Mega Millions Jackpot At $1.1 Billion For Tuesday's Drawing
The Jackpot Is In The Game's Top 3
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 is in the game's Top 3, reaching an estimated $1.1 billion annuity, $576.8 million cash option, for Tuesday's drawing.
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.
Overall, Mega Millions was won six times in 2021 and six times in 2022. The game's drawings occur at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The Day Of The Drawing Sees The Highest Sales
Through the years of Powerball and Mega Millions drawings, one phenomenon has been clear: The day of the drawing has the highest sales. Maybe it's procrastination, maybe it's players just remembering to buy a ticket, or maybe it's folks who specifically plan to buy a ticket that day.
The busiest time of sales on the day of the drawing generally is from 4-7 p.m. as many people stop to run errands on their way home from work. While Iowa generally has not seen the long lines that can occur in other parts of the country, expect to see a lot of other folks also buying tickets if you're doing so on Tuesday.
Why Does 'Coverage' Matter?
By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations in the game have been purchased for a particular drawing. It's called coverage – how many of the combinations have been "covered."
The coverage estimate for Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing is now more than 36 percent.
A higher coverage percentage can mean it's more likely there will be a jackpot winner, but it is not a definite.
(The odds of winning the jackpot in Mega Millions are about 1 in 302.6 million because that's how many ways the numbers in the game can be combined to make a play. The winning numbers selected will be one of those combinations. Will your ticket match?)
Things To Consider As You Dream Big
The Iowa Lottery has heard from a lot of people with dreams of winning and thoughts about what they would do if they win. To provide specifics about the details that come with a giant lottery win, the Iowa Lottery has produced a video called "You Won! Now What?"
It is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugXmP-7Qbm8&t=1s.
Iowa Stats From Mega Millions' Latest 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.
The average Mega Millions purchase in Iowa for the 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
With first-time and occasional players buying tickets for the giant drawing, 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 winning 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.
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.
Please Play Responsibly
And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Please play responsibly.
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