Fast Facts About the Mega Millions Jackpot
Tuesday's Jackpot Is Currently 3rd Largest In Game History
JPEG and EPS images of an Iowa Mega Millions ticket and the Mega Millions game logo are available here: Mega Millions.
CLIVE, Iowa - The Mega Millions® jackpot continues to push higher! The jackpot is now an estimated $1.1 billion annuity, $568.7 million cash option, for the game's next drawing on Tuesday.
That is the third-highest jackpot in the history of the game and the fifth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot. It follows the world-record Powerball® jackpot of $2.04 billion won in early November.
The Mega Millions jackpot has reached this level because it has been growing for nearly three months. It was last won Oct. 14.
Iowa Sales And Prizes From Friday's Drawing
Iowa Lottery players won a total of 31,631 prizes in Friday's Mega Millions drawing and had purchased more than $1.7 million in tickets for the drawing.
Friday's winning numbers were: 3-20-46-59-63 and Mega Ball® 13. The Megaplier® number was 3.
But the average Mega Millions purchase in Iowa for Friday's drawing remained about $6, or about three plays per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that a lot of people had fun playing and didn't go overboard.
$1 Million Unclaimed Mega Millions Prize In Ames
When the jackpot reaches into the stratosphere like it is now, the game's player base expands, with a lot of first-time and occasional players buying tickets. The Iowa Lottery reminds everyone to check their tickets for all prizes they may have won, not just the jackpot.
There are nine prize levels in Mega Millions, from $2 for matching the Mega Ball® alone up to the jackpot for matching all six numbers in a drawing.
A $1 million Mega Millions prize won in central Iowa remains unclaimed after four months.
The $1 million-winning ticket was purchased at Gateway Expresse, 2400 University Blvd. in Ames, for the game's drawing on Sept. 6. It was the only ticket in the country that night to match the five white balls but miss the yellow Mega Ball to win at the game's second prize level.
The winner or winners of the $1 million prize have until the close of business on Sept. 6, 2023, to claim it at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.
Gateway Expresse received a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.
Easy Pick vs. Your Own Numbers
The vast majority of tickets purchased in games like Powerball and Mega Millions are easy-pick plays, meaning that the lottery terminal assigns the numbers printed on the ticket. About 94 percent of the plays purchased in Iowa for Friday's Mega Millions drawing were easy picks.
But players also can choose their own numbers. They choose five numbers from a pool of 70 for the white balls and one number from a separate pool of 25 for the Mega Ball.
Neither option is luckier. The odds of winning are the same for every ticket purchased in the game. There are more winners from easy-pick tickets simply because the majority of tickets purchased are easy picks.
Post-Holiday Focus
The timing of the current Mega Millions jackpot run has been a bit unusual, spanning the entire holiday season and continuing on. The past few weeks were busy with holiday travel, family gatherings and year-end celebrations, with some winter storms in the mix as well. But now that the New Year has begun, folks are back in their normal routines and Mega Millions sales are ticking up.
Overall, Mega Millions was won six times in 2021 and six times in 2022.
Please Play Responsibly
And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Please play responsibly. Playing smart is a lot more fun.
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