the world's first lottery billionaire. (See Winner of $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot has come forward, Lottery Post, Mar. 4, 2019.)
The next Mega Millions drawing is on Tuesday night at 11:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 pm Pacific).
Tuesday's $475 million Mega Millions jackpot is the 7th-largest in the game's history, and the 16th-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time (see full list below).
The lump-sum cash value of $307 million is also 16th-largest on the all-time US lottery jackpot cash value list.
Note that Lottery Post's top-25 US lottery jackpot list now includes the number of rollovers that the jackpot went through to reach the final number, as well as the starting point of the jackpot.
The current jackpot run-up started on March 15 as a $40 million grand prize — it has been 2½ 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.
The rush of ticket sales over the next few days likely will propel the jackpot to an even higher amount before the drawing takes place Tuesday. Lottery Post and USA Mega will update the jackpot tallies displayed if such an increase occurs.
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.
Lottery players across the United States are also watching and playing Powerball for its swelling $350 million jackpot, due to be drawn tonight. Despite its massive size, Powerball still hasn't broken into the top 25 list, and is currently sitting at number 33. To make the top 25 list, a jackpot now has to be $421 million or more.
In Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 2 lucky players from New Jersey and New York matched the first 5 numbers for a second-prize win.
Neither player 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 38 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 5 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $30,000, and 3 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $14,581.
The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, May 31, 2019, were 7, 8, 26, 65, and 67, with Mega Ball number 4. The Megaplier number was 3.
Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $31 million from its previous amount of $444 million. The cash value was raised by $25.9 million from its previous amount of $281.1 million.
Additional information about the drawing, including all prize payout information and drawing video, can be found on USA Mega's Mega Millions drawing detail for May 31, 2019 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 16th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. That position may rise before the drawing, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
- Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $475 million, Jun. 4, 2019 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 (12 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Indiana
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New York
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $10 million) - Tennessee
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 16th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $476.9 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
- Mega Millions: $307 million cash, Jun. 4, 2019 ($475 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $254.6 million cash, Jan. 1, 2019 ($425 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
The number of cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
These standing on the lottery jackpots and feel good stories always top my list.
Was thinking this morning, when is Todd going to post this? And here it is.
im awaiting 1 day to see all or most of our U.S.A. states, multiple people dozens, win 1 million each or heck even 1/2 of million a few several dozen people,
or heck, even 4 numbers WITH MB or Powerball etc., then i will know that dad, is wrong when he been saying for years,
"Keep focus on winning nice regular amounts of cash with pick 4 etc.,Cassie,and or pick 3"since the Mega is rigged like P-BALL,
when 1 singular person or two win at various times." lol
I hope some 1 (many)win in a few days on tue., and or tonight P-ball. Glad only played 2 on fri and those were for mom,who asked me to go play it for her.
like clock work jejeje
Well 🥂s to it hitting the $750 million mark and hitting in an anonymous state
preferably the state of Virginia
I am all for having that jackpot resolved on Wednesday morning with a certain TN winner.
This would make a very nice one ticket, one winner here in Western PA!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Yes it would make a nice win for someone in middle TN. Ha ha ha ha!!!
I think South Carolina needs a another winner....lol
Will it roll a 24th time? If it does I will jump in.
Hit the first three numbers 7,8,26 and had the MB number of 4 unfortunately what I also needed was 65 and 67 in which my ticket had 40 and 44. Won $200 so still pretty pleased as most of my past winners never exceeded $10.
Did you see the jackpot that hit on the 34th rollover? Indiana's MM hit it on July 8, 2016.
It is #13 Top 25 Annuity. #9 Top 25 Cash Value
$536 million Annuity and $378 million Cash Value.
That is a lot of rollovers!
The following States do not tax lottery winnings. CA, FL, TX, NH, S.D., TN, WA, WY, and Delaware.
A winner in one of those States would receive a Cash Lump Sum = $193,410,000.00
AL, FL, NV, NH, S.D., TN, TX, WA, WY do not have income taxes.
It’s been way too hard to win lately, I predict it will roll to an unbelievable amount like $4.5 billion or so.
34 rollovers is downright crazy to just have a $536 million jackpot. If this current one gets to 30 rollovers the jackpot would be approaching $800 million. You should take a peak at the $656 million MM jackpot from 2012 With it’s 18 rollovers and a starting pot of $12 million that took four rollovers just to get to $41 million.
Times and jackpot fever have definitely changed.