2nd largest lottery jackpot the world has ever seen
Half-billion-dollar cash value
By Todd Northrop
The most commonly-heard phrase this week just might be, "Did you get Mega Millions tickets?"
That's because nobody won the Mega Millions multi-state lottery drawing Tuesday night, sending the Friday jackpot to heights only seen once before.
Friday's Mega Millions jackpot is currently estimated at $868 million, with a lump-sum cash value of $494.5 million. And based on past multi-state lottery jackpots, that estimate may get a lot bigger by the time the drawing kicks off Friday night.
To get to this size, the jackpot has been growing since it started on July 27 as a $40 million prize — now 24 consecutive drawings without a winner.
Friday's $868 million Mega Millions jackpot is the largest in the game's history, and the 2nd-largest lottery jackpot in world history. The only larger lottery jackpot ever awarded was on January 13, 2016, when three tickets from California, Florida, and Tennessee shared a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
The lump-sum cash value of $494.5 million is also the 2nd-largest on the all-time lottery jackpot cash value rankings (see full list below).
Lottery players wondering what all the cash will look like in their bank account after the initial federal and state tax withholdings 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 Friday. 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 Friday 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 live as 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.
Michigan lottery players can bypass the store completely and buy their Mega Millions lottery tickets online. Players outside the USA can try their luck with a reputable butler service.
In Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 9 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California, 1 from Florida, 1 from Georgia, 1 from Kentucky, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from New York, 2 from Pennsylvania, and 1 from Texas.
The California second-prize winner will be awarded $1,926,474 instead of the fixed $1 million prize awarded in the other states. 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. This drawing the pari-mutuel prize calculation meant a much larger prize, almost double of what the other states awarded.
Only the second-prize winner from Texas purchased their ticket with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play, multiplying their prize to an astonishing $5 million because the Megaplier number drawn was 5.
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.
Also, a total of 100 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 12 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $50,000, and 19 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $8,955.
The Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, October 16, 2018, were 3, 45, 49, 61, and 69, with Mega Ball number 9. The Megaplier number was 5.
Following the Tuesday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $201 million from its previous amount of $667 million. The cash value was raised by $114.5 million from its previous amount of $380 million.
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.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Friday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 2nd-largest lottery jackpot in world history. 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 - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $868 million, Oct. 19, 2018 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $393 million, Aug. 11, 2017 - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
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 2nd-largest cash value in world history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $494.5 million cash, Oct. 19, 2018 ($868 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- 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
- 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: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
The number of cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 14
- Mega Millions: 11
Friday it is! I guess. The winner(s) will be a lottery pool out of Virginia.
Good luck but it will be won in TX. Hope multiple winners though.
2nd largest jackpot ever and a pre-tax expectation value of 0.83 and a rollover probability of almost 59%.
...following a $667M jackpot that sells just over 100M tickets.
Not very impressive.
This happened because the odds of winning are closer to zero than any historical lottery, and it would seem people are getting that.
Oh well, I'll buy a few tickets anyway, but just as a fun way to pay taxes to support education. God knows we're robbing our children and grandchildren blind; at least we can pay a little bit to educate them against the dire future they face because we can't think.
Unlike most people who post here, I won't win. I'll bet 80% of the posts here will consist of people predicting their own win.
Stay sane.
Goodness - I really hope it rolls on Friday and becomes the biggest prize ever - thus beating PowerBall. Love it! And PowerBall should be won on Wednesday, and then won again on Sat at 40M... that will keep its jackpot roll from starting too soon and allow MegaMillions to enjoy the spotlight all by itself!
Go MegaMillions! Roll on baby - roll on! Think we can get a 2B j/p before its won this run?
According to the above Preliminary Estimates Mavis Wanscyk from Chicopee, Massachusetts will soon be displaced from the number two spots. She has held that spot for just over a year and managed to stay out of the news. No news is good news.
Who here is willing to become a possible #1 ranked winner? In both Annuity and Cash Lump Sum?
We have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for ticket sales to propel the annuity and cash lump sum to new record heights!
Imagine if one sole winner happens to be a Lottery Post member.
Too late she has already been surpassed as the #2 spot in the all time highs. She now sits on the bronze throne.
I was going by the two words phrase, "Preliminary Estimate". They have not been won yet.
I agree that the second place has been reached. Now it is up to us to make it #1.
Never say Never! $2 billion dollars would be a fantastic prize.
Will the Lottery Post record statistic of 89,552 online visitors fall soon? This stat is at the bottom of the Opening page. New records everywhere with this jackpot!
It would be interesting if someone won both the Mega Millions & the Powerball. I wonder what the chances of that would be.
I'm sure anyone would be happy to win either one of them, or even share the jackpot.
If I were to win 2 jackpots I would cash out the smallest one and do the annuity on the larger one. Do you think that would be a good idea?
About 90,000 times a trillion. It's so low that it's very unlikely anyone would ever win both PB and MM in the same week over the entire history of mankind. Just call it zero, close enough.
I sit on a porcelain throne now, but when I win, I might get a bronze one!
NOW
then
Between the nation's two largest lotteries, there's over $1 billion in jackpot money up for grabs. The odds of hitting all winning numbers in either game? Pretty bad.
For the $868 million Mega Million jackpot — which marks the game's first-largest top prize ever — your chance of winning is 1 in 302.6 million. For Powerball's $345 million top prize, it's 1 in 292 million.
The chance of winning both is at least 1 in 88 quadrillion. That's 88 followed by 15 zeros.
1:88,000,000,000,000,000