Cash value worth nearly a half-billion dollars

By Todd Northrop

After 28 drawings without a jackpot winner, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery game now boasts a swelling jackpot of $790 million 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 $790 million — the largest since a $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot from a Jan. 2021 drawing was claimed anonymously by a 4-player Michigan lottery club.

The next Mega Millions drawing is on Tuesday night at 11:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 pm Pacific).

Tuesday's $790 million Mega Millions jackpot is the 3rd-largest in the game's history, and the 4th-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time (see full list below).

The lump-sum cash value of $464.4 million is the 9th-largest on the all-time US lottery jackpot cash value list.

The current jackpot run-up started on Apr. 19 as a $20 million grand prize — it has been 3 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.

In Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Delaware, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from New York, and 1 from Virginia.

Three of the four second-prize winners — those from Delaware, New Jersey, and New York — purchased their tickets with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play, multiplying their prize 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 105 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 16 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $30,000, and 19 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $6,979.

The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, July 22, 2022, were 14, 40, 60, 64, and 66, with Mega Ball number 16. The Megaplier number was 3.

The complete payout information and official drawing video for Friday's drawing can be found at USA Mega's Mega Millions Drawing Information page.

Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $130 million from its previous amount of $660 million. The cash value was raised by $76.4 million from its previous amount of $388 million.

Mega Millions tickets cost $2 each. For an extra $1 per ticket players can purchase the Megaplier option, which multiplies any non-jackpot won by up to 5 times, depending on the Megaplier number drawn that evening.

Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 pm Eastern Time.

To find the nearest lottery retailer to buy your tickets, head 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.

Some state lotteries offer online ticket purchases, allowing players to bypass the store completely. Such is the case with Michigan and Virginia. Other states such as Minnesota, Orgeon, and Texas use a state-licensed courier service to enable online purchases. Players outside the USA can use a reputable butler service that delivers scanned images of the lottery tickets to verify the ticket purchase and ownership.

Mega Millions lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com). The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Mega Millions.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 4th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 3rd-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Brisk sales will likely push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

If nobody wins Tuesday, it's anyone's guess how high it will go.

1. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
3. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
4. Mega Millions: $790 million, Jul. 26, 2022 (28 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
5. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
6. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
7. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
8. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
9. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
10. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
11. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
12. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
13. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
14. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
15. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
16. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
17. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
18. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
19. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
20. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
21. Mega Millions: $516 million, May 21, 2021 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Pennsylvania
22. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
23. Powerball: $473.1 million, Apr. 27, 2022 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Arizona
24. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Pennsylvania
25. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida

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 9th-largest cash value in U.S. history.

1. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
3. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
4. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
5. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
6. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
7. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
8. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
9. Mega Millions: $464.4 million cash, Jul. 26, 2022 ($790 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
10. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
11. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
12. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
13. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
14. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
15. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
16. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
17. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
18. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
19. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
20. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
21. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
22. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
23. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
24. Mega Millions: $314.4 million cash, Sep. 21, 2021 ($431 million annuity) - New York
25. Mega Millions: $292.9 million cash, Jan. 28, 2022 ($426 million annuity) - California

The number of cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 12
• Mega Millions: 13