Now the 9th-largest lottery jackpot in history

By Todd Northrop

After nobody won a billion-dollar Christmas Eve jackpot, lottery players around the country are lining up for an even larger jackpot set to draw Friday.

Tuesday night nobody won the Mega Millions multi-state lottery drawing, triggering another jackpot rollover that created a Friday jackpot estimated at $1.15 billion with a cash value of $516.1 million.

Based on past multi-state lottery jackpots, that estimate may get a lot bigger by the time the drawing kicks off Friday 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 September 13 as a $20 million prize — now 30 consecutive drawings without a winner.

Friday's $1.15 billion Mega Millions jackpot is the 5th-largest in the game's history, and the 9th-largest lottery jackpot in world history among all lottery games.

The largest lottery jackpot ever awarded was on Nov. 7, 2022, when one Powerball 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 purchases of houses one, two, and three, as well as being the subject of dubious lawsuits that are unfortunately predictable these days. (The lawsuit was thrown out in October.)

Friday's lump-sum cash value of $516.1 million is the 13th-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 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 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. Players can see if they can play Mega Millions online by tapping the link. Depending on the physical location of the person, the link will either provide access via a licensed butler service or the official state lottery itself.

Butler services provide scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, such lottery ticket services were used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.

In Tuesday 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 California, 1 from Missouri, 1 from Pennsylvania, and 1 from Wyoming.

None of the second-prize tickets were purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play. If they had, their prize would have been tripled to $3 million, since the Megaplier number drawn was 3. 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 $1,774,447 prize for the win.

A total of 106 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 13 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $30,000, and 12 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $13,770.

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 Tuesday, December 24, 2024, were 11, 14, 38, 45, and 46, with Mega Ball number 3. The Megaplier number was 3.

Following the Tuesday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $150 million from its previous amount of $1 billion. The cash value was raised by $67.3 million from its previous amount of $448.8 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 9th-largest lottery jackpot of all time, and the 5th-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever.

1. Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
2. Powerball: $1.7649 billion, Oct. 11, 2023 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
3. Mega Millions: $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Florida
4. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
5. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
6. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
7. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
8. Powerball: $1.3259 billion, Apr. 6, 2024 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Oregon
9. Mega Millions: $1.15 billion, Dec. 27, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Initial estimate, not won yet
10. Mega Millions: $1.128 billion, Mar. 26, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - New Jersey
11. Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
12. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
13. Powerball: $842.4 million, Jan. 1, 2024 (34 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
14. Mega Millions: $800 million, Sep. 10, 2024 (27 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Texas
15. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
16. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
17. Powerball: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
18. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
19. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
20. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
21. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
22. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
23. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
24. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
25. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri

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 13th-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: $794.2 million cash, Aug. 8, 2023 ($1.602 billion annuity) - Florida
5. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
6. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
7. Powerball: $774.1 million cash, Oct. 11, 2023 ($1.7649 billion annuity) - California
8. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
9. Powerball: $621 million cash, Apr. 6, 2024 ($1.3259 billion annuity) - Oregon
10. Powerball: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
11. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
12. Mega Millions: $536.6 million cash, Mar. 26, 2024 ($1.128 billion annuity) - New Jersey
13. Mega Millions: $516.1 million cash, Dec. 27, 2024 ($1.15 billion annuity) - Initial estimate, not won yet
14. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
15. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
16. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
17. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
18. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
19. Powerball: $425.2 million cash, Jan. 1, 2024 ($842.4 million annuity) - Michigan
20. Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
21. Mega Millions: $404.2 million cash, Sep. 10, 2024 ($800 million annuity) - Texas
22. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
23. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
24. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
25. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana

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

• Powerball: 15
• Mega Millions: 10