8th-largest lottery jackpot in world history
By Todd Northrop
The Mega Millions multi-state lottery game continued its jackpot run last night when no tickets matched all six numbers.
Last night nobody won the Mega Millions lottery drawing, triggering another jackpot rollover that created a Tuesday jackpot estimated at $820 million with a cash value of $422 million.
To get to this massive size, the jackpot has been growing since it started on April 21 as a $20 million prize — now 27 consecutive drawings without a winner.
Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot is the 5th-largest in the game's history, and the 8th-largest lottery jackpot in world history among all lottery games. The lump-sum cash value of $422 million is the 14th-largest on the all-time lottery jackpot cash value rankings (see full list below).
Players looking to calculate what they would receive after the initial federal and state tax withholdings can find it all pre-calculated for each Mega Millions jurisdiction on the Jackpot Analysis page at USA Mega, a web site devoted to the Powerball and Mega Millions multi-state lottery games.
The largest lottery jackpot ever awarded was on Nov. 7, 2022, when one ticket sold in California won a $2 billion grand prize. The incredibly lucky winner was Edwin Castro, who claimed the prize in February of 2023, providing minimal public information about himself. What little is known about Castro comes from public filings, and includes the purchase of a house or two, as well as being the subject of dubious lawsuits that are unfortunately predictable these days.
The rush of ticket sales over the next few days may 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.
The quickest way to find the winning numbers after the drawing Tuesday will be by visiting USA Mega (www.usamega.com) at 11:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 pm Pacific), when the winning numbers will be published minutes after they are drawn.
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 states offer direct online sales, allowing players to bypass the store and purchase tickets from home. States that offer this ability include Michigan (Mega Millions and Powerball), Minnesota (Mega Millions and Powerball), Oregon (Mega Millions and Powerball), Texas (Mega Millions and Powerball), and Virginia (Mega Millions and Powerball). Note that some of these links will only work properly for residents of the states mentioned.
Players outside the USA can use a reputable butler service, which provides scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, the lottery ticket service was used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.
In Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 8 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California, 2 from Florida, 1 from Michigan, 2 from North Carolina, and 2 from New Jersey.
None of the second-prize tickets was purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play, which would have doubled the prize to $2 million, since the Megaplier number drawn was 2.
The only state not offering the Megaplier option is 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 within California and the number of tickets that won at each prize level in the state.
A total of 67 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 14 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $20,000, and 9 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $18,383.
A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers as well as the official drawing video can be found on the Mega Millions Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Mega Millions Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.
The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, July 21, 2023, were 29, 40, 47, 50, and 57, with Mega Ball number 25. The Megaplier number was 2.
Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $100 million from its previous amount of $720 million. The cash value was raised by $51.5 million from its previous amount of $370.5 million.
Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Tuesdays at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 8th-largest lottery jackpot in world history. Given the gap between Tuesday's jackpot and the next higher one, that position is not expected to rise before the drawing, even if the jackpot estimate is revised upwards before draw time.
- Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- 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
- Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
- Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
- Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
- Mega Millions: $820 million, Jul. 25, 2023 (27 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
- Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
- Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- 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: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
- 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
- Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
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 14th-largest cash value in world history.
- Powerball: $997.6 million cash, Nov. 7, 2022 ($2.0401 billion annuity) - California
- 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
- Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
- Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
- Powerball: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
- Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
- Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $477 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: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
- Mega Millions: $422 million cash, Jul. 25, 2023 ($820 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
- 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: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
The number of cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
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@FBI I think I found the guy that "forgot" his cocaine in the White House.
I love adding the Megaplier to my MM ticket. Unlike PB the second tier prize is not fixed at 2M.
You can win 2,3,4 or 5M on second tier.
Good luck to all the LP players out there.
I hope to score a big win, will get five tickets all random numbers 😁
May Fortune smile at me 😁
I was so dizzy after reading all that, I thought I was suffering from the Blue Dream Yellow Cat Syndrome.
Thanks for letting me know that it was just a cocaine hungover that I had 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I can see somebody from Cali winning it lol
Yeah , if THAT happens I can just see the "conspiracy wackos" lose their minds.
Not at my buy in level yet. Good luck to those getting tickets for the draw.
I'm in local draws tonite.
I add the Megaplier as well for the same reasons.
I plan to get 5 as well. I plan to do a QP, a set of my own numbers, a random number generator pick, and 2 sets of numbers in which I will pick a few and let the RNG do the rest.
Not sure how it will do, but it can't hurt.
Good luck to all.
Yesterday something told me to go to Pilot. Asked if they had any rescue tickets. Had one MM with MP with two lines on it and bought it. No winner. They also had two PB tickets that needing rescuing but the person bought 10 lines on each so didn't get them.
I must admit, I'm a bit more partial to a winner from TN, this time. For some strange reason.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂👀🤷🏾♂️
Lots of bucks.
Lottery Post is where dreams come true. It keeps us inspired everyday. Todd, I always appreciate your hard work through the years. When I win you will be the first to know about it. 🍀🍀🍀
I got 5 free tickets from my Tuesday winnings $10--won $2 on one line-mega ball.
it's like the text version of a hunter biden painting.
Yeah Right and of course we all know California or Tennessee gonna win it.. looks like a probe investigation needed
* Yeah, and why not? CA contributes mightily to both jackpots. All these complaints about Cali winning again -are pointless. There are players that want a State with 3 lottery terminals & that contribute $300. to pull down these massive jackpots..yeah,right.
* Thanks for the " Thumbs Down" l proved my point & struck a nerve. Oh happy day.
Cali also gets the gamblers to and from Vegas with the Primm store being on the border.
Well, gotta feelin going to be TX and the winner will provide this information:
played same nbrs for 25 yrs since the big game gave it as a quick pick
29 (25) appeared on Friday
just needed the other 4
collect anonymous thru trust
retiring 10 yrs early
seeking personal trainer for $12K a yr
personal chef 3 times a week
2 moderate price homes (NV and TX) maybe GA not sure
Well at least they don't tax lottery winnings in California so it is better than someone in New York winning.
I hope it is in Michigan or one of the states that don't tax lottery winnings.
If it is California I hope it is one of my relatives
. Then I might go to California for my first time ever
Wishing you all the best - that's a buffet or a <snip>tail of numbers.
I will try that and see what happens.
I found a pattern in the pyramids I do. I will try and do one later on . Want to see if it's correct
They know where the winning tickets are gonna be? I don't care if it's Texas, California, PA Florida wherever
Is it the Egyptian pyramids
"Asked if they had any rescue tickets. "
Have you ever asked if they know why the person who originally asked for them left them for adoption, and will you buy one that's not a QP? I imagine mos of the time somebody doesn't like the numbers or the ticket is a mistake thats independent of any other tickets the person was trying to buy. OTOH, sometimes it's a safe bet that a duplicate ticket was printed and the person didn't want to pay for 2 tickets.
A while back I wanted a ticket for a number of drawings that you can't choose on the play slip, so I gave the clerk my play slip asked for some number of drawings. The terminal can definitely do that even if the slip is marked for a different number of drawings. Some clerks know how to ask the terminal to do that. Most of them don't. In my particular instance the clerk tried 3 times before I told him to stop. I sure as hell wasn't going to pay $6 for 3 identical tickets, and another $2 for the first drawing on a successful multi-draw ticket, but more importantly I wasn't going to spend $2 to buy a ticket that can't possibly win more than 1/3 of the jackpot. Of course those numbers didn't win the jackpot, but I'm guessing all 3 tickets got sold to people who thought they were buying a chance to win the whole jackpot.
BEST OF LUCK EVERYONE ... If the heavenly gods and goddesses favor me with good luck, I hope I will win the Mega Million lottery jackpot and the Powerball lottery jackpot.
Egyptian pyramids, do you have a link? look up everett pierce. I do notice something on the baseline with 0s and doubles. the other way is not a pyramid, you have to look on the east coast in different states(ny down to florida) and the west coast which I believe but I just haven't really put the time into.
No, you are spot on. It used to be the the lucky stores were the stores right on the border of a state that had no lottery. No one seemed to be able to figure out that they did `100 times the volume. Ted's Mobil on the NH-Ma. line was a prime example. They have about `15 machines in there or did have. Ma. residents flocked there when NH was the only place to play PB locally. You heard oh, Ted's won again (2nd place prizes mostly) it must be a lucky store. No, I told them. They sell more tickets by a wide margin. Don't you get it. You can google Ted's Mobil for three weak stories still adhering to the "lucky" store theory.
California needs harder lotteries. PB & MM being 1 in 300,000,000 is WAY TOO EASY for them. How about a game with odds of 1 in 75,000,000,000,000?
Ooh no, I think those pyramids were there before the lottery - so I will pass 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
We had an escape room challenge - had to decipher some codes from Mayan calendar and stuff.
I believe I lost two pounds just from the mental drain trying to break the codes.
Will stick with silly random numbers 😁
You totally miss the point. It is all about number selection. Not where you are living.
I see what you are saying. California has it's own rules for how the prizes are awarded so, to be fair and equitable, they should also have different rules for the drawings.
Instead of having the Mega ball and Power Ball apply to California the draws should have 100 "California" balls each so the odds would be 100 times about 12,000,000 or about 1,200,000,000 to one for the California versions of the games. They would have to match the first 5 numbers from the regular draws and then do their own draws for the California balls. In order to win the Jackpot they would have to match the first 5 white balls that everyone else has to match and then 1 of the 100 California balls.
That's fair isn't it?
I think I found the winning numbers , I looked again. Have huge ideas what I will do if I hit
How about North America lottery for 1:500,000,000 odds (buy and settle in dollars)?
[total population of US, CAN, Mex is about 500 millions]
My 2 tier split pyramid chart (I actually use 2 opposing right triangles to form my pyramid) shows #29 repeating again.
* Right Genius. If California did not contribute to " Massive jackpots" or never joined either one- l seriously doubt we would have ever seen billion dollar jackpots. My guess is it would have taken 2 years or more for a jackpot to roll to reach a $1 billion.
* Be thankful CA players are in the game. No apology necessary.
I hope it does bcuz it's in my regular numbers
I think you are being facetious or downright ludicrous in your suggestion for the California lottery.
No momentum there to put on the ballot and be done with parimutuel payouts there. Sometimes they do pay out higher for the five numbers...but not always. Look @ the 'paltry' sum the seven players got on the big Powerball payout.
Was parimuteul payouts the compromise from their legislature to allow MM & PB into their state? Don't think we'll ever know that answer. Maybe they didn't like getting dictated as to how much secondary, third and fourth prize payouts will be?
So glad we have a progressive lottery in Kentucky and on-line gaming, though I do it less and less, still the way to go if not feeling inclined to go to end of street to play!
In the interests of DEI someplace other than California should win. I mean it isn't very diverse, equitable or inclusive if California keeps winning all the time is it? That would mean California is racist and so are Mega Millions and Powerball!
To the rescue of California 🤣🤣
Hate the game, don't hate the players.
I don't live in California and have never been there, but here are some facts about California.
If California were a country, it would be the 5th largest economy in the world, and more productive than India, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada.
They deserve to win when they win.
For more information read the article in the link.
https://bulloakcapital.com/blog/if-california-were-a-country/
We become better people when we are knowledgeable and argue from a factual point of view as opposed to an emotional one.
I too would love to see "smaller" states win as well, but sometimes it is what it is 🤷🏾♂️
I know you are referring to DEI in the context of winning the lottery.
But on DEI as a whole California really rocks it 😁 and it's the most diverse state in the USA.
So maybe as a result of their efforts, they deserve to win - lol
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2020-09-10/california-is-the-most-diverse-state-in-the-us
Most Diverse States
1. California
2. Texas
3. Hawaii
4. New Jersey
5. New York
6. New Mexico
7. Maryland
8. Florida
9. Nevada
10. Arizona
How about .....you just pick the right numbers ?? Have no worries about the dumbing down aspects...The non lottery officials have that one well designed for failure...I am holding out for the mortgage forgiveness aspect and free stuff for life.... Could be anew lottery game for them to adopt,for $3-5 a ticket..Drawings on Thursday & Sunday ?
I think I found the winning numbers too - and so do a million other people lol.
But my numbers are more of the winning numbers than yours 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ooh my goodness - I also have a list of what I will do.
1. I will live in all the 4 major regions of the USA for 2 years each. The Northeast. The Midwest. The South and The West.
That way I get to visit all the National Parks and all the Points if Interest in every state.
Come on MM, just smile at me with even second tier prize with a 5X 🤣🤣🤣🐀
The smaller states never when a large jackpot such as this. Always from California or bigger states. But any Whooo. Good Luck to all who participate.
Wyoming, Vermont, North and South Dakota should win a major jackpot.
Let's go Mega.....
!
One of those states winning would be great just to see JJ's reaction!
I'd be happy to see it $900 million and be won in some postage stamp sized city no one had ever heard of b4
Yeup, since Maine can do it, one of those places may push poor ole JJ over the edge.
Welp, here's some interesting news. The Mega Millions jackpot for tonight stayed at $820 million for the annuity, but the cash value fell from $422 million to $418.3 million.
The take home for states that don't tax the lottery is $263,566,045.
Am still in, hook, line and sinker 🤣
Interesting. I wonder if they are trying to not overestimate like Powerball did recently.
Even so, I'm in for 5 lines tonight and if it rolls, I'll be in for Saturday.
You mean Friday....lol
Could that be due to a change in interest rates?
No the cash option is based on actual ticket sales, and the annuity is affected by interest rates. However, it is my understanding that after the previous drawing, the interest rates fluctuating would not affect the next jackpot, because the rate is locked in at that point.
I stand corrected. If I hit on Friday I know I'll be extremely excited om Saturday!