By Todd Northrop
For only the 12th time in the history of United States lotteries, a lottery jackpot run-up has crossed into $300 million+ territory.
The new high-water mark for the current Mega Millions jackpot was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Tuesday night's $244 million grand prize.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Friday's Mega Millions jackpot is $193.6 million.
The mammoth prize is the result of 14 draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $12 million prize on Feb. 4.
The winning numbers for Tuesday, March 22, 2011 were 1, 14, 35, 50, and 53, with Mega Ball number 43. The Megaplier number was 4.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Tuesday, 26 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $250,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 5 from California, 2 from Georgia, 1 from Maryland, 1 from Massachusetts, 2 from Michigan, 1 from Minnesota, 1 from Nebraska, 9 from New York, 1 from Pennsylvania, and 2 from Texas.
The 5 California winners will each be awarded prizes of $297,525, because California awards all prizes in a pari-mutuel formula, which calculates the prize amount based on the number of tickets sold and the number of winners in each prize category. The winners are helped because there were no second-prize winners from California in the previous drawing, which increased the second prize pool in this drawing.
The winning numbers for Friday's Mega Millions lottery drawing will be published at USA Mega (www.usamega.com) right after the drawing takes place at 11:00 PM Eastern Time.
USA Mega is one of the few lottery Web sites with a robust technology backbone that keeps it running strong, even when massive player traffic melts down other state lottery Web sites.
The site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Friday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 12th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. That position may rise before the drawing Friday night, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
If nobody wins Friday, it's anyone's guess how high it will go.
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 5 2011
- Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006
- The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000
- Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005
- Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009
- The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002
- Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007
- Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005
- Powerball: $314.9 million, Dec. 26, 2002
- Powerball: $314.3 million, Aug. 25, 2007
- Mega Millions: $304 million, Mar. 25, 2011 (preliminary estimate, not won yet)
- Powerball: $295.7 million, Jul. 29, 1998
- Powerball: $295 million, Aug. 25, 2001
- Mega Millions: $294 million, Jul. 2, 2004
- Powerball: $276.3 million, Mar. 15, 2008
- Mega Millions: $275 million, Feb. 22, 2008
- Mega Millions: $270 million, Feb. 28, 2006
- Mega Millions: $266 million, May 4, 2010
- Mega Millions: $265 million, Apr. 18, 2006
- Powerball: $261.6 million, Jun. 2, 2010
- Powerball: $261.3 million, Jul. 9, 2003
- Powerball: $259.9 million, Aug. 19, 2009
- Powerball: $258.5 million, Apr. 21, 2010
- Mega Millions: $258 million, Sep. 16, 2005
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Mega Millions: 12
- Powerball: 11
- The Big Game: 2
The Big Game is the original name of Mega Millions, from the game's first drawing on Sep. 6, 1996 through May 14, 2002. The name was changed to Mega Millions starting with the May 17, 2002 drawing.
Wow. What a jackpot!
I'm buying my ticket later today, before the big rush Friday.
This really adds excitement to the game. I thought it would have got hit tonight. I'll be sure to play a few dollars as my contribution to the entertainment value of megamillions!
man I bought a ticket with 5 quick pick with multiplier
I won $28
Here are the numbers I won with
1-6-35-50-52-(44)
so close to hitting 4+1 for $40,000 and the jackpot
its crazy to think about it
The next winner will be out of Washington state and the winner will be from Alaska. Remember you saw it here first!
"You make a living by what you get, You make a LIFE by what you give!"
Sir Winston Churchill
... I wonder if it will increase again like it did last time. Except i do not think it will be as much. High gas prices are pinching everybody's budget including mine... I purchase my tickets in two states so maybe i will cut one out this time... can't really afford to drive to GA to get some tickets!
Good Luck Everyone!
$304 Million - I'll take it!
The winner will be in VA!
Good luck everyone!
nope, still not going to change over into desperation nation.
still the same consistent character choice as the last 9 years at LP, so only.......
1 QP
( $20 - $100 in tickets wouldn't give me any better "odds / chances" at $304 million, than it does at $12 million)
Yo Yo Yo! Finally the fever starts, and I love it! No it won't be 304M, now only Lord knows how big its gonna be! And if no one hits it is guaranteed to reach half a billion!
just launched my breakfast all over my compuker table
....
Dammm perfectly good waste of pizza & I hadn't even looked @ my numbers.... DAMM U MEGAMILLIONS !!!!
houston we have left off! the jackpot is now blasting into outerspace!
304m my beep, their Now officaly lowballing it for sure
just 2 months ago this happened
the real roll over amounts 1 more time.
$242 Million
now seeing as this one was 2m higher, at 244m,
anyway, if it rolls, going form 244m to the 360+ million range, or 220+ cash is must likly
last run had 4 days to sell, this only will only have 3 days to sell, taking 1 day out of 4, brings it to round 220m cash, or 360m , Must likly,
MM officals will no doubt For sure update the jackpot amount Come near draw, they must Know better, the fresh sells data of what 41 states do with a 300+ million jackpot Does not Lie.
as for rolling 1 more time, We are now going to sell over 50% of the odds, Bet on it, the jackpot Can sure roll, thro the odds will be agiant it in a major way from Now on
hell i just hope its a single ticket that wins, with so many tickets being sold the chances for 2 winners is Very higher then normal.
like what happened with last jackpot, a self pack and quick pack both won 380m
if it could pull off a other roll, and blast into high 400m to 500m range, it will be the biggest jackpot in history, it also have 4 days to sell marketed as 400m to 500+ , can you Say Lotto fever like Never seen before, todd site may even be at risk at such levels.
already their was 26 winners with 5-0, their only 46 mb so jackpot found the sweet 20mb opening to keep on playing, tag your it, and avoided us for 14 draws now
, their closing in, the next one will have around 40 to 50 white ball 5-0 maybe, as more people play
but for now, the math is -35% max fed rate= $126,100,000 , i glady take such a large amount wired to my trust bank account,
it be Party Time then!
also 2011 looking Like 1 hell of a year for mega jackpots for MM, keep it up MM!
I'm calling it right now...if no one wins Friday, we WILL have our first $400 million jackpot ever.
Ive played numbers in all of them. This will be my winnings, after it crosses the $400,000,000 mark. I have my attorneys picked out (they dont know it), and I have identified my Wealth Management Co. identified, (they dont know it). I have my two houses picked out, one in Marylaand and a huge mansion in Orange County Florida. I have my 50 page life plan already consisely laid out.
Just the transfer of the funds is what i need. Lol
I agree, if it rolls the lines will be longer also, get your tickets early.
As the saying goes..... TGIF!!!!!!!
I have 65 picks already filled out from the last big jackpot, will use the same numbers again and see what happens. :)
Yeah, I know what you mean, delS! I have a lot planned, but probably not as much as I should! I do NOT have my lawyers, financial advisors, or tax consultant picked out yet, but my tax woman is phenomenal and I know I'll get great advice on who to look at for my board. And she will be on it too, along with the tax consultant. After all, it doesn't hurt (when you have that much money) to have more than one person, from different companies, with the same title. That will keep their advice "legal".
So many people trusted Bernie Madoff because he was a professional - and successful. How easy would it be to listen to your only tax consultant, then later, discover that what he proposed was illegal as you are carted off to jail. Hence, I want more than one - from rival companies - on my board.
How the folks feeling that spent 20-100 dollars or more and didnt win more than they spent.u only need one ticket to win.thats. why 5 bucs is my limit.pretty sure they will go out friday and spend more.Tools.LOL
Yeah, I spent $9 on last night's jackpot. The reason I spent so much is that I'm going to a few different places to buy the tickets. As soon as I find my "lucky" place, I'll stay there. So far my Kroger is the luckiest (I actually win on half the scratch-offs, when I buy them) but my local Harris Teeter, my fav grocery store, just started selling lottery tickets two months ago. So far not lucky with tickets or scratch-offs (which I have to buy because I have a $5 and I do it through the machine), but I'm hoping it's just warming up!
Although this time, I will spend either $5 or perhaps up to $20 if I decide to pick numbers myself. I mean, it is in the top 10 of all time for lotteries!!!
Yet, I do hope there is more than 1 winner. That's too much money for just one. Even if I win, I'll still feel the same...unless over 100 people win it. LOL
s5thomps, I sure hope you are right about the winner being from Washington state but are wrong about the Alaska part. I live in Washington and would love the be the winner of this large of a JP
To avoid that scenerio why not handle your own money. I wouldnt need someone else to handle my money for me.
All 3 of US can share LOL!!!
Oh boy!
Now that Mega Millions rolls to a much bigger jackpot at $304 million, will Powerball (at $101 million) follows suit after tonight's draw? Hmmm... 
I sure hope by the time someone wins the MM jackpot, PB's pot should at least reach the $150 million mark or more... so that our dream of winning the big one is still within reach!
Funny!!!
You would go into hiding!!!
Just bought 5 tickets this morning all with Megaplier. The lady asked if I wanted the games on one ticket or separate so I went for separate. I dunno what the liklihood of Quick Picks winning the MM jackpot are. Oh well. I plan to save my money just in case there's another rollover.
You never know. ;)
Can anyone tell me if
North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas states ever won the Grand Prize for Mega Million Lotto??
I have not seen anyone win in these states
That's right..! me and my cousins each pool $10.00 for a total of 150.00 for last night game and only won $4.00 bucks! matching only 2 of the megaball. With all that ticket we should atleast get like $20.00 back.
I should have stay with the $5.00 that I bought for myself at first. Now I wasted another 10 which should have been for this draw.
304 is a lucky number! 3 + 0 + 4 = Lucky 7
I do not think that south carolina has won... but texas and north carolina have...
I just bought my ticket. By Friday I hope the jackpot gets bumped up to *gasp* $305 million!
Simple, lack of experience and the fact that things get a good bit more complex when you're a millionaire, even those who do have the experience have others working for them to help manage their assets. It's not letting them handle it and especially not given control, it's assisting in managing it. You certainly shouldn't give someone else free reign to do what they want and you certainly should educate yourself as much as possible so you don't get in over your head and remain ignorant.
DC81
You are absolutely correct. Its hiring people to assist you with handling your money; and believe it or not, no matter how smart or good you are with money, this sum of money is extremely too much for one person to handle along with all the extraordinary challenges that come with being an "ULTRA HIGH NET WORTH person."
Its one thing to dream but its another thing to live at this level.
it will , it is just the start, see how people scramble on friday to buy limps of tickets
i bought my ticket on monday for tues. & Friday, i always play at the same spot.
Just bought a qp with a multiplier. I might but another number if it rolls before friday.
The megaball runs from 1-46 and you only need $46 dollars to make sure you hit it once and win $2. The $150 can get you had could of got you guys at least $6 had one person took time to fill the numbers 1-46 three times.
Anyways, I just spent about $10 bucks on fridays game. We'll see who got the door thats painted in blood.
I've been playing Megamillions ever since I turned 18, doesn't matter if it is $12 million or $300 million I still put in 1 or 2 dollars per drawing. But the most I ever win is $10.00. Sometimes I wonder if I ever gonna hit it big in this life time...hmm....probably not..! As a matter of fact sometimes I have this thought what if I do win? Will people treat me different? will money change me or the people around me? am I gonna be able to manage that much money? with all these thoughts in mind, I'm glad I didnt win.. but hey why am I still playing then? maybe for the fun of it..! :D
It'd be cool if we could have a double whammy of $300M+ jackpots if Powerball keeps rolling.
there are no rushes anymore.
THE HOUSE IS HAVING A HARD TIME WINNING AGAINST YOU OVER THE LONG HAUL.I'M AIMING AT THE TARGET WITH 5 CHANCES. 1 QP AFTER THE JACKPOT IS WON.
the last i remember alaska does not have a lottery. so are you living in washington and are from alaska? or are you flying down just for a ticket?
good point. i do the same thing but i just get another 10 drawing ticket. 300 million is nice but i can live well off a 12 million.
i agree.
it only takes one to win. LOL. only play what you can afford to lose.
multi draw is the ticket. i always get multi draw. 12 million is still a nice piece of change.
smart man? smart woman? oh heck i can't tell what sex you are. let's just say you are a real smart person for doing a multi draw. lol. yeah smart person and i agree with you 100%.
STARTCHILD45, WE ARE ALL CHILDREN FROM THE STARS.I agree with you 100%, we have to play according to our budget.DO NOT LET MATH FOOL YOU.SOMEONE WILL WIN, THAT IS A FACT.
you can play for 20 years and never win. oh. that sounds like me. lmao. the most i have won on different lotteries was a 1000 dollars twice. i won 406 on powerball and thirty somehing on mega. so hang in there you young whipper snapper. young people do win. just not me and you yet. oh you can cross me out the young person section. lol. good luck to you. oh yeah to me too. age before beauty. lol
nice to know there are a few wise men like you and i left. :) i work nights and i was shocked to check on my phone to see that the jackpot went up to 304. i do hope it crosses the 400 mark now. i would luv to win but i would luv to see it cross the 400 mark.
peace.
I got my tickets for the big one on friday $304 million! I also brought tickets for tonight powerball!$33 million after taxes would be nice.
I reinvested my $3 win from last night!
No lines ........................
About $125 million after taxes here in PA ..................... might just take a little vacation
I just checked the mm website.you can not purchase tickets from 9:45-10:15(ala break hours). Why is this If the drawing isnt until 10:30. Im telling u again it is all predermined and they allready know what nunbers are going to be selected based upon what nunbers are selected. Wake-up people!!!they check during the minutes u cant by tickets.sorry not a conspiracy theory.just a conspiracy fact
I will win it in VA! I got the ticket in my hand.
If it smells like a rat.its a rat
Well, I have donated to the pot, hope I get the lions share.
I'm going to venture a guess that they cut off early to prevent issues of timing of sales. In this lawsuit happy world, it pays to do a little preventative measures.
Bought my tickets today, but will buy a couple more on both Thurs & Fri. I'm a bit discouraged since moving. I've barely gotten one or two on a ticket, much less getting money back on any draws. I'm used to winning a bit here and there...
But you got to be in it to win it, so here's to a winner in Texas on Friday, March 25: 19 days after the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo and 2 days before the anniversary of the Goliad Massacre. And danged if the wildflowers don't look especially beautiful this year.
Are you kidding ? i would say the jackpot would be bumped up to $320mills b4 the draw friday
They said we see $500 million let it roll
This one will be in 350-380 range, if no one hits 500 will be just a passing point