Now tied for seventh-largest lottery jackpot in history

By Todd Northrop

For the second time in less than two weeks a lottery jackpot has crossed into billion-dollar territory.

Last night nobody won the Mega Millions multi-state lottery drawing, triggering another jackpot rollover that created a Tuesday jackpot estimated at $1.05 billion with a cash value of $527.9 million.

Based on past multi-state lottery jackpots, that estimate may get a lot bigger by the time the drawing kicks off Tuesday night, as people dreaming of becoming the next billionaire cause lottery ticket sales go through the roof.

To get to this massive size, the jackpot has been growing since it started on April 21 as a $20 million prize — now 29 consecutive drawings without a winner.

Tuesday's billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot is tied for the 4th-largest in the game's history, and the 7th-largest lottery jackpot in world history among all 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.

Tuesday's lump-sum cash value of $527.9 million is the 9th-largest on the all-time lottery jackpot cash value rankings (see full list below).

Lottery players dreaming 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 Mega Millions 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.

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 5 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 1 from California, 1 from New York, and 2 from Pennsylvania.

Only one of the second-prize tickets sold in Pennsylvania was purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play, multiplying that player's prize to a whopping $5 million, since the Megaplier number drawn was 5. Unlike the Powerball game, Mega Millions applies its multiplier to the second prize.

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.

The California second-prize winner benefited from the pari-mutuel prize payouts this time, bagging a $1,502,965 prize for the win.

A total of 92 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 $50,000, and 13 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $8,951.

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 28, 2023, were 5, 10, 28, 52, and 63, with Mega Ball number 18. The Megaplier number was 5.

Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $110 million from its previous amount of $940 million. The cash value was raised by $55.4 million from its previous amount of $472.5 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

Friday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 7th-largest lottery jackpot of all time, and the 4th-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

1. Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
2. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
4. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
5. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
6. Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
7. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Aug. 1, 2023 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
7. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
9. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
10. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
11. Powerball: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
12. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
13. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
14. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
15. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
16. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
17. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
18. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
19. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
20. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
21. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
22. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
23. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
24. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
25. 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 9th-largest cash value in U.S. history.

1. Powerball: $997.6 million cash, Nov. 7, 2022 ($2.0401 billion annuity) - California
2. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
4. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
5. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
6. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
7. Powerball: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
8. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
9. Mega Millions: $527.9 million cash, Aug. 1, 2023 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
10. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
11. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
12. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
13. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
14. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
15. Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
16. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
17. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
18. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
19. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
20. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
21. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
22. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
23. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
24. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
25. 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